Dossett bill brings 211 hotline one step closer to securing state funding

OKLAHOMA CITY – Sen. Jo Anna Dossett, D-Tulsa, won 24-0 passage in the full Appropriations Committee for Senate Bill 1290, creating the 211 Hotline Revolving Fund, taking the first step toward restoring critical funding to 211 Oklahoma, a hotline available to Oklahomans in need of assistance with bills, rent, food, transportation, healthcare, and more.

“The state cut all funding from 211 about a decade ago during a horrible budget year,” Dossett said. “Since then, the philanthropic and non-profit communities in Tulsa and Oklahoma City have been carrying the entire burden of funding, overseeing, and operating the hotline, which serves Oklahomans in all 77 counties.”

211 Eastern Oklahoma, located at Tulsa Area United Way, and 211 HeartLine, located at HeartLine, Inc. in Oklahoma City, partner together to administer 211 Oklahoma. The hotline is funded entirely through philanthropic donations, with oversight coming from the two non-profit boards, and operations occurring at each of the two locations. SB 1290 is a bold effort to inject state funding back into the hotline, and a companion bill currently making its way through the House will revamp the hotline’s state-sponsored advisory council, which ceased to function when state funding was revoked during the difficult budget years of the late 2010s.

“Restoring state funding and state oversight to 211 will both expand its reach to more Oklahomans and ensure that all 211 funding, both public and private, is deployed in the most efficient manner and proportionally to the areas of most need,” Dossett said.

The bill must be heard on the Senate floor by March 26, and Dossett will continue to push throughout the legislative session for an appropriate allocation into the fund.

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For more information, contact:  Sen. Jo Anna Dossett at (405) 521-5624 or JoAnna.Dossett@oksenate.gov