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

May 8, 2025
Recent Posts

Kevin West Urges Senate to Consider Utility Ratepayer Protection Bill

OKLAHOMA CITY – A bill seeking to protect utility customers from paying higher rates because of 2021's Winter Storm Uri has not yet been considered by the full State Senate. It is not on the agenda today, which is the deadline for consideration of bills from the opposite legislative chamber. House Bill 1220 unanimously passed in the Oklahoma House of Representatives in early March. It's since been amended and passed the Senate Energy Committee and remains on general order.  Author Rep. Kevin West, R-Moore, said the measure would prohibit municipalities that have franchise agreements with utility companies from assessing those fees and taxes on the securitization amount customers are paying due to the storm. "With the passage of securitization, the Legislature inadvertently left it open for ratepayers to shoulder the additional costs of the franchise fees and taxes on top of the bond amount," West said. "This legislation would prevent that. Now, with this lack of action, the ratepayer will have to pay these additional costs on top of the securitization amount for the next 25 years. This will cost everyday Oklahomans additional countless millions of dollars." West reported that in November 2024, Oklahoma City and the Municipal League sued for the right to assess franchise fees on the amount that customers are paying for securitization. He warned at the time that this would be yet another cost that would be passed on to ratepayers.  Having been in the Legislature when securitization was passed, West said it is his opinion that legislators did not intend for this occur. "I have seen no evidence that anything about securitization caused any additional costs to the municipalities to warrant these additional fees and/or taxes," West said. "Instead, it would seem this will relieve these governing bodies of paying their fair share from existing resources and instead push it onto their ratepayers." HB1220 includes the same language for both "regulated" and "unregulated" utilities. West said this was done to have continuity in both statutes and to cover ratepayers in the event that an unregulated utility is participating in securitization and has a franchise agreement in place. It has been estimated the franchise fees would amount to $60 million to $100 million dollars over the life of the securitization bonds. West said, again, these fees would come from the ratepayers. "Oklahoma utility customers are already paying long-term bond rates associated with this storm," West said. "This bill would protect them from having franchise fees and municipal sales taxes stacked onto their bills. This measure had great support in the House, and I'm frustrated Senate leadership has not allowed it to be considered by their full membership."

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.