Representative Mark McBride

R

District 53

Hi, I'm Mark McBride and I represent the people of Oklahoma's 53rd District.


representative

Leadership

Assistant Floor Leader

59th Legislature

News & Announcements

May 19, 2023
Recent Posts

Legislature Sends Historic Education Package to Governor

The Legislature today gave final passage to a set of bills directing a historic investment into public education.  Senate Bill 1119 provides longevity-based pay raises for all certified staff, ranging from a $3,000 increase for teachers with 0-4 years' experience; $4,000 for 5 to 9 years; $5,000 for 10-14 years; and $6,000 for teachers employed 15 years or more.  Senate Bill 1121 provides six weeks' paid maternity leave for teachers employed for at least a year.  House Bill 2901 appropriates a recurring $500 million to the school funding formula to cover costs associated with SB1119 and SB1121.  Senate Bill 1120 directs $125 million to the Redbud Fund to address property tax revenue disparities in districts with lower ad valorem bases to help meet basic infrastructure and maintenance needs.  Senate Bill 1118 creates a three-year literacy instructional team within the State Dept. of Education to assist school districts. The team will have five regional locations across the state and will help teachers recognize educational needs of students, with an additional emphasis on students who have dyslexia. The program is funded through a one-time appropriation of $10 million.  House Bill 2903 creates a three-year school safety pilot program to provide every district with a school resource officer or security upgrades.  House Bill 2904 provides a one-time appropriation of $150 million toward HB2903. Each school district will receive approximately $96,000 annually throughout the three-year program.  Each bill passed both chambers overwhelmingly, with final votes delivered Friday, May 18. They now move to the governor's desk for consideration and, if signed into law, would take effect in Fiscal Year 2024, which begins July 1, 2023.  ---  "Every year, our constituents tell us they want to see additional investments into public education, and thanks to thoughtful budgeting, we have been able to direct historic levels of new money into our public schools this year. With the implementation of this year's education plan, the Legislature will have invested more funding into public education in the past five years than in the previous 27 years combined. I'm proud of the work we have done to provide more resources and flexibility to every student, every parent, every teacher and every school district in the state."  – House Speaker Charles McCall, R-Atoka  “Negotiations were tough and combative at times but I value the transformative product that came out of the process. We are making historic investments in public education, giving meaningful teacher pay raises, delivering maternity leave, making critical investments for school safety, and delivering choice for kids and parents in Oklahoma. I want to sincerely thank Senators Pugh, Pemberton, and McCortney for the months of work that went into this. Also, I want to thank Justice Steven Taylor for directing the negotiations in a productive fashion. Finally, I want to thank all 40 members of my caucus who gave incredibly meaningful input to improve the legislation.” – Senate Pro Tem Greg Treat, R-Oklahoma City "Each year I have served in the House of Representatives, we have worked to pass historic education funding. This year's plan surpasses them all. We've secured $625 million in new recurring funding for our public schools and another $160 million to go toward literacy and school safety efforts. Under this plan, every certified teacher in the state will get thousands of extra dollars in their paychecks aligning with their years of service to students in their classrooms. I am so proud of our efforts to support public education with our actions and our resources."  – House Common Education Chair and former teacher Rep. Rhonda Baker, R-Yukon  "Oklahoma public school teachers prepare hundreds of thousands of students each year to succeed in life and work after high school. This strengthens our communities and Oklahoma's economy. This package gives these teachers the largest pay raise in state history, showing them our confidence and appreciation for the job they do. It also appropriates historic amounts of funding to our classrooms, and ensures rural, suburban and urban schools can thrive. At the same time, we've given parents, a.k.a. taxpayers, some control over their own income so they have more educational choices. We accomplished this in a way that doesn't touch public school funding. In fact, we've worked to make our public education budget the biggest and best in our state's history. Of that, I'm enormously pleased."  – House Appropriations & Budget Subcommittee on Education Chair Rep. Mark McBride, R-Moore “Many of these reforms came from hours of discussions with hundreds of teachers, administrators, parents and education advocacy groups. My colleagues and I worked tirelessly on these measures and the end result will be improvements to our public education system and historic pay raises for teachers. These measures will keep us competitive with other states, while improving our ability to recruit and retain teachers. I appreciate everyone’s hard work on these valuable pieces of legislation.”  – Senate Education Committee Chair Sen. Adam Pugh, R-Edmond  “I applaud the hard work and dedication by the negotiators in both the House and Senate, who met repeatedly for many hours to get to the finish line on the education plan. This slate of bills will have a positive, lasting impact on our education system in Oklahoma. As a retired educator, I am grateful to be part of this historic funding package that helps rural and urban schools, parents, teachers and provides needed safety measures to ensure our students are kept safe.”  – former teacher Sen. Dewayne Pemberton, R-Muskogee 

