OKLAHOMA CITY – Sen. Kay Floyd, D-Oklahoma City, has filed a measure to require signage for projects completed through funding provided by the American Rescue Plan Act and the Infrastructure Invest and Jobs Act, similar to the signs created for Work Projects Administration (WPA) projects in the 1930s and 1940s. Floyd serves on the Joint Committee on Pandemic Relief Funding on the Government Transformation and Collaboration and the Transportation, Infrastructure and Rural Development working groups.

The WPA was a program born of the Great Depression aimed at providing employment and job skills for Americans who then completed projects providing long-term benefits to local communities throughout the country. The WPA was responsible for the construction of hundreds of projects throughout Oklahoma, including school buildings, National Guard armories, drainage projects, dams, reservoirs, municipal buildings and more.

“I have a very vivid memory of walking down a sidewalk with my grandparents and seeing a marker with the image of an eagle on it and asking what it was about, and they explained the history of the WPA.  It always stuck with me,” Floyd said.“The Great Depression changed the entire world, but some very great things came from the WPA.  The COVID-19 pandemic has also changed our world, but like the WPA, the programs created to help us move beyond this will have tremendous benefits for years to come. I think it is important to preserve this part of our shared history for future generations, just like this nation did with the WPA.”

Senate Bill 1822 would direct the Oklahoma Tourism and Recreation to oversee the design and placement of signage for each project either fully or partially funded by the American Rescue Plan Act or the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act. 

If approved and signed into law, S.B. 1822 would take effect on Nov. 1, 2022.

The 2022 regular session of the Oklahoma State Legislature begins on Monday, February 7.