A bumpy legislative session ends with hundreds of bills on Gov. Kevin Stitt’s desk

The second session of Oklahoma’s 59th Legislature ended Thursday afternoon, just a day before the Oklahoma Constitution required it.

This year’s session was full of bumps.

The 2024 legislative session, rife with infighting among Republicans and between the governor’s office and the Legislature, has become the culmination of a year-long debate over income tax cuts and just a few major policy issues — all in the context of the upcoming presidential election this fall.

Still, despite the controversy, lawmakers crafted and passed a $12.47 billion budget that includes a 4.5 percent grocery sales tax cut, $1.5 billion in new funding for Oklahoma’s community education system and added $25 million in additional school funding. formula.

The budget also included $240 million for new engineering and science facilities at the University of Oklahoma and Oklahoma State University, spent $27.6 million on the CareerTech student waiting list, and provided $350 million for a new Oklahoma Capital Asset Maintenance and Protection Fund to cover deferred maintenance work . on state facilities, state parks, and public colleges and universities.

On Friday, Gov. Kevin Stitt described the session as “productive.” The governor expressed satisfaction that lawmakers had reduced grocery store sales taxes and that criminal justice reform efforts had continued, but he criticized the Oklahoma Senate for not confirming all of his executive nominations.

More: On the last day of the session, the House passed a bill limiting Ryan Walters’ education spending

“My job is to nominate the best Oklahomans,” Stitt said. “It’s hard to find the right people. I think the job of the Senate is to confirm, advise and confirm. As long as they have no criminal history and are generally heading in the right direction. This is the job. to ensure they are good Oklahomans and meet all qualifications.

Outgoing Senate pro tempore Greg Treat said his goal for the 2024 session is to leave the state in a better place than when he took office.

“We are coming to the end of another term and it is time to reflect and look to the future,” Treat said. “I am confident that I will end my term in great style and will step down from my pro tem position in a spirit of peace and gratitude. “I have always wanted to leave my service in the Senate and the state in a better place than when I took office.”

What’s next? Gov. Kevin Stitt must sign or veto hundreds of bills over the next two weeks

This session, state legislators sent more than 430 bills to the governor. Stitt has about 15 days to sign, veto or pass budget bills.

The chairman of the Senate Education Committee, Sen. Adam Pugh, also expressed satisfaction that lawmakers had finished their work, or “landed the plane.”

“It was a bit bumpy and perhaps some passengers were injured due to the momentary turbulence,” he said. “But I will say this: Every morning when I come in, I am reminded that tension is a hallmark of our system. This is going to be difficult to deal with.

Pugh said he’s glad lawmakers are reinvesting in education. He pointed to school graduation legislation and major changes to literacy law as examples of legislation passed this year that will improve the state.

Democrats, however, viewed the session as a missed opportunity.

New Senate Minority Leader Julia Kirt said Democrats want public education to be “funded for success.”

“We haven’t seen anything like this in this budget,” Kirt said. “This budget includes half as much new public money as private voucher money, so we must focus on what really matters to the children in our school districts across the state.”

Kirt stated that Oklahoma families were “working too hard and not seeing enough results.”

“That’s why we’re here, to support Oklahoma families,” she said. “We are all exhausted. We know there is a reason for this, because Oklahoma families are exhausted. We must continue to work to do better for Oklahomans.”

This article originally appeared on The Oklahoman: Oklahoma Legitimation 2024 ends with hundreds of bills signed into law