Representative Kevin West

R

District 54

Hi, I'm Kevin West and I represent the people of Oklahoma's 54th District.


representative

Leadership

Oversight Committee Chair

60th Legislature

Assistant Majority Floor Leader

59th Legislature

News & Announcements

Apr 22, 2025
Recent Posts

Bill to Keep Businesses Open During Pandemics Sent to Governor

OKLAHOMA CITY – Rep. Kevin West, R-Moore, on Monday won passage of legislation that prohibits the governor from closing any business during a pandemic without documented scientific evidence that the nature of the business actually contributes to the spread of the disease. Senate Bill 672 now moves to the governor's desk for his consideration of signing it into law.   "This bill is not about actions taken in the past, but about how we're going to move forward as a state to protect the free enterprise of our business owners in the same way we allow the public the freedom to choose how best to protect themselves," West said. "What this bill does is ensure that due process will be afforded business owners even during a state of emergency." Sen. Julie McIntosh, R-Porter, is the principal Senate author of the bill. "The passage of SB672 is a significant step toward ensuring that our small businesses are not unduly burdened during emergencies," she said. "This legislation guarantees that any decision to close a business is backed by clear evidence and due process. It's about safeguarding the rights of our entrepreneurs while still allowing for necessary public health measures. I appreciate my colleagues in both chambers for supporting this commonsense measure." West said the language of the measure fits with Article Two, Section Two of the Oklahoma Constitution, which guarantees all persons have the inherent right to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness and the enjoyment of the gains of their own industry.  According to the language of this bill, the governor would still have the ability to close businesses during a pandemic to protect public health if there is scientific evidence that a particular business is a contributor to the spread of the disease. The governor would have to give notice and the opportunity for a hearing for any business determined to be nonessential or determined to be detrimental to public health. This would give the business a course of action to plead their case and possibly stay open. West said during the initial onset of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, many small businesses across the state were forced to close even as larger businesses were allowed to remain open. Other businesses, such as restaurants or bars were forced to close after certain hours even though no scientific proof was presented that the spread of the disease was more prevalent at one time over another. These policies were devastating to businesses owners, forcing some to close or lay off staff, and it hurt the overall economy of the state. He said there is no evidence the policies did anything to stop the spread of the disease. The bill passed in the House on a vote of 74-15. If signed into law, it would become effective July 1. 

Apr 16, 2025
Recent Posts

Kevin West Advances Bill to Keep Businesses Open During Pandemics

OKLAHOMA CITY – A bill that would prohibit the governor from closing any business during a pandemic without documented scientific evidence that the nature of the business actually contributes to the spread of the disease passed the House Commerce and Economic Development Oversight Committee on Tuesday. Rep. Kevin West, R-Moore, is the House author of Senate Bill 672 .  "I believe this bill threads the needle between everybody's rights," West said. "The right to be safe, the right to have your business open, the right to make money. This goes right along with Article Two, Section Two of our Oklahoma Constitution, which states that all persons have the inherent right to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness and the enjoyment of the gains of their own industry."  West said according to the language of this bill, the governor would still have the ability to close businesses during a pandemic to protect public health if there is scientific evidence that a particular business is a contributor to the spread of the disease. The governor would have to give notice and the opportunity for a hearing for any business determined to be nonessential or determined to be detrimental to public health. This would give the business a course of action to plead their case and possibly stay open. This is not too high of a bar for the governor to achieve, West said. With contact tracing and other tools at the disposal of health care workers now, he said its possible to accurately and definitively determine if a business is putting the public at risk. He pointed to the example of the City of Moore during the COVID pandemic. The city let people decide for themselves whether to close their business or whether to frequent a business based on their own concerns and health needs. As a result, visitors from surrounding communities – where businesses were forced to close or limit their hours – came to Moore to shop. Even with the increased number of people, Moore still showed no signs of being a superspreader, West said. In addition, the city exceeded their revenue expectations during this time. West said there was no consistent reasoning for some of the decisions to close businesses during COVID. He gave the example of bars that were forced to close after 10 p.m., as if the threat of the spread of the disease was less before 10 p.m. than later at night. He also acknowledged that smaller businesses were at times forced to close while larger big box stores were allowed to remain open, again with no proof that one business was safer than another. The bill passed 14-3 and now is eligible to be considered on the House floor. 

Mar 26, 2025
Recent Posts

Time's Up for Kevin West Measure

OKLAHOMA CITY – Rep. Kevin West, R-Moore, on Tuesday lost his fight to lock the state into standard time and stop the twice-yearly time change to daylight saving time. House Bill 1223 would have established year-round standard of time in Oklahoma after daylight saving time ends Nov. 2. The bill failed to pass the House and advance to the Senate. “Congratulations to all the members who voted no on this bill," West said. "You just ensured that we will continue to change the clocks twice each year, even though the majority of Oklahomans want us to lock the clock." West has authored several bills that would send to a vote of the people a question on whether to adopt permanent standard time in Oklahoma, stopping the twice-yearly time change. The measures have not advanced through the full legislative process. Instead, last session, the Legislature passed and the governor signed into law Senate Bill 1200 . The measure specifies that should a federal law ever authorize states to observe daylight saving time year-round, Oklahoma shall adopt it year-round. West said this was tried before. In 1974, the entire nation was mandated to go to daylight saving time. That winter, several states, including Oklahoma, petitioned the federal government to end it because the sun wasn't up until after 8 a.m. There were complaints of children going to school in the dark and employees starting the work day before the sun rose. The act ultimately was repealed in 1975. Federal law allows states to be on standard time year-round. Arizona, Hawaii and most U.S. territories currently do this. The law requires states that wish to adopt daylight saving time year-round to ask permission from the government to do so, but so far the federal government has not granted any of these requests. West also pointed out that the Sunshine Protection Act in Congress would require states to be on daylight saving time year-round. The act would allow states to not participate only if they take legislative action to do so. The act has not passed. States that choose not to opt out of daylight saving time are required to set their clocks forward an hour at 2 a.m. the second Sunday of March each year and back an hour at 2 a.m. the first Sunday of November. West said he's heard from numerous constituents, parents and business owners over the course of his legislative service that there is a strong desire to stop the changing of the clocks. He's also studied the issue in detail. In a previous legislative study, he invited experts to discuss the science of time change and the detriments of changing the clock twice yearly. The U.S. Congress first implemented daylight saving time through the Standard Time Act in 1918 during World War I as a way to "add" more daylight hours to conserve energy. The act also established five time zones across the U.S. The Uniform Time Act in 1966 mandated the country use daylight saving time but allowed states to opt out and to stay on standard time year-round. The thought behind daylight saving time is that by setting the clocks back an hour in November, more daylight time is gained in the early mornings. When an hour is added in March, more daylight is gained in the evenings. West said there are additional concerns such as health-related risks, increased auto accidents and work-related injuries that could rise when we first switch to permanent daylight saving time. West said he's received an enormous amount of positive feedback from Oklahomans who support not having to change the clock twice yearly, specifically noting the time it takes to adjust to the change. "I'm disappointed this legislation failed," West said. "I feel the majority of Oklahomans do not want their clocks to keep changing twice each year. They will have to let their voices be heard on this matter."