5.12.25 -KGOU – By Lionel Ramos
Oklahoma lawmakers have entered the final two weeks of the 60th regular legislative session. Hundreds of bills have been sent to Gov. Kevin Stitt, and he’s…
Oklahoma lawmakers have entered the final two weeks of the 60th regular legislative session. Hundreds of bills have been sent to Gov. Kevin Stitt, and he’s already acted on some. Still looming: budget negotiations.
Lawmakers have sent nearly 300 bills to Stitt so far, and the governor has been quick to act. Stitt has signed over 50 measures into law and vetoed more than a dozen. Meanwhile, lawmakers are shifting their focus to budget talks.
And among the many money-related rabbit holes lawmakers could dive into these next two weeks, Senate Pro Tem Lonnie Paxton says the $42 million hole in the state’s mental health department budget is the most concerning.”Time is of the essence,” Paxton said. “We need an answer because we have to get something budgeted in. The note we had last week about this time was, ‘Oh, we can’t make payroll next week.’ That kind of came out of nowhere.”
No bottom to the pit means no bottom line for the state budget. And that could mean a special legislative session, no income tax cut or any number of trade-offs.
What’s on the governor’s desk or already signed into law?
A few key measures lawmakers and the governor agree on are related to public school days and criminal justice.
Senate Bill 139, by Claremore Republican Sen. Ally Seifried and Enid Republican Rep. Chad Caldwell, proposed requiring all of Oklahoma’s public schools to adopt a “bell-to-bell” cell phone ban for one year. The idea is to reduce distractions in the classroom and maximize Oklahoma’s already insufficient number of teachers.
The measure requires all schools to implement policies banning cellphones starting the 2025-2026 school year, and allows schools to opt out of the ban for the following academic year.
It passed along party lines in the Senate and with a slight majority in the House. Stitt signed it into law on May 5. Also related to education is Senate Bill 758 by Edmond Republican Sen. Kristen Thompson and Republican Rep. Anthony Moore.
The measure limits brick-and-mortar public schools to two virtual days. Exceptions are included for governor-issued states of emergency or online instruction plans districts must get approved by the state superintendent. The bill followed a similar trajectory through the legislature and was signed on May 5.
On the criminal justice front, Senate Bill 595 by Moore Republican Sen. Darrell Weaver and Stilwell Republican Rep. David Hardin establishes the Oklahoma ‘Jail Standards Act.’
The bill creates health inspection guidelines for county, municipal, and trust-run jails across the state and provides language allowing such entities to ask for waivers to those inspections in the event of disasters or emergencies.
Stitt signed it into law on April 28.
What’s failed?
While the number of bills Stitt has signed is greater, some lawmakers are fuming over the few he’s vetoed. Here are some of those and other key measures. They span the spectrum of topics, as far as lawmaking goes, from health to utility management to eviction and missing and murdered Indigenous people.
House Bill 1389 by Tulsa Democrat Rep. Melissa Provenzano and Oklahoma City Republican Brenda Stanley would’ve expanded the kinds of breast cancer screenings covered by insurance in Oklahoma. It focused on the earliest prevention screenings to ensure the earliest possible cancer awareness for patients.
Having been recently diagnosed with breast cancer herself, Provenzano ran the bill based on her own experience.
“House Bill 1389 ensures that health benefit plans cover low-dose mammography screenings, diagnostic and supplemental breast cancer screenings without cost sharing,” Provenzano said when she introduced it on the floor. “One in eight women in America is diagnosed with breast cancer in their lifetime. Early detection is key to saving lives.”
The bill probably had the most widespread bipartisan support of any measure proposed this session. It passed unanimously in the House and by a bipartisan majority in the Senate.
Stitt vetoed it on May 6, explaining in his veto message that it would raise insurance premiums for Oklahomans because providers would be paying more for tests and screening.
House Bill 1137 byTulsa Democrat Rep. Ron Steward and Sen. Weaver, R-Moore, was aimed at bolstering the Oklahoma Bureau of Investigation’s ability to find missing and murdered indigenous people with the help of federal dollars.
It piggybacked off of 2021’s Ida’s Law, which the Oklahoma legislature devised to bridge the gap between local, state, and federal resources designated to the effort of finding missing persons who are indigenous. Federal dollars were never secured then, and despite continued efforts by the OSBI to make it work, not much progress has been made in solving any cases.
The bill was a second attempt to tie up state and federal dollars together, to reverse Oklahoma’s number two rank for the most missing indigenous people in the country, compared to other states. Despite its bipartisan support, Stitt vetoed the bill on May 5.
Senate Bill 128 by Oklahoma City Democrat and Minority Leader Sen. Julia Kirt and Lawton Republican Rep. Daniel Pae proposed extending the time between an eviction notice and the related court date from 10 to 15 days. The bill is part of a multi-year effort to implement modernized tenant protections in Oklahoma with the hopes of combating homelessness and mental health in the state, which are often closely related.
“It’s something we’re going to have to keep working on,” Kirt said. “That was the only housing-related bill moving. So I think we have a lot of work to do in terms of addressing our challenges around the housing market and how broken it is for people across the state.”
What’s next?
Stitt is pushing hard for a tax cut. Last week, he posted a video on social media praising a group of 17 Senators who signed on to a resolution stating their support for a quarter-of-a-percent cut to the state income tax. But Paxton said there may just be too much going on and too many unknowns to make it happen.
“There’s all sorts of things in the equation for do we do a tax cut? Do we not do a tax cut?” Paxton said. “Do we cut agencies? Do we not cut agencies? All that is being discussed right now and there’s not a definitive answer on it.”
But the days trudge on, answers from the Oklahoma Mental Health Department notwithstanding.
And with a bit of distaste between the legislative and executive branches already festering over some early vetoes on Stitt’s part, budget negotiations are sure to drag.
Lionel Ramos covers state government for a consortium of Oklahoma’s public radio stations. He is a graduate of Texas State University in San Marcos with a degree in English. He has covered race and equity, unemployment, housing, and veterans’ issues.