A House committee on Monday advanced several bills covering public health, local economic programs, forestry classification, workforce training and administrative authority for a conservation agency.

What passed: The committee reported out the following measures to oversight or the next step in the House process.

- Fighting Chance for Firefighters Act (bill identification not specified in transcript): The sponsor said the bill seeks to get cancer screenings covered for firefighters statewide. A proposed committee substitute (PCS) removes a tax‑credit element; the sponsor said lawmakers “are all expecting a very difficult, move for adoption.” Vote: not specified in the committee record excerpt; action: laid over for later consideration (see provenance).

- House Bill 1378: Adds forestry to the agriculture list used in statute. The presenter said the change corrects an omission affecting tree farms. Vote: reported out with 9 yays, 0 nays.

- House Bill 2407: Creates a revolving fund to hold $2,000,000 for accredited Main Street programs; an amendment correcting duplicate effective dates was accepted as a scrivener’s change. The bill was reported out with 9 yays, 1 nay.

- House Bill 1540: Establishes a workforce education partnership revolving fund to support programs determined by Oklahoma CareerTech. The sponsor said the measure simply creates the fund to receive resources at a later date. The committee voted 10 yays, 0 nays to report the bill out.

- House Bill 1543: A request bill from the Oklahoma Conservation Commission, described by the sponsor as cleanup language to strengthen administration of programs and shared positions with conservation districts. The committee reported the bill out with 7 yays, 2 nays.

Laid over: At the start of the meeting committee staff listed three bills to be laid over for consideration next week: 21‑10 (Osborne), 22‑18 (Deck) and 28‑91 (Townley). The committee said it would “lay them over this week, try to hear next week.”

Votes at a glance: The transcript records several roll‑call or voice entries during the meeting. For HB 1378 the clerk recorded Moore and Wilk voting aye in the final tally. For HB 2407 and HB 1543 the chair announced the final tallies. Where the committee recorded individual names, the article includes those recorded votes; where the transcript gives only final tallies, the article reports the tallies as provided.

Discussion highlights: The Main Street fund drew questions about the target uses for the $2 million; the presenter said the fund would provide grants to about 26–27 local Main Street programs to help cover operating costs and marketing. HB 1540 prompted a single question asking whether electrician training would be included; the sponsor confirmed electricians were one example of eligible programs.

Next steps: The committee chair said the panel will meet again at 10:30 a.m. next Monday and will circulate an agenda in the next one to two days. Members were invited to volunteer to ‘‘shadow’’ state agencies to better understand departmental budgets and programs.

Ending: With the session’s calendar moving quickly, the committee’s actions will shape which measures proceed to oversight hearings and require Senate sponsors before further consideration.