TRANSCRIPT
Announcer: Capitol Insider sponsored by the Oklahoma State Medical Association, physician members who devote more than 11 years of higher education and 10,000 clinical hours in study to provide care for all Oklahomans. More at okmed.org.
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, Thursday afternoon was the deadline for legislators to file new bills and joint resolutions for the 2026 legislative session. There's always a surge in filing on deadline day. So how did Thursday go?
Shawn Ashley: It was busy. Very, very busy. Lawmakers had months during which they could have filed their bills, but approximately one half of the new bills and joint resolutions were filed on Thursday alone.
Dick Pryor: What's the total number of bills and joint resolutions filed this year?
Shawn Ashley: We're looking at more than 2,600. I believe that's more than we've seen prior to any second session of the legislature. Ever.
Dick Pryor: And this is the second session of this 60th legislature. So, there are also bills and joint resolutions carried over from last year.
Shawn Ashley: That's around 2,600 bills and joint resolutions as well. The new bills start at the beginning of the legislative process and need at least five passing votes before they can be sent to Governor Stitt for his consideration. The carryover bills are scattered throughout the legislative process and some are only one vote away from going to the governor. In 2024, for example, when the Senate took up the bill eliminating the state sales tax on groceries it was a carryover bill that was approved by the House in 2023. So, it needed just the Senate's approval to go to Governor Stitt for his signature. And it got that in late February.
Dick Pryor: Bottom line – there’s a lot for legislators to consider this year.
Shawn Ashley: There certainly is.
Dick Pryor: Now, Shawn, in years past, you've said there's something for everyone in all the bills filed. But this year, does any one bill stand out?
Shawn Ashley: Well, you might say a penny for your thoughts, perhaps, because there are at least two bills that will affect everyone and both address the retirement of the penny. Senate Appropriations Chair Chuck Hall's bill requires state entities that accept cash from an individual to adjust the price of the service, fee, penalty, or other charge, excluding taxes by rounding the amount of the transaction down to the nearest cent that is a multiple of five. That's what some businesses are doing to address the penny’s retirement. Representative Derek Hilbert's bill creates the Oklahoma Common Cents Act, C-E-N-T-S. It has a formula for rounding the costs of state and local government services depending on the amount it ends with. One or two cents would be rounded down to zero. Three or four, up to five cents. Six or seven cents, down to five cents. And eight cents or nine cents is rounded up to 10 cents.
Dick Pryor: Sounds complicated. We often talk about unintended consequences of laws and policies. Eliminating the penny could create some interesting practical scenarios that will need to be addressed, including accounting, banking, tax rates, and much more. Do these bills consider various effects that phasing out production of pennies by the U.S. Treasury could lead to?
Shawn Ashley: Yes and no. Obviously, the bills consider the taxpayer who wants to pay cash for a license, fine, fee, or some government service. But it doesn't address some of the reporting requirements different government agencies that may be losing income to rounding on one hand or gaining revenue because of rounding up on the other hand may have. And that's before you start considering taxes, particularly sales taxes, which pretty much are penny-based.
Dick Pryor: So, there could be wide-ranging consequences. Why is the penny being retired?
Shawn Ashley: In February, President Donald Trump ordered the Treasury Department to stop minting pennies, and production ended in late 2025. President Trump's argument was that pennies cost more to mint than they're worth. And according to the U.S. Mint, it costs 3.69 cents to make each penny.
Dick Pryor: So now with bill filing complete at the Oklahoma Capitol, what's next for lawmakers?
Shawn Ashley: Well, it's actually a matter of dollars and cents for the next two weeks until the legislature begins February 2nd. Lawmakers will be hearing budget requests from state agencies as they prepare for the start of the legislative session on February 2.
Dick Pryor: Good luck sorting through all the bills, Shawn.
Shawn Ashley: Thank you very much.
Dick Pryor: Thank you. For more information go to quorumcall.online. You can find video of Capitol Insider segments on the KGOU YouTube channel. Audio and transcripts are 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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