'We don't have to be disagreeable,' governor says as Legislature takes up tough issues

During Gov. Kevin Stitt's news conference Friday at the state Capitol, he highlighted the "Oklahoma Standard" that was born out of the Oklahoma City bombing 29 years ago, encouraging acts of service, honor and kindness.

“We can have our disagreements. We can talk about policy, we can debate the best things, but we don’t have to be disagreeable. We don’t have to be hateful and degrade people,” he said.

However, discussion quickly shifted to unresolved legislative issues over which debate is likely to be contentious, if not disagreeable.

One topic was the immigration bill that passed the House on Thursday and how it would affect undocumented people who have already been in Oklahoma for decades. The other was whether Oklahoma can afford to cut the state income tax. The House has included a cut in its proposed budget, which Stitt has said he favors. But the Senate seems firmly opposed.

Stitt said he would consider vetoing any state budget plan forwarded to him without an income tax cut.

“If you’ve really got enough money to spend … let’s give every single Oklahoman a pay raise. It’s their money anyways,” he said.

On immigration, Stitt said the issue was one of resources.

More: What is at the root of the state budget impasse between the Oklahoma House and Senate?

According to the Migration Policy Institute, there are about 90,000 undocumented people in Oklahoma.

“We don’t have the resources to take care of and give free medical care. We do that with our U.S. citizens. We don’t have the resources to do that for 10 million illegal folks,” the governor said.

However, he said it wouldn’t be his intent to separate families. Stitt said he was not sure if he’d sign the bill if it reached his desk, noting there were too many variables.

Stitt said he is an advocate for more H1-B visas at the state level.

“We need to understand and have a great workforce and be able to have a better immigration visa process to do the jobs that we need done,” he said. He highlighted the relationship with the Pakistani Doctors Association, adding that it should be easier for medical professionals to work in the country.

Currently, the bill does have an exemption for people under Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (known as DACA), asylum seekers, or those who do have a lawful presence in the United States as granted by the federal government.

More: Stitt, Holt condemn hate in OKC bombing remembrance event: 'We must each be ambassadors of kindness'

Stitt said he planned on meeting with the consulate general from Mexico on Monday to figure out “how we can stop the curve, make sure that people are following the law.” He said he hopes to learn from the meeting and help the Legislature design the immigration bill.

“We have to have a better immigration policy and we want people that want to be part of the American dream and be part of our culture and work hard,” he said.

Only 3% of people will receive a green card in fiscal year 2024. Nearly 34.7 million applications are pending, according to a 2024 report from the Cato Institute. Legal immigration caps plus uncapped categories permit only about 1.1 million green cards.

This article originally appeared on Oklahoman: Gov. Stitt highlights Oklahoma Standard, focuses on budget, immigration