House Transportation Subcommittee A and B on an unspecified date advanced a series of transportation bills and held extended discussion on expanding aerospace testing and on turnpike procedures.

The panel voted to pass bills that would let the Oklahoma Department of Transportation gather data on invasive vegetation in rights-of-way, extend aerospace tax support, broaden an aircraft-engine testing grant program to include rocket engines, and require more notification around proposed turnpikes. One bill aimed at additional wrong-way driving countermeasures on turnpikes was laid over for further work.

The meeting's most detailed debate centered on House Bill 19-61, which expands the Oklahoma Aircraft Engine Testing Development Grant Program to include rocket engines. Representative Stairs, the bill's author, said the change would help Oklahoma compete as demand for small-satellite launches and rocket-engine testing grows: "As we move to more and more ... the expectation is we'll be moving from 10,000 satellites to about 58,000 satellites," and the state "doesn't have the infrastructure to support the testing of that many rocket engines." Members pressed for fiscal clarity; Stairs said funding, if needed, would be handled in the budget process rather than in the bill.

Lawmakers also debated turnpike-related measures. Representative Stairs' House Bill 28-72 would require the Oklahoma Turnpike Authority (OTA) to take specified notifications and outreach steps before proposing new turnpikes or modifications; the sponsor said the bill applies to businesses and residents who have a stake in affected areas. Representative West introduced a PCS that would require OTA to compensate property owners within 800 feet of a turnpike boundary for nuisances including access impacts, loss of use, noise and light pollution, and diminution of fair market value; West and the chair agreed to strike the bill's title in full in A and B and continue working on language and definitions before the full committee.

Representative Sneed presented House Bill 16-34 on wrong-way-driving countermeasures; he asked the panel to lay the bill over after reporting that the Oklahoma Turnpike Authority was already examining lower-cost measures such as flashing signs or other alerts rather than road spikes. "They're working to see what they can put up that would be a much safer and lower expensive turnpike spikes," Sneed said, and he asked the committee to continue discussions.

Representative Wilk described House Bill 18-22 as a data-gathering and planning bill for ODOT to study invasive-species eradication on rights-of-way, with a particular focus on cedar trees as a public-safety and agricultural concern: "It would enable the Oklahoma Department of Transportation to start initiating a plan and gathering data, so that they can come back to us at a later date to request some funding to try to work towards some invasive species eradication on straight right of ways, and particularly the cedar trees is the main focus of this." That bill passed out of the subcommittee.

Votes at a glance

- House Bill 18-22 (Rep. Wilk): Enable ODOT to begin planning/data collection on invasive-species eradication in rights-of-way (cedar focus). Outcome: passed out of subcommittee (vote declared by chair). Mover: Representative Wilk. Notes: staff recorded ayes from Representatives Rosencrantz, Blair and Miller during the roll call.

- House Bill 16-34 (Rep. Sneed): Wrong-way-driving countermeasures; laid over so OTA can continue work and the sponsor and agency can refine solutions. Outcome: laid over; no final vote.

- House Bill 20-19 (Rep. Pae): Extend aerospace tax spread to 02/1932 to provide multi-year certainty for aerospace industry. Outcome: passed (reported as 10 ayes, 0 nays). Mover: Representative Pae.

- House Bill 19-61 (Rep. Stairs): Expand Oklahoma Aircraft Engine Testing Development Grant Program to include rocket engines. Outcome: passed (reported as 9 ayes, 0 nays). Mover: Representative Stairs. Fiscal impact: sponsors noted fiscal elements remain to be addressed in budget process; a related bill in another committee previously had an estimated impact but this companion was described as budget-handled if necessary.

- House Bill 28-72 (Rep. Stairs): Require OTA to take certain notifications/outreach steps before proposing new turnpike projects or modifications. Outcome: passed out of committee with the sponsor agreeing to strike title in full in A and B and continue drafting with OTA and members (reported as 9 ayes, 0 nays). Mover: Representative Stairs.

- House Bill 11-32 PCS (Rep. Crosswhite Hader): Amendments to the Oklahoma industrial access grant program to provide budget flexibility and allow ODOT administration; outcome: passed (reported as 9 ayes, 0 nays). Mover: Representative Crosswhite Hader. Clarification: the PCS was described as a work in progress intended to preserve options during the budget process; the sponsor said the threshold population language would target municipalities with population of 750,000 (affecting only a few jurisdictions).

- Representative West PCS (turnpike compensation): PCS would require OTA compensation for property owners within 800 feet of turnpike boundary for nuisance and loss of value; sponsor and committee agreed to strike title in full in A and B and continue refining definitions and impacted property types. Outcome: passed out of committee with agreement to continue work (reported as 9 ayes, 0 nays). Mover: Representative West.

What this means and next steps

Sponsors and the chair repeatedly emphasized that several bills are still "work in progress," with sponsors agreeing to strike titles in full in A and B and continue negotiations with OTA and other stakeholders before the measures proceed to the full committee. Multiple sponsors said any required funding for expanded programs (notably the rocket/engine testing expansion) would be addressed in the budget process rather than via the authorizing language.

The subcommittees closed by reminding members to file paperwork to move bills to the full committee and by noting additional meetings or learning sessions may be scheduled as the filing deadline approaches. The committee adjourned after the day's agenda items were completed.