May 16, 2023
Recent Posts

Inspired to Teach Scholarship Program Signed Into Law

OKLAHOMA CITY – Rep. Mark McBride, R-Moore, today celebrated the governor signing into a law a bill aimed at increasing the number of students pursuing a teaching degree by adjusting scholarship eligibility requirements.   House Bill 2559 renames the Oklahoma Future Teacher Scholarship and Employment Incentive Program to the Inspired to Teach Program. In addition to Oklahoma high school graduates, the bill allows scholarship applicants to include homeschooled students as well as those who have completed General Educational Development (GED) test requirements. The bill also modifies the definition of full-time student in the hopes of making the scholarship available to more prospective teachers.   "We are doing everything possible to address the teacher shortage that is affecting Oklahoma public schools as it is those across the nation," McBride said. "Having a qualified teacher in the classroom is the best way to ensure students succeed in school and once they graduate. These scholarships will help us attract more future teachers, which in turn will benefit our students and our communities."   McBride passed the initial future teacher scholarship legislation last year. Since that time, almost 2,000 students have applied for those scholarships, with 23 educator preparation programs in the state reporting a 53.28% increase in enrollments from fall 2022 to spring 2023.   To the extent funds are available, the legislation grants up to $1,000 per academic year for up to three years for full-time students who have earned less than 90 credit hours in an Oklahoma teacher preparation degree program and $2,500 scholarships for students with more than 90 credit hours until a maximum of $5,500 is reached.   Sen. Dewayne Pemberton, R-Muskogee, was the Senate author of the 2022 legislation creating the scholarship program, and also carried HB 2559 this session in the Senate, further expanding the program.   “We’re thrilled with how successful this program has been in its first year of attracting more students to pursue a teaching degree, and we want to keep that momentum going,” Pemberton said. “We want to help every student who has a desire to teach to have that opportunity, and expanding this scholarship will help us accomplish that and get more teachers into our classrooms.”   Under the new legislation, full-time students are those enrolled in 12 or more semester credits toward teacher education degree requirements; undergraduate students who are interning or student teaching in lieu of credit hours; or those who have an approved reasonable accommodation due to a documented disability.   McBride said it's his hope more funding will be added to the scholarship program through the general appropriation's bill for Fiscal Year 2024, which starts July 1. 

May 3, 2023
Recent Posts

McBride Comments on Banks Being Banned from State Contracts

OKLAHOMA CITY – Rep. Mark McBride, R-Moore, today commented on legislation he authored that will ban 13 major financial institutions from state contracts as a result of their environmental, social and governance (ESG) policies.   House Bill 2034, the Energy Discrimination Elimination Act of 2022, signed into law last May, took effect Nov. 1. The measure requires the state to divest from any financial company that boycotts the energy industry. This week, State Treasurer Todd Russ notified 13 financial institutions that they are ineligible for state contracts as a result of the new law. Companies have the opportunity to clarify their activities and a step-down period is in place before complete divestment.   "This legislation ultimately protects all Oklahomans from the overreach of companies that think they can govern our population through the use of political environmentalism," McBride said. "Fossil fuels such as oil and gas are a major contributor to the livelihood of many Oklahoma's as well as our overall economy. This critical industry employees thousands of Oklahomans and adds tremendously to our tax base. We must protect our assets as a state."   ESG standards prioritize environmental investments and favor green energy projects, once deemed risky by financial advisors, over oil and gas investments. Critics – including attorneys general, state treasurers and consumer groups – say the policies ignore legally mandated fiduciary responsibilities and often don't align with a client's personal values.   McBride pointed out that the state has diversified to include other energy sources, but fossil fuels are still a backbone of the state's economy.   According to the Oklahoma Energy Resources Board, the total economic impact of oil and gas and component industries in the state in 2022 was $64.9 billion, 27% of the state's total economic activity. This included 198,965 direct or supporting jobs and $23.7 billion in salaries and wages.   In line with the law's requirements, State Treasurer Todd Russ this week released a list of financial institutions now ineligible for state contracts because they are engaged in boycotts of fossil fuel companies or they failed to reply to a questionnaire inquiring about their ESG policies.   The list includes Blackrock, Wells Fargo & co., JPMorgan Chase & Co., Bank of America and State Street. A full list of restricted financial companies is on the state treasurer's website: Restricted_Financial_Companies_Statement.pdf (ok.gov) . Other companies may be added to or removed from the list every 90 days as the internal analysis continues, according to the treasurer's office.   Russ reported his office received responses from nearly 160 financial institutions that were sent questionnaires.   HB2034 requires the state treasurer to maintain and provide to each state governmental entity a list of financial companies that boycott energy companies. These entities must then notify the treasurer of the listed financial companies in which they own direct or indirect holdings.   The entity also must send a written notice to the financial company warning that it may become subject to divestment and offer the company the opportunity to clarify its activities. A state governmental entity must rid itself of at least 50% of the assets of a listed financial company within 180 days of the financial company receiving notice and 100% of the assets within 360 days after notice unless a loss of assets can be proven.    Entities also must report to the treasurer, the Legislature and the state's attorney general any securities sold, redeemed, divested, or withdrawn from a listed financial company.