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Gov. Stitt's seventh State of the State address starts Oklahoma's legislative session

Oklahoma Gov. Kevin Stitt greets the legislature at the 2024 State of the State address.
Kriea Arie
/
Legislative Service Bureau
Oklahoma Gov. Kevin Stitt greets the legislature at the 2024 State of the State address.

Lawmakers have assembled at the state capitol today for the start of Oklahoma's 60th legislative session. Here’s a bit of what to expect this lawmaking season.

Gov. Kevin Stitt will initiate the lawmaking season with his seventh annual State of the State speech, where he will make plain his policy wish list to a joint legislature and the public.

Stitt is likely to mention cutting state income taxes, keeping state agency budgets flat, and increasing the diversity of state energy resources.

This will all be in the context of a second Trump administration. The governor explained his agenda to reporters during a press conference last week.

“Government will spend every dime that you give them,” Stitt said. “There's never a shortage of good ideas. People come to you every year, and they want more. And if you give them more taxpayer money, look how much more good they think they can do. But there has to be a limit on it.”

He compared the economies of New York and Florida to illustrate his position.

“There are about 20 million people in each,” he said. “And then you look at their state budgets. New York has a budget of over $230 billion. Florida's budget is $115 billion. Why is that?”

If you ask him, it’s because Florida has no income tax, while New York’s highest rate is 10.9%.

"In Florida, they still have their Medicaid. They still have schools. They still have airports. They still have police," Stitt said, explaining that cutting essential services is not the goal, it’s reducing the size of government.

But if the governor wants to advance his agenda, buy-in from both chambers of the legislature is essential.

Lawmakers have their own priorities, some aligning with Stitt's, some not.

Besides, House Speaker Kyle Hilbert, R–Bristow, made it clear that the legislature, which collectively files bills costing the state billions — or otherwise shifts around existing pools of money — gets the final word on the budget. And more than 3,100 bills and resolutions were filed this session.

“The executive branch, their budget request, I know we're north of a billion dollar increase in total appropriations,” Hilbert said. “We'll vet that billion-plus dollar increase proposal and weigh it against the agencies, but it's up to the legislative branch to determine what the appropriations ultimately will be.”

Also looming are measures funding infrastructure for state-level immigration enforcement, better mental health care, teacher recruitment, expansions of environmental protections and more.

KGOU will carry live special coverage of the governor’s State of the State speech today at 12:30 pm. For a full roundup of legislative priorities during this session, visit the 2025 legislative preview here.

Lionel Ramos covers state government for a consortium of Oklahoma’s public radio stations. He is a graduate of Texas State University in San Marcos with a degree in English. He has covered race and equity, unemployment, housing, and veterans' issues.
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