Representative Kevin West

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


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 The act ultimately was repealed in 1975.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."



Mar 25, 2025
Recent Posts

House Passes Legislation Locking in Legislative Role in Federal Spending

The Oklahoma House of Representatives has passed legislation aiming to increase transparency and oversight of federal funds received by state agencies. House Bill 1221 , also known as the State Accounts for Federal Expenditures (SAFE) Act, would create accounts to be used by agencies for federal funds received under competitive grant awards, direct monetary payments to the agency not associated with an established federal program the agency operates, and block grants. The bill would mandate that any state agency receiving federal funds through these mechanisms must place those funds into separate SAFE accounts, which would be subject to rigorous reporting to the legislative and executive branches. Rep. Kevin West, R-Moore, authored the SAFE Act, which would subject expenditures from these federal accounts to legislative approval through a concurrent resolution. If the Legislature disapproves any proposed expenditure, the agency would be required to notify the federal government and withdraw its application for the corresponding funding. "The SAFE Act ensures federal funds are spent in alignment with Oklahoma's priorities through a transparent process," West said. "This gives elected lawmakers a stronger voice on how our state agencies are spending federal funds and ensures Oklahoma taxpayers can trust how their state government is spending these dollars. I appreciate the strong support for this bill in the House and hope to see it move quickly in the Senate." HB1221 outlines specific exemptions, including temporary funding increases in existing federal programs already managed by state agencies, federal unemployment dollars managed by the Oklahoma Employment Security Commission (OESC), and certain competitive grants received by the Oklahoma Department of Transportation (ODOT) for the 8-year Construction Work Plan or grants from the Federal Railroad Administration. Additionally, agencies would be required to present their grant-seeking activities and federal funding reports during legislative hearings or budget performance reviews.  "We know the Trump administration has promised and is already delivering on sending more federal dollars down to the states where we can best determine how to use those funds to best benefit Oklahomans. This legislation ensures federal funds being redirected to the state have full legislative review and control to ensure state agencies are aligning expenditures with legislative intent," said House Speaker Kyle Hilbert, R-Bristow. "We are excited about the opportunities flexibility with these federal funds will bring to our state and this legislation will maintain accountability at the state level for those funds." Having passed the House 78-18, the SAFE Act now moves to the Senate for consideration, where it is authored by Sen. Avery Frix, R-Muskogee.



Mar 4, 2025
Recent Posts

Utility Rate Payer Protection Bill Passes House

OKLAHOMA CITY – A bill seeking to protect utility customers from paying higher rates because of 2021's Winter Storm Uri unanimously passed in the Oklahoma House of Representatives on Tuesday. Rep. Kevin West, R-Moore, authored House Bill 1220 , which 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. 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. "This would be yet another cost that would be passed on to the rate payers," West said. "Having been in the Legislature when securitization was passed, it is my 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." 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 rate payers 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 rate payers. "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, and I'm hopeful it will proceed quickly through the Senate and be signed into law." The bill passed the House with an emergency clause meaning it would take effect after final passage and approval by the governor.