Representative Gerrid Kendrix

Hi, I'm Gerrid Kendrix and I represent the people of Oklahoma's 52nd District.


representative

Leadership

Assistant Majority Floor Leader

60th Legislature

News & Announcements


Feb 12, 2025
Recent Posts

House Budget Committee Passes Rulemaking Reform

The Oklahoma House Appropriations and Budget Committee today approved legislation that would reform the state’s administrative rulemaking process—the system through which state agencies draft regulations to implement laws passed by the Legislature. House Bill 2728 , authored by Rep. Gerrid Kendrix, would establish the Regulations from the Executive in Need of Scrutiny (REINS) Act of 2025, modeled after similar federal legislation. "This is a crucial first step toward increasing transparency and oversight over an unelected bureaucracy that has incredible influence on how laws are implemented," said Kendrix, R-Altus. "These rules carry the force of law and largely take effect by default, which does not always serve the Oklahoma taxpayers well. This bill will ensure those elected by Oklahomans have greater oversight of the regulations impacting our state." If HB2728 is enacted, all proposed rules would be submitted with an economic impact statement, while proposed rules with a projected fiscal impact of at least $1 million over the first five years would require separate proactive legislative approval. The bill would also establish the Legislative Economic Analysis Unit (LEAU) within the Legislative Office of Fiscal Transparency (LOFT) to provide independent reviews of agencies' economic impact statements to ensure accuracy and completeness. This is modeled after many states that have put in place this third-party evaluation system for administrative rules, which has saved millions in cutting excess red tape and ensuring legislative intent is followed. "This simplifies the rulemaking process and ensures agency rules are given a third party thorough review before going into effect," said House Speaker Kyle Hilbert, R-Bristow. HB2728 passed the House A&B Committee unanimously and will next be heard on the House floor. 



Feb 4, 2025
Recent Posts

House Committee Advances Bill to Reform Administrative Rulemaking

The Oklahoma House Administrative Rules Committee has approved legislation aimed at reforming the state’s administrative rulemaking process—the system through which state agencies implement laws by drafting and proposing regulations. House Bill 2728 , authored by Rep. Gerrid Kendrix, R-Altus, would establish the Regulations from the Executive in Need of Scrutiny (REINS) Act of 2025, modeled after similar federal legislation introduced in Congress last year. Kendrix described the REINS Act as a crucial first step toward increasing transparency and oversight in what he referred to as an attempt by the unelected bureaucracy to create an unconstitutional "fourth branch of government." "Administrative rules allow agencies to impose regulations without being approved by the legislative branch," said Kendrix, who chairs the House Administrative Rules Committee. "Once approved, these rules carry the force of law and take effect by default, largely bypassing the Legislature's ability to intervene. House Bill 2728 provides a critical opportunity to create a more balanced and accountable administrative rulemaking process, ensuring that those elected by Oklahomans have greater oversight of the regulations impacting our state." After the Legislature passes a law, state agencies draft and propose the regulations necessary for its implementation. Agencies submitted 266 packets this year, totaling thousands of pages. The Legislature then reviews these rules and can disapprove them by passing a resolution. Once a rule takes effect, it has the same legal weight as a law. However, unlike other legislative measures, lawmakers can only reject rules in part or in whole but cannot amend individual rules. If the Legislature takes no action, the rules advance to the governor, who follows the same process. If the governor doesn’t address them, they automatically go into effect. “We all talk about the concern of growing government, and yet our current process allows that to happen by default,” Kendrix said. If HB2728 is enacted, all proposed rules would be submitted with an economic impact statement, while proposed rules with a projected fiscal impact of at least $1 million over the first five years would require separate proactive legislative approval. The bill would also establish the Legislative Economic Analysis Unit (LEAU) within the Legislative Office of Fiscal Transparency (LOFT) to provide independent reviews of agencies' economic impact statements to ensure accuracy and completeness, with all analyses made available online. This is modeled after many states that have put in place this third-party evaluation system for administrative rules, which has saved millions in cutting excess red tape and ensuring legislative intent is followed. "I want to thank Chairman Kendrix and the members of our caucus who have worked to put in place this thoughtful process that will ensure lawmakers have a say in how the laws we create are implemented at the agency level," said Speaker Kyle Hilbert, R-Bristow. "It's the Legislature's duty to ensure that the rules governing our people are practical and accountable. The REINS Act is a crucial first step toward a better system, and I appreciate Chairman Kendrix’s efforts to drive meaningful reform." HB2728 passed the committee 12-1.



Oct 28, 2024
Recent Posts

Kendrix, Bergstrom Highlight Rules, Open Meetings Act Online Portals

Rep. Gerrid Kendrix, R-Altus, and Sen. Micheal Bergstrom, R-Adair, recently held an interim study examining Oklahoma's current administrative rules process and considering how it could be made more efficient and transparent. "One of the things we’ve been working on is trying to make this process more transparent, get more people involved in it, make it more accountable not only to us as legislators but also to the public, where more people are aware of the rules process—how it works, the notification process, the public comment process," Kendrix said during the study. "We've been working with the secretary of state on the portal that they have, to try to make that better for everybody involved." Chris Coffman from the Office of the Oklahoma Secretary of State told attendees about two websites the Office of Administrative Rules (OAR) division operates to increase transparency and accountability. OAR is responsible for publishing public body meeting notices and maintaining official records of the state's rules and rulemaking notices, among other responsibilities. The first website Coffman highlighted, openmeetings.ok.gov , provides options to search for upcoming and archived open meetings, view a calendar of upcoming meetings, and view a list of all public bodies and agencies that must adhere to the Open Meetings Act. Oklahomans also can subscribe to be alerted via email or text notifications when public bodies post open meeting notices and documents. Coffman shared that, while the website is still a work in progress, 400 active public bodies have begun submitting meeting notices. He noted these meeting notices could include rulemaking hearings. Proposed administrative rules, which hold the effect of law once approved, may be viewed at rules.ok.gov . Coffman said the website is designed to be a "one-stop rules portal" that citizens, agencies and elected officials can access at each step of the rulemaking process. Kendrix, who serves as chair of the House Administrative Rules Committee, said he has multiple people reaching out directly to him during each session for help viewing proposed rules because the process has historically been so cumbersome. "Oklahoma’s administrative rules process has an enormous impact on our state’s communities and businesses, so it's essential that this process is both clear and accessible to everyone," Bergstrom said. "By making it easier for the public to engage and stay informed, we’re taking steps toward a government that works on behalf of Oklahomans. Our goal is a process that respects public input and strengthens accountability across the board." Kendrix and Bergstrom said they intend to use their findings from the study to consider potential improvements to make Oklahoma's administrative rulemaking process more efficient and accountable to the people.