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, it's no secret that the Stitt administration and tribal nations have had a strained relationship, but they have worked together at times. The latest example is a new motor vehicle tag compact between the State of Oklahoma and the Cherokee Nation. What will this compact do?
Shawn Ashley: Well, it contains a number of provisions that are the same or similar to the previous compact. But one big change is that the Cherokee Nation will share driver information for the Oklahoma Turnpike Authority's plate pay system, which bills drivers based on their vehicles’ license plates. As part of the compact agreement, the Cherokee Nation will pay a $2 million plate pay fee over a three-year period in all outstanding toll fees assessed through November 30th of this year for Cherokee plates will be waived in exchange. It also creates a new at-large model for residents of the five counties with portions outside the Cherokee Nation. Over the next four years, all at-large vehicles tagged under the previous compact will be exempt from Oklahoma renewal requirements and can continue to register with the Cherokee Nation. After that period, at-large Cherokee citizens will have the option to renew at a state tag office or at a Cherokee Nation tag office.
Dick Pryor: It's taken a while to get the agreement to this point, and the path has not been easy.
Shawn Ashley: No, it hasn't. The current compact was scheduled to expire at the end of 2023 and negotiations were rather “stop and go” with both sides expressing concerns a new agreement might not be reached before the existing one expired. Lawmakers passed the bill in 2023 to allow the Cherokee Nation and other tribes in similar situations to extend their compacts until the end of this year. But Governor Stitt vetoed that legislation. The legislature overrode that veto, which allowed the discussions to continue.
Dick Pryor: The compact agreement is tentative. What's left to do to make it official?
Shawn Ashley: It needs the approval of the Council of the Cherokee Nation and the Legislature's Joint Committee on State-Tribal Relations, which officials indicated are expected before the end of the year.
Dick Pryor: October to October general revenue fund collections were down, and overall, those collections for the first four months of fiscal year 2025 are also lower than fiscal year 2024. What's that being attributed to?
Shawn Ashley: October marked the first full month where collections were impacted by the state grocery tax elimination that the legislature approved in February and which took effect at the end of August, Office of Management and Enterprise Services Director Rick Rose said. Sales tax deposits to the general revenue fund totaled $186.7 million in October, which was $33.2 million or 15.1% below October 2023 and $11.8 million or 6% below the estimate. Total year-to-date collections continued to remain just above the estimate but are trailing collections of one year ago.
Dick Pryor: What does this mean for the budget outlook in the 2025 legislative session?
Shawn Ashley: It's hard to say, but we will get an idea December 20th when the Board of Equalization is scheduled to meet to consider its first revenue estimate for fiscal year 2026. Governor Stitt will use that estimate as the basis for his State of the State address in February, and lawmakers can begin using it in their budget negotiations with state agencies.
Dick Pryor: Over the last four fiscal years, state appropriations have increased. Is the next legislative session shaping up as one where appropriations may be flat or even decrease?
Shawn Ashley: It could be in. At the same time, state agencies have requested an additional $828.8 million in additional funding for fiscal year 2026, a 6.68% increase. The state does have $685 million in cash that the legislature could appropriate however it wants, plus another $2.6 billion in restricted funds that potentially could be used to address some of those funding requests. Previous legislative leaders and Governor Stitt have been hesitant to tap much of those funds. So, we will have to see where the legislature's new leadership stands on that issue.
Dick Pryor: What's on the agenda for lawmakers after the Thanksgiving holiday?
Shawn Ashley: Lawmakers have already begun filing bills for the 2025 legislative session. Just a handful have been filed so far and have until January 16th to do so. Their deadline to request bills for drafting is December 6th and sometime in January we could see budget subcommittees begin to meet to hear from state agencies about why they are asking for more than $800 million in new appropriations.
Dick Pryor: Okay. Thanks, Shawn.
Shawn Ashley: You're very welcome.
Dick Pryor 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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