OKLAHOMA CITY – Republican Governor Kevin Still called for a massive investment in transportation infrastructure, six-figure salaries for public school teachers, the elimination of a sales tax on groceries and major changes to the regulation of medical marijuana during his state of the state speech Monday.
Stitt also doubled down on his criticism of the U.S. Supreme Court’s McGirt ruling, saying the high court’s ruling jeopardizes justice.
Stitt’s speech, delivered in front of a joint session of the Oklahoma Legislature, included heavy criticism of the Biden administration and hinted at changes to the state’s initiative petition process.
The governor said the initiative petition that authorized the use of medical marijuana was responsible for many of the issues and problems with the industry in Oklahoma. Stitt also hinted at possible changes to the initiative petition process. He said Oklahoma charges just $2500 for a commercial license, while other states’ licenses cost many times that. “As a result, we have seven times the growers than California with just 10 percent of the people. Next door in Arkansas, they have eight growers. We have 8,300,” he said.
Stitt said the huge number of operations growing medical marijuana was “a perfect example” of why officials need to make sure initiative petitions represent Oklahomans and not out-of-state special interest groups.
“Oklahomans deserve to know the details before voting to change our constitution,” he said. “While we can’t change the past, we can learn from it and improve our future.”
Stitt also used his speech – which was about 45 minutes long – to call for a statewide joint training center for public safety officials, saying that Oklahoma “desperately needs a consolidated, unified command structure within a single department.”
“Forty-three other states have this. Oklahoma should be no different,” he said. “A unified command will create the career growth opportunities that today’s recruits expect.”
Public safety issues were a big part of the governor’s speech.
Echoing his earlier statements, Stitt continued to criticize the McGirt decision. He said his administration had won “two major victories” against McGirt, including a decision that said the ruling was not retroactive.
He said the high court had also agreed to hear another case that, should the state win, would allow officials to “go back to enforcing law and order and protecting more crime victims in eastern Oklahoma,” he said. “That’s the way we’ve done it since 1907. The new rules put the federal government in charge, and it isn’t working.”
The governor said his pushback against the McGirt ruling wasn’t about winning and losing. “This isn’t personal. It’s not Kevin Stitt versus the tribes,” he said. “Instead, it’s about certainty. It’s about law and order. It’s about fairness, equal protection under the law, and one set of rules. We’re all Oklahomans. Let’s work together to solve this.”
Stitt also used his speech to praise members of the Legislature and to tout Republicans’ supermajority in both houses.
“We start this year with an incredible opportunity. Oklahomans have elected the largest supermajority in state history,” he said. “We have a very clear mandate to enact strong conservative policies that protect liberty and defend against the Biden administration’s federal overreach. I challenge each of us to be bold. Let’s capitalize on the opportunity we have and make Oklahoma a Top Ten state.”
State lawmakers will begin examining more than 4,300 pieces of legislation this week.