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The deal was released Wednesday.
During a late-afternoon press conference featuring the Governor, the House Speaker, and the Senate Pro Tempore – along with all the other lawmakers and staff who participated – stood in the Blue Room and talked about money.
Roughly $12.8 billion worth of money.
It wasn’t an announcement that was expected this early.
In fact, the executive powers tried, but only briefly, to convince those of us in the Blue Room that it was an April Fool’s Day joke.
It wasn’t. But it was early. Normally, here in the Sooner State, the state budget announcement comes sometime in May. Up until that point, there’s been a lot of back-and-forth between the House and the Senate and then even more arguments between the House, Senate, and the Governor’s office.
And often, those people voting on the budget bills (there’s always more than one because spending is broken down by area of government) don’t see legislation until late May. At that point, there’s little time to examine, review or discuss.
For the public – well, too bad. We just don’t know.
This year, the process was different. Why?
More than likely, it’s because of the 2026 election. Every person who holds an elected seat at the Capitol, and who wants to keep it or move to another elected seat, needs time to get out among the public and talk about all the great things they have done or plan to do.
Candidates spend time running for reelection or seeking a different seat. Election campaigns often clash with the legislative process. Lawmakers also spend a lot of time debating how to allocate $12.8 billion.
While I do respect the fact that lawmakers reined in their spending, I am concerned about the funding levels for some areas of state government. This is on top of the never-ending debate by some members of the GOP’s far-right section – the ones calling for the elimination of property taxes and other taxes that fund everything from our public schools to our county health departments.
Oklahoma is facing much bigger issues today than fights over property taxes – yet that debate seems to be neverending. It’s time to step past the debate, invest our funds in the proper areas of state government, and provide oversight for that investment.
It’s one thing to be a member of state government and demonize it – at least long enough so you can run for another office. It’s another thing to try to solve the problems facing this state.
Maybe this year, things will be different.
After all, the budget deal was released last Wednesday afternoon, and the first election isn’t until June.
M. Scott Carter is an award-winning political and investigative reporter with more than 45 years’ experience covering federal and state government and politics in Oklahoma. He can be reached at scott.carter@swoknews.com.