‘Time is of the essence’: OK Legislature at odds over budget again, Governor calls for last-minute public meeting
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OKLAHOMA CITY (KFOR) — Lawmakers are down to the wire as the regular session is three weeks away from concluding, but a budget has yet to be finalized which is causing concern in the Governor’s office.
The Senate released its FY25 budget proposal in late March. It looks to spend $12.3 billion.
As for the House, it released a $12.6 billion budget plan accounting for a quarter-percent income tax cut. That plan was released in April after the Senate claimed the House refused to show its numbers.
“At this point in session, everyone, both the House and the Senate, should know where their membership is on the issues on budget,” said Speaker of the House Charles McCall (R-Atoka).
Not only are both chambers at a standstill on finalizing the budget for FY25, the Senate is now shaking up its leadership by dismissing and replacing Senator Roger Thompson (R-Okemah) as the Senate Appropriations Chairman with his Vice Chair, Senator Chuck Hall (R-Perry).
“I appreciate Pro Tem Treat’s confidence in me and asking me to step into this critical position. As a banker, individuals entrust me with their money on a daily basis. I view the state budget in the same vein and will work in a transparent manner to ensure Oklahomans know where every dollar is being spent,” Sen. Hall told News 4 on Thursday.
Sen. Hall said he found out Wednesday that Pro Tem Treat tapped him as the next Senate Appropriations Chairman.
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“There is no normal day in this building. Every day brings a new surprise. When you take on a roll as an elected official, you have to be flexible and be willing to roll with change,” added Sen. Hall. “Senator Thompson has been an incredible person to work with as his Vice Chair and [I] will always view him as a friend. But I have served as Vice Chair for a while now. This, plus my background in handling money and making investments, I feel like I am well positioned for this role.”
News 4 asked Pro Tem Treat for the direct reason for Sen. Thompson’s removal Thursday afternoon.
While Pro Tem Treat did not provide specific reasons for the last-minute change in the Appropriations Committee, he said, “You have to make decisions to put us in the best position for transparency. I felt like it was clear: there’s a clear need to change after last week. Roger Thompson pitched almost the whole game and it’s time to bring in a relief pitcher.”
Speaker McCall, in a press conference Thursday, said Sen. Thompson negotiated budget agreements with House Appropriations Chairman Kevin Wallace (R-Wellston) without the approval of the Senate Pro Tem.
“A tax cut is something that he did not have the authority to negotiate,” said Speaker McCall.
However, the Pro Tem’s office tells News 4 the Speaker’s statement is false.
Speaker McCall also said there were a “small handful” of other budget agreements Sen. Thompson made with the House where Pro Tem Treat was not involved.
With a small window of time left for the state’s leadership to come to a budget agreement, Governor Kevin Stitt sent an email to both chamber heads Wednesday afternoon requesting a meeting.
“Last night, more tornadoes came through Oklahoma. This has been a tough couple weeks, but I’m thankful we have gotten our FEMA request approved and Oklahomans are rallying together. I’m focused on making sure we navigate this moment well while you are working to finalize this legislative session.
As session is coming to a close, it’s important that we get together to finalize a budget. Both of your transparency efforts have been very encouraging this session.
I know both chambers are working diligently to come to agreement on budget numbers, and will once again reiterate my priority to pass an income tax cut for all four million Oklahomans. I hope that continues to be a topic of conversation in your negotiations.
Time is of the essence, and without an agreement I worry we won’t be able to conclude session in a timely manner. Should both chambers not reach an agreement by the end of the week, I want to assist by facilitating a meeting between my office and the House and Senate budget negotiators to come to terms on the budget. I want to invite you to a meeting in my office on Monday (5/6/2024) at 2 p.m. I will invite the media in an effort to continue your transparency efforts.
I look forward to hearing from you both and finishing this session strong.”
Governor Kevin Stitt’s email to the Speaker of the House and the Senate President Pro Tempore
Nearly two hours later, Pro Tem Treat responded and CC’d every Senator and Representative.
“Thank you for the invite. I look forward to the opportunity. The budget will not be complete this week, so I and the Senate team will be there at 2. Please know that you are welcome to use the Senate Assembly Room to better accommodate members of the legislature, public and the media to be able to observe and so it can be live-streamed, closed captioned and archived. My staff will be more than happy to assist in getting the word out to the media and the public. I’m excited that you are willing to fully participate in our new transparent process.
Our prayers continue to be with the families that lost loved ones and those communities that experienced such devastating tornadoes. If we need to put additional resources into emergency management for the state portion of the local match we stand ready.
I’ve added the Senate Chair and Vice Chair of Appropriations, the Floor Leader, and the entire legislature because I hope this is a productive and insightful meeting.
We haven’t had an opportunity to visit this entire session, so I look forward to sharing the Senate perspective and getting your perspective and the House perspective Monday. I think it is a great idea and we will fully participate.”
Senate President Pro Tempore Greg Treat’s (R-OKC) response to Governor Kevin Stitt’s email
Pro Tem Treat said Gov. Stitt rejected his call to have the meeting in the Senate Assembly room and requested it be held in his conference room.
Speaker McCall said he hopes the changes in Senate leadership doesn’t delay finalizing the budget. He anticipates coming to a final agreement Monday afternoon.
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“It shouldn’t be that hard to get an agreement. There’s been a lot of transparency in the process this year. I think it’s now in the process to get really kind of finalized,” said Speaker McCall. “It’s really about fine tuning.”
Pro Tem Treat doesn’t agree.
“That’s not going to happen. I think it’s in the interest of some people to force an artificial deadline to be able to get what they want. We need to get resources to emergency management. There have been some devastating storms and lives lost and real issues there,” he explained.
A real issue Speaker McCall plans to bring up in Monday afternoon’s meeting with the Governor and Senate Pro Tem is a 0.25% personal income tax cut.
A 4.5% state grocery tax cut was signed into law earlier this year, which Sen. Thompson voted against on the floor.
Pro Tem Treat has made it very clear the state grocery tax cut was the only tax cut he would stand behind this year.
“We have made a very firm statement earlier this year that we were going to figure out which tax cuts we could afford,” stated Pro Tem Treat.
“I have no concern that it’s a loss of revenue for the state of Oklahoma because people of the state spend their money and that money bounces around our economy,” said Speaker McCall.
The regular session is expected to conclude May 31.
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