Capitol Wrap

For those who do not keep up with the day-to-day activities at Northwest 23rd Street and Lincoln Boulevard in Oklahoma City, state lawmakers convene from the first Monday in February until they conclude business, which must be by the final Friday in May.

Gov. Kevin Stitt has a deadline of Friday, May 29, to act on bills passed in the session’s final week. A total of 6,008 bills were introduced during the two-year 60th Oklahoma Legislature. Just over 500 bills passed in 2026.

When legislators reached a budget agreement on April 1 this year, some thought it might be a joke. This is the earliest budget deal in memory. The governor and Republican legislative leaders agreed on a Fiscal Year ’27 (FY27) budget totaling $12.8 billion, an increase of 1.52% or nearly $200 million. FY 27 begins July 1 and runs through June 30, 2027.

This $12.8 billion is a fraction of total spending, much of which comes from federal matching dollars and “off the top” funding that lawmakers cannot touch. There were no across-the-board cuts, something many advocates feared as the session began.

The top issues this year dealt with education and how to improve reading literacy, as lawmakers hoped to emulate successes seen in other states. The state Department of Education budget was boosted by $208.7 million, including almost $80 million for reading and math programs.

The budget also included a $2,000 across-the-board teacher pay raise, costing $85 million, along with $27.3 million to pay for increased health insurance costs for teachers. More than $3 million will go to expand Dolly Parton Imagination Libraries and to implement the Just Right Readers phonics education program.

Support personnel did not get a pay raise; school districts must find the money locally if they choose to give raises to all employees. Also, there is no additional funding budgeted to add days to the public school calendar for those schools operating under the four-day plan. Another $25 million was added to the Parental Choice Tax Credit on top of the $250 million already set aside to pay private school tuition for some.

For childcare teacher recruitment and retention, an issue which is at crisis level in our state for working families, $4.56 million was allocated. This leaves a large gap for anticipated need.

Many private childcare facilities are closing due to the loss of federal subsidies and unsubsidized coverage being too costly. Children’s success is often determined before formal education begins; the quality of the childcare often is a determining factor in a child’s later accomplishments.

A $5 million expenditure will allow foster children to receive state benefits until the age of 21, rather than 18. About 6,000 Oklahoma youth are in foster care, not including family/kinship placements, which is likely close to the same number. Youth in foster care—due to the trauma they have endured—are far more likely to be homeless, suicidal or incarcerated than the general population of their age bracket. Hopefully, this program will succeed and help those youth see greater opportunities as they age out of the system.

The new state budget allocates $15 million to the Department of Commerce for the 2028 Olympics, as Oklahoma City will host softball, canoe slalom and kayak events—making it the only city outside California to be an Olympic city in 2028.

There are many significant investments included in the budget which might not be as glamorous as others, but which are certainly vital. Among those are $3.7 million to the Oklahoma Conservation Commission for “critical dam repairs” across the state; this will save lives. Many smaller dams were built with 50-year life spans, and most are about 20 years past that timeline.

An act we at the Oklahoma Institute for Child Advocacy supported is the outlawing of child marriage, the union of couples with at least one being under the age of 18. The hotly debated bill, which passed the House of Representatives with the bare minimum of votes necessary, takes effect Nov. 1, making Oklahoma the 17th state to end child marriage.

Many bills fell by the wayside, with the House of Representatives and the Senate squabbling as Senate recessed over the final week of business and only came back on the final day to finish a few agreed-upon bills before sine die adjournment. Pronounced “sie-knee die,” it is Latin for without date, signifying the official close of duties for the year.

One such issue lawmakers failed to consider on the final day was an attempt to override Governor Stitt’s veto of legislation continuing the Oklahoma Educational Television Authority (OETA). If reauthorization does not pass in 2027, public broadcasting in Oklahoma likely will end.

Plans to send back to voters a restructuring of the Tobacco Settlement Endowment Trust (TSET) and a rollback of Medicaid expansion, both of which were initially approved by voters, sputtered at the end of session.

Voters will pass judgment on several issues this year: a minimum wage increase in the June primary election (submitted by the people through petition); a manufacturing tax exemption reimbursement plan and a revamped voter ID law for the primary runoff in August; and changes to the Judicial Nominating Commission and a reduction of the annual growth limit on property taxes in November’s general election.

Of course, there will also be hotly contested elections for lawmakers and executive officials. It is important to share your thoughts with your own lawmakers, and to find out where candidates stand on issues important to you. Now is the time to ask questions and no Oklahoman should be afraid to engage their officials.

“We, the people” are the bosses, and politicians should represent the views of their constituents (those who live within the boundaries of their districts). If your representatives and senators do not reflect yours, then you should make your voice heard at the ballot box. Taking the time to engage and vote is the way to see better results and a brighter future for our state.