Governor Kevin Stitt wants legislators to convene a special session to cut the state's income tax rate before the regular legislative session begins on February 5.
TRANSCRIPT
Dick Pryor: This is Capitol Insider - taking you inside politics, policy and government in Oklahoma. I'm Dick Pryor with Quorum Call publisher Shawn Ashley. Shawn, Governor Kevin Stitt has officially called for a special session to begin on January 29th for the purpose of reducing the individual income tax rate. Now, that is one week before the start of the regular session on February 5th. So why is he choosing to do that? And what is the reaction from legislative leaders?
Shawn Ashley: Governor Stitt said in December he would like to see lawmakers take up his tax cut proposal before the regular session begins so it doesn't get lost among the other policy discussions. And he reiterated that when he called the special session. That’s sort of what happened in 2023 when talk about the private school and homeschool tax credits overshadowed everything else. House Speaker Charles McCall, who has filed a series of tax cut bills to be considered in the regular session, and Senate President Pro Tem Greg Treat said their chambers would fulfill their constitutional duties and respond to the call. But Treat said he believes calling the legislature into special session the week before the regular session begins is a waste of taxpayer money. He noted the Board of Equalization has yet to approve the final budget numbers for fiscal year 2025, so the legislature does not know how much it will have to spend and how much it could put towards a tax cut. That was a concern, too, for Senate Democratic leader Kay Floyd and House Democratic leader Cyndi Munson, who said more time was needed to talk about state revenues and the budget needs of state agencies. Munson went on to call Stitt’s special session call a political stunt.
Dick Pryor: We've been following these things for some time and in recent Oklahoma history, just about every time the state generates more tax dollars that can be used to prop up emergency accounts like the Rainy Day Fund and pay to improve government services, there is a move to cut taxes. Now, there are definite needs in Oklahoma that require more state appropriations that come from tax revenue. So why do state leaders continually push for less?
Shawn Ashley: Well, Governor Stitt says he believes in smaller government and lower taxes. But I think the problem is no one has ever determined the optimum size and budget for Oklahoma state government. What's too big and what's too small? In recent years, the legislature has increased the state budget, including additional funding for common education and a teacher pay raise just last year. And this year, other state agencies are requesting more than $1 billion in additional funding for the coming fiscal year. And we even saw during the House Appropriations and Budget Committee hearing on Wednesday that lawmakers from both sides of the aisle were concerned because the Department of Human Services was asking for a flat budget, while pointing out the many challenges and all the work it has to do in the coming fiscal year.
Dick Pryor: Is the governor's call for a special session starting January 29th going to go unheeded?
Shawn Ashley: I think we'll get a real clear idea that day. It takes a minimum of five days for a bill to pass both chambers and be sent to the governor. If one chamber does not take up and pass a bill that day, that means the legislature cannot send a bill to the governor's desk before the regular session begins the following Monday.
Dick Pryor: Thursday was the bill filing deadline for the regular session. This is just the start of a long legislative process. What does the bill filing deadline actually mean?
Shawn Ashley: Well, you're right, the bill filing deadline is the starting point for all the discussions and debates that will take place during the legislative session. Lawmakers put their ideas out there, and other legislators and members of the public have a chance to see what they want to do and what kind of state they want Oklahoma to be. More than 2,000 new bills and joint resolutions were filed. So that's a lot to talk about.
Dick Pryor: The next big date on the Capitol calendar is February 5th, when the House and Senate convene to hear the governor's State of the State address.
Shawn Ashley: And KGOU will cover it live beginning at 12:30 that day. We'll talk about what we know before the governor speaks and what we've learned afterwards.
Dick Pryor: We sure will. Thank you, Shawn.
Shawn Ashley: You're very welcome.
Dick Pryor: And that's Capitol Insider. For more information, go to quorumcall.online. You can find audio and transcripts at kgou.org. And look for Capitol Insider where you get podcasts. Until next time, with Shawn Ashley, I'm Dick Pryor.
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