Oklahoma State Legislature Announces $13.2 Billion Budget

Notable additional funding includes a $180 million stimulus package for Enel North America to build a solar panel and battery factory in Tulsa, which will bring 1,500 jobs to the state. Jobs are expected to be created.

Budget Plan ( Photo: KJRH )

Lawmakers spent most of Tuesday announcing a budget for 2024 totaling $13.2 billion

The Treasury Department, specifically the Oklahoma Tax Commission, would receive a 7% tax cut, according to the bill outline. A concurrent special parliamentary session will give extra time to formulate the 2024 budget, but lawmakers have said they hope to finalize the budget this week. The education sector will see more than $1 billion more than the 2023 budget. With this increase, the K-12 education sector will receive more than $787 million.

Senate Democratic Speaker Kay Floyd said the Republicans had released a secret budget

“Families in Oklahoma aren’t asking for coupons or tax breaks,” Floyd said. “They want quality education for their children, affordable health care, and safe neighborhoods. These goals cannot be achieved with this budget.”

Two of Governor Kevin Stitt’s budget goals, a food tax cut, and an income tax cut, were not included in Tuesday’s proposal. Senate Bill 16X was also passed by a joint committee on Tuesday, which provides six weeks of paid maternity leave to government employees who have worked at a government agency for at least two years. The Department of Management and Business Services estimates that the move will have a tax benefit of $3 million annually.

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