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A bill designed to give families working at Oklahoma military bases greater access to childcare has been signed into law by Governor Kevin Stitt.

Republican State Senator Brenda Stanley of Midwest City is the principal author of Senate Bill 1286, which would allow the Department of Defense’s resources to be used for the licensing of child care to serve military bases in the state.

Stanley serves as vice chair of the Senate Veterans and Military Affairs Committee and said last interim, she and committee chair, Sen. Frank Simpson, R-Springer, met with officials at both Tinker Air Force Base and at Fort Sill to find a way to address the tremendous need for additional child care. Stanley said part of the problem was a backlog of up to a year for the child care licensing process through the state.  She said in contrast, the Department of Defense has even more stringent standards and greater resources to help address this issue.

Stanley says they can take advantage of those resources to speed up the process and make sure military and civilian families have access to the child care they need now that this legislation has been signed into law. She says she wants to thank House principal author, Representative Nicole Miller, Senator Simpson, fellow members, and Governor Stitt for helping them better support the child care needs of families serving on Oklahoma military bases.

SB 1286 took effect upon the governor’s signature.