Representative Melissa Provenzano

D

District 79

Hi, I’m Melissa Provenzano and I represent the people of Oklahoma’s 79th District.


representative

Leadership

Assistant Minority Leader

59th Legislature

Assistant Minority Leader

60th Legislature

News & Announcements

Feb 14, 2025

Provenzano Honored as 2025 Woman of Inspiration at Susan G. Komen Pink Stiletto Gala

OKLAHOMA CITY – Rep. Melissa Provenzano, D-Tulsa, was honored as the 2025 Woman of Inspiration at the Susan G. Komen Pink Stiletto Gala on Saturday for her work promoting breast cancer awareness and her legislation helping breast cancer patients. In her acceptance speech, Provenzano said: “Two years ago when we passed legislation requiring insurance companies to fully cover diagnostic ?mammograms with no cost-sharing, it was because a woman in this room tonight reached out to me to tell me about her ?financial barriers to care for those diagnosed with breast cancer.?  “In that time, a lot has happened. I've had women come up and thank me for the law, because ?otherwise they would have had to go without necessities in order to pay for that test.? Others continue to struggle because of lack of information or lack of coverage for the right kind of equipment.”  Two years ago, Oklahoma became the 10th state in the nation to require coverage for diagnostic mammograms with no out of pocket expense. Today, it is now law in 27 states with eight more introducing legislation this year. “1 in 8 women are diagnosed with breast cancer in the United States. This hit home this past December when I was diagnosed. I’m lucky–we caught it very early and treatment has been very successful thus far, largely because of my mother and her diligence in asking ‘have you scheduled your mammogram?’ It's been a journey, but I'm just getting started. I will continue my advocacy at the state capitol and ?here at home in Tulsa. I hope you will join me. “This year, we're working to update that law to capture more types of diagnostic supplemental tests, increasing access. This means the ?decision on how to proceed is left in the hands of the patient and their doctor.” Last week, Provenzano passed HB 1389 out of the House Public Health Committee. The bill updates existing diagnostic mammography laws to ensure supplemental breast cancer services are covered under health benefit plans.? It now heads to the House Health and Human Services Oversight Committee. -END-

Feb 5, 2025

House Democrats lay out policy agenda for 2025

OKLAHOMA CITY – Today, Oklahoma House Democrats laid out their legislative priorities for the 60th Oklahoma Legislature during a press conference. “House Democrats remain focused on working Oklahomans and providing solutions to the real problems they face every day,” Leader Cyndi Munson, D-Oklahoma City said. “We will work to lower the cost of living between paychecks, ensure every child receives a free, quality public education, and increase access to affordable healthcare because we know we all have the best chance of success when we are healthy. Oklahomans deserve leaders focused on making that possible.” Specific bills that were highlighted: HB 2228; HB 1847; HB 1396; HB 1112; HB 2092; and HB 1709 HB 2228, Leader Munson:  Modernizes and expands the Sales Tax Relief Credit and will increase the refund amount to $200 for those earning up to $75K, depending on age, disability, and number of dependents. HB 1847, Rep. Suzanne Schreiber, D-Tulsa:  Eliminates unnecessary and costly regulation mandating fire sprinkler systems for family home childcares.  HB 1396, Rep. Melissa Provenzano, D-Tulsa:  Makes it unlawful to raise private school tuition as a result of the school opting to accept the Parent Choice Tax Credit. Makes it unlawful to require that a parent apply for the voucher tax credit as a condition of school acceptance. HB 1112, Rep. Ellen Pogemiller, D-Oklahoma City:  Increases public school teacher pay by $5K and increases school support staff pay by 6%. HB 2092, Rep. Annie Menz, D-Norman:  Expands the free school lunch program. HB 1709, Rep. Forrest Bennett, D-Oklahoma City:  Makes sure medical debt accrued because of receiving life saving care does not get reported to credit agencies. This is not an exhaustive list of bills filed by House Democratic Members for the 60th Oklahoma Legislature. -END-

Oct 29, 2024
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Blancett, Provenzano, comment on LOFT report of OSDE spending, communication failures

OKLAHOMA CITY – House Democrats and members of the Legislative Office of Fiscal Transparency Committee Rep. Meloyde Blancett, D-Tulsa, and Rep. Melissa Provenzano, D-Tulsa, released the following statements after the Legislative Office of Fiscal Transparency (LOFT) presented their findings in an investigation into disbursements made by the Oklahoma State Department of Education.  The report by LOFT found major concerns with delays in service and disbursement of funding as well as poor communication by OSDE in their role of supporting Oklahoma public school districts. “The continued lack of accountability from the Oklahoma State Department of Education further emphasizes the State Superintendent’s willful negligence. This puts our school districts and our kids squarely in second place to his own self interest,” Provenzano said. “We have a state agency head unwilling to commit to improving service to schools. We have a state agency head unwilling to share how he plans to spend unused payroll dollars. The repeated calls by the public to ‘Do something about Supt. Ryan Walters,’ continue to go unanswered.” Rep. Blancett says effective management of a multi-million-dollar state agency needs to be established. “The State Superintendent says the Oklahoma State Department of Education’s objective is to ‘shrink government,’ but the objective should be establishing OSDE’s ability to effectively manage a multi-million-dollar state agency for a functional education system,” Blancett said. “I come from a business background, and if you had a CEO whose chief staff could not communicate effectively either internally or externally with primary stakeholders, they would be fired. My question is if OSDE is unable to effectively create a functional working relationship with school districts and the legislature, how can we possibly expect success to happen in schools for our kids? We need leadership at OSDE who have the capability and humility to take a step back and be willing to partner with the legislature to improve this system. If there is an inability for OSDE to acknowledge they can do better, that is a serious issue.” -END-