Despite a rushed budget process that bled into the final days of the regular legislative session, Oklahoma lawmakers in both chambers managed to finish their work and adjourn “sine die,” Thursday evening.
Sine die translates to “without day,” in Latin. In legalese, it means indefinitely.
House Speaker Charles McCall said he would’ve liked to have seen an income tax cut pass into law this year, but acknowledged some highlights for the House.
“A lot of things have been accomplished this session. Law enforcement pay raises — glad that those got across,” McCall said. “Yesterday I saw the women's Bill of Rights legislation that completed its journey and is on the governor's desk. Grocery tax was the largest accomplishment of this session from a tax standpoint.”
Senate Pro Tem Greg Treat also said he was pleased with the legislature's work this year.
“We've had a really successful session,” Treat said. “We set some goals at the beginning of the session, and we have hit all of those markers of success.”He pointed to the Senate’s accomplishments.“We delivered the largest tax cut in state history through the grocery tax, provided a transparent budget process, kept a billion dollars in cash free and clear from all the other savings accounts and passed the Mason Treat Act."
McCall and Treat will be termed out after this session, meaning they will have served for 12 years and will no longer be able to represent their districts. Rep. Kyle Hilbert of Bristow and Sen. Greg McCorntney of Ada are expected to replace them.
So, while Treat and McCall look forward to time living largely private lives, some of their fellow lawmakers are shifting focus from legislating to running for reelection.
The next elections in Oklahoma are the June 18 primaries.
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