Oklahoma House Releases Budget Plan
The Oklahoma House of Representatives updated its online budget transparency portal on Friday.
It shows a proposed $107 million decrease compared to last year.
The House is looking to spend a total of $12.4 billion in Fiscal Year 2026. It’s about $100 million less than what the legislature appropriated last year.
Mostly, the House pulled some one-time investments made last year for improvements and maintenance at various agencies.
The money is dished out to state agencies based on their requests and needs, and lawmakers’ legislative priorities.
And even with $4 billion in total savings, which isn’t accounted for in the appropriation total, the House’s ideal budget outlook is about $1 billion under what state agencies asked for this year.
House Speaker Kyle Hilbert from Bristow said last week that his chamber is working with the Senate for ways to spend the extra cash on capital improvement projects that will “be good for the state.” Details are pending.
The Senate has yet to release its own budget proposal, though it had by this time last year.
State House Lawmakers Pass Bills Targeting Renewables, Eminent Domain
The Oklahoma House of Representatives considered several bills related to energy last week.
Proposed legislation includes restrictions to the siting of renewable energy projects, prohibiting certain energy facilities from using eminent domain and imposing new setback rules.
Rep. Trey Caldwell, R-Faxon, authored several of the bills. House Bill 2747 would expand the pool of entities able to bid on transmission projects in the state. During the floor session, Caldwell said the legislation would “lower the bar” for companies to become involved in building out the projects and boost natural gas generation.
OPMX previously reported on a Caldwell bill that would impose setback requirements for wind turbines and other renewable projects. House Bill 2751, passed on Wednesday, applies to structures like homes, schools and military facilities.
Caldwell’s House Bill 2752 would prohibit renewable energy companies from using eminent domain in Oklahoma. Natural gas projects would still be allowed to exercise eminent domain with the state’s established laws on the procedure. House Bill 2756 would require companies building transmission lines greater than 300 kilovolts to obtain permission from the Oklahoma Corporation Commission before building.
House Bill 2156, authored by Rep. Mike Dobrinski, R-Okeene, also imposes setback requirements. New solar facilities and associated battery storage structures would have to be at least 500 feet from homes or other occupied buildings. They would also be required to be at a distance of at least 100 feet from the center lines of public roads and half a mile from any public school or hospital.
“We have inexhaustible wind and more sunshine in our state than many, many of our surrounding states,” Dobrinski said. “It makes Oklahoma the prime target for these new types of facilities. We need new generation. We need all of the above. We need natural gas. We still have coal.”
“We have hydroelectric, wind and solar and we certainly need to be promoting and developing nuclear for our future.”
The representative also saw his House Bill 2157 pass, which creates the Oklahoma Agrivoltaics Act. Under the Oklahoma Center for the Advancement of Science and Technology, a new fund would find compatibility between renewable energy projects and agricultural land. The practice generally combines solar and farming on the same plot, creating two potential incomes.
Rep. Chris Kannady, R-Oklahoma City, saw his bill pass focused on setting back renewable energy projects like wind turbines from military installations. House Bill 2142 would create the Oklahoma National Guard Wind Energy Policy Act of 2025. It aims to prevent the projects from having “an adverse impact on the mission, training, or operations of any military installation or branch of the military,” the bill reads.
Rep. Brad Boles, R-Marlow, had two bills pass on Wednesday. House Bill 1371 clarifies oil and gas royalty payments and House Bill 1374 allows certain companies and individuals producing their own energy to bypass regulation from public utilities. The proposed legislation only applies to people or companies that don’t plan to sell energy to other entities.
On Thursday, House Bill 2043 from Rep. Nick Archer, R-Elk City, passed the House floor. The proposed legislation updates the Energy Discrimination Act by removing political subdivisions but only applies to state agencies.
Two Men Charged For Sewage Dump Into Oklahoma Creek
Two former employees at the Bethany and Warr Acres’ waste-water treatment plant are facing criminal charges.
The pair are accused of dumping raw sewage into Bluff Creek two years ago.
After receiving a complaint from a community member in late 2022, the Oklahoma Department of Environmental Quality issued an emergency order to stop the Bluff Creek Wastewater Treatment Plant from spilling waste into its namesake waterway.
Now, Oklahoma County District Attorney Vicki Behenna alleges two men knew about the sewage spill and didn’t stop it: former Bluff Creek plant operator Glen Brentnell and another plant employee, Anthony Menzie.
Menzie has admitted to falsifying reports to make it seem like the plant was spilling less fecal material than they were. He was arrested Friday.
A Department of Environmental Quality spokesperson said the two are no longer employed by the Bethany/ Warr Acres Public Works Authority, and the situation at the wastewater treatment plant has improved.
Round Two Of Oklahoma Opioid Abatement Grant Applications Open In May
The Oklahoma Opioid Abatement Board is preparing to give out a new round of grants to local governments across the state.
Soon, cities, counties and public schools will be able to take a bid at $29 million designated to address the opioid crisis.
The application window for a chunk of the money will be open for a month, starting May 12.
So far, the OAB has awarded $12 million in grants throughout the state.
Most of the money went to the Tulsa area.
Each grant proposal looked different but had to address one of the board’s approved uses.
Money should be going towards treatment and recovery programs, opioid abuse education, naloxone training and distribution and mental health care.
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