OKLAHOMA CITY — The 149 members of the Oklahoma Legislature returned to the state Capitol this week for the First Session of the 59th Oklahoma Legislature.
The session officially began early Monday afternoon, when the House and Senate met in joint session to hear Gov. Kevin Stitt’s state of the state speech.
The Legislature’s primary goal – indeed, the same for every session – is to craft a budget that funds core state services. Stitt, as every previous governor has, will release his proposed budget this week.
And though some of Stitt’s proposals may be included in the final budget, most of the heavy lifting on developing a spending plan is done by the House and Senate. This year lawmakers are expected to have about $13 billion to allocate, a $2.8 billion increase from last year.
Oklahoma also has more than $.14 billion in its constitutional reserve — the rainy-day — fund.
This year, expect Senate Pro Tempore Greg Treat, R-Oklahoma City, to suggest ideas on how the state’s rainy-day fund can be used to offset tax cuts.
In the House of Representatives, the Republican supermajority is expected to make another attempt to reduce the sales tax on groceries. In 2022, the House passed several measures to cut the sales tax on groceries, which currently stands at 8.77%.
That tax, which is part municipal tax and part state tax, has been under fire for several sessions. Municipal leaders fear a complete elimination of the tax would dramatically reduce funding to the state’s cities and towns.
Others have called for legislation which would only reduce the state’s portion of the tax, now at 4.5 %. Stitt has previously called on the legislature to reduce the grocery sales tax.
Along with the budget, education policy will be a central issue of the new session.
Both Stitt and State Schools Superintendent Ryan Walters are expected to renew their call for a school voucher program. Last year, voucher legislation passed the Senate but died in the Oklahoma House of Representatives.
Lawmakers will also have the chance to review Sen. Adam Pugh’s $541 million education plan. Pugh, R-Edmond, said his plan includes reform proposals and millions to fund a pay increase for public school teachers.
Midway through the session, on March 7, voters will return to the polls to decide the fate of State Question 820, which would legalize the recreational use of marijuana. Supporters of the plan released a study which said the state would generate $821 million in taxes from the combined sales of medical and recreational marijuana.
The study predicted $434 million would be generated in new revenue from a 15% excise tax on the sale of recreational marijuana. Should the law pass, the study predicted $159 million in new revenue for 2024 from the recreational use of marijuana.
Opponents of the proposal have partnered with former Gov. Frank Keating, a Republican, to oppose the state question. In a media statement announcing that Keating would lead the opposition to the state question, Keating said he opposed the measure because he wanted to protect children.
“Hidden inside this question is a clause that expressly lowers the legal threshold for child endangerment,” Keating’s statement said. “It includes a prohibition on our court system from considering marijuana usage in child custody and visitation cases. These are just a few of the problems.”
Marijuana policy has continued to vex state lawmakers. Leaders in both the House of Representatives and the Senate have expressed alarm over the high-level foreign ownership of marijuana grow operations in the state.
In 2021, lawmakers passed legislation that limited the number of commercial medical marijuana licenses in Oklahoma through this year. The bill’s author, state Rep. Josh West, R-Grove, said at the time he hoped the proposal would slow down a growing criminal element in the state.
“We do have a thriving medical marijuana industry in the state of Oklahoma. At the same time, we’ve got a thriving black market industry in the state of Oklahoma, too,” West said during debate about the bill.
Other social issues are also expected to take up a great deal of the session.
Republican legislators filed several bills limiting or prohibiting transgender medical care. Other issues, such as access to school library materials, abortion and sex education classes, are expected to generate attention and debate.
Though Oklahoma has adopted some of the nation’s strictest anti-abortion laws in the country, Stitt has said he would be open to considering some exemptions to that law.
Other legislation such as e-sports betting, tribal compacts and measures that reduce the governor’s authority over some state agencies have also been filed.
The Legislature will have until the end of May to address the 3,000-plus bills and develop a budget for fiscal year 2024.