Gov. Kevin Stitt Gives 6th State Of The State Address, Kicks Off Start To Legislative Session
Gov. Kevin Stitt said during his State of the State Address Monday that Oklahoma is in the strongest state it’s ever been.
More than anything, Stitt wants the legislature to focus on continued economic growth.
He touted record state revenue and savings, low unemployment and the bolstering of energy infrastructure as the latest successes leading to Oklahoma’s increasingly business-friendly economy. But he wants more to be done.
"We can't let success make us complacent and forget what made the Oklahoma dream possible, which is free enterprise and individual liberties, not more government programs," Stitt said.
Stitt called for more tax cuts and less government spending. Bills in both chambers propose those cuts, but Senate Pro Tem Greg Treat is steadfast in not voting on any tax bills until lawmakers have a clear view of how much money there is to spend later this month.
House Democratic Caucus' Response To State of the State
Immediately after Gov. Stitt’s State of the State address, House Democrats met with reporters to discuss their legislative priorities and push back against many of his remarks.
Stitt advocated for maintaining a “flat budget” this session. But House Minority Leader Cyndi Munson of Oklahoma City says that would essentially be a cut. Because of inflation, many state agencies need more money to maintain their status quo.
"These folks are not growing government. They are simply doing the very basic, needs of our Oklahoma of Oklahomans," said Munson.
Democrats also stood at odds with Stitt over tribal sovereignty, private school vouchers and income tax cuts. But they did find common ground with the Governor over criminal justice reform…sort of.
"We would love to see fines and fees completely eliminated. But in order to do that, you have to fund the courts. Which kind of contradicts his argument or his plan or his vision to cut income tax," Muson said.
House Democrats say they’d rather cut the state tax on groceries.
Stitt Lays Out Education Priorities In State Of The State
Gov Kevin Stitt says his education priorities this year include more support for Oklahoma charter schools and consolidating colleges and universities.
Stitt praised the Parental Choice Tax Credit passed last year, which offers a private school tuition break in the form of a tax credit for qualifying Oklahoma families. Looking forward, he says he wants to promote more workforce-oriented schools, like Norman’s Aviation Academy, which allows students to work toward pilots’ licenses or technical certificates in aviation maintenance.
"Send me legislation that paves the way for more charter schools and gives students more options," Stitt said.
And though he praised the state’s flagship universities, Stitt also called for State Regents to consolidate some colleges and universities but did not specify which ones.
"To be the best, we need to shift our focus to outcome-based higher education models and stop subsidizing institutions with low enrollment and low graduation rates," Stitt said.
Stitt requested legislation to incentivize fulfilling the state’s workforce needs.
U.S. Senator Lankford Defends Work On Bipartisan Border, Immigration Bill
Oklahoma U.S. Senator James Lankford is responding to pushback from his Republican colleagues about a new bipartisan border and immigration bill he has helped negotiate.
House Republicans are already criticizing the proposed federal legislation.
Lankford says the bill he’s negotiating with Senate Democrats gives Republicans a lot of what they want at the southern border.
It tweaks asylum rules and expedites hearings, provides $650 million to build a wall and puts caps on the number of asylum seekers who can come into the country each week.
He gave his first interview on the subject to Fox News Monday morning.
“Are we, as Republicans, going to have press conferences and complain the border is bad and then intentionally leave it open after the worst month in American history in December?” Lankford said.
“Now we've got to actually determine, are we going to just complain about things or are we going to actually address and change as many things as we can?”
The bill could come up for a vote in the Senate by the end of the week. But, House Speaker Mike Johnson says it is “dead on arrival” in his chamber.
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