OKLAHOMA CITY (KFOR) – Lawmakers voted to move forward with a bill that could ease the childcare crisis in Oklahoma. It would give companies a tax credit for helping workers with solutions to childcare. House Bill 1848 easily passed through the House on March 12 and will now head to the Senate side for consideration, but, it will face some challenges. The bill, co-authored by Rep. Suzanne Schreiber (D-Tulsa) of the House and Sen. Kristen Thompson (R-Edmond) of the Senate, would give employers a tax credit that they can use in three ways; provide child care onsite, give money to workers to cover part of the cost, or work with a licensed daycare center to reserve spots for the company’s employees. Governor Stitt calls to extend the cap on Parental Choice Tax Credit Oklahoma-based company, Simple Modern, is on board with the program. "We don't pretend to think that this stipend covers everything, but we think that it helps, and we want it to help,” said Jon Kuhlman, Chief Culture Officer for Simple Modern. “That's the main goal behind why we do it." Simple Modern employs 110 people. "Child care is just so expensive that we just felt like it was something we really wanted to do to show our support for families who are balancing the desire to be healthy parents, a good parent, a supportive parent, but also who have career ambitions," said Kuhlman. Rep. Schreiber tried to pass a similar law last session.   "We need to take it seriously," said Schreiber in September while the bill was running through the legislature. But it failed in the final stretch. If House Bill 1848 becomes law, it would give tax credits of $30,000 per worker, spread over five years, to help cover the cost of child care. There would be a cap of $5 million per year. Those lawmakers questioning the bill said the focus should be on trimming the state’s budget which was one of Governor Kevin Stitt’s priorities this session. Schreiber said it would be money well spent because it would strengthen Oklahoma’s workforce while tackling a major crisis. "We're addressing an economic issue,” said Schreiber. “We need a workforce. There's many families that have a single parent that may need to go to work that don't have a choice." ...read more read less