Oklahoma Sen. Aaron Reinhardt compares being a legislator to overseeing a conglomerate.

“What you realize when you get there is we operate like a business,” he said. “There are some frustrating parts of that, and there are probably some benefits of that.

“You’re up there working with about a 13 and a half billion-dollar budget. That’s like a large company that you’re running. That’s thousands of employees, dozens of agencies...It’s a really fine line of where do we invest, what are our infrastructure needs…It’s very unique. It’s been a learning experience, but it’s been fun.”

Reinhardt’s observations were part of the Tulsa Regional Chamber’s third and final Legislative Briefing of the year. The event was presented by Paycom and held Friday before more than 170 people at the DoubleTree by Hilton Hotel Tulsa Downtown.

Reinhardt participated in a four-person panel discussion moderated by Chamber Chair Bill Knight and that featured fellow first-year legislators Sen. Christi Gillespie, Rep. Mike Lay and Rep. Michelle McCane.

The dialogue centered on themes that included approaches to lawmaking, bipartisanship and workforce development.

Lay founded Layco Electric Innovations and turned it into a successful electronics manufacturing company.

“I have a very people-first philosophy.,” he said. “People are the greatest asset of our nation of our state, of our nation. It was always my vision in my business that I should be a consummate learner and listener, that there are a lot of good ideas out there.”

Lay said one of his passions is workforce development, adding that only about three in 10 Oklahomans obtain a college degree.

“Seventy-percent of our young people are looking for a direction,” he said. “I really feel like Career Tech and Tulsa Tech…that’s the avenue that we have to bring that workforce into existence.”

McCane said that digital opportunities linking students with learners and employers should be expanded, adding that the notion that children should be seen and not heard is “a little bit ridiculous.

“They are autonomous human beings,” she said. “They have perspective and viewpoints. They are not just a piece of furniture moving around. That’s part of that digital conversation, as well.

“How do we allow you to do this safely and make sure that you’re getting something from this, and how do we utlize this to connect with you?”

Legislators also responded to a question about how they navigate the information contained in thousands of bills they see each year.

 “I’ll actually go on AI and say I would like three pros and counterpoints to a bill, so then I can dive in a little deeper on an abbreviated basis.,” Lay said.

The legislators also talked about the takeaways from their year as a lawmaker.

“I’ve been a salesperson my entire adult life; it’s the same,” she said. “We’re all selling something.

“Relationships matter. But someone can vote ‘no’ against my bill, and I can still turn around and work with them on something else. We have to remember that. We can’t get ticked off at people. We can’t take it personally, because it’s not personal.”

The program closed with two-minute updates from the nine other legislators in the audience.