It's not often that the Republican Senate Pro Tem and the Democratic leaders in the House and Senate speak from the same playbook, but it seems they do when it comes to dealing with Gov. Stitt's insistence that Oklahoma taxpayers get a break:
OKLAHOMA CITY – Senate Pro Tem Greg Treat, R – Oklahoma City, today released the following statement after Governor Kevin Stitt announced his latest special session call.
The pro tem believes calling the legislature into a special session the week before the regular session begins Feb. 5 is a needless waste of taxpayer money.
“It is disappointing the governor would call another special session,” Pro Tem Treat said. “I met with the governor and Speaker McCall Thursday. The governor laid out his intentions for a special session regarding tax cuts. I outlined to the governor, we will not know how much money the state will have to spend on a tax cut until the Board of Equalization meets to certify budget numbers in mid-February.
“It is unfortunate the governor has chosen this route. The Senate will adhere to the call of the special session, as we have always done to respect and uphold our constitutional duty. However, I do not know what will be different between the last week in January and the last time he pulled this stunt in October.”
OKLAHOMA CITY – Senate Democratic Leader Kay Floyd released the following statement regarding the governor’s call for a special session on Jan. 29, 2024.
“We’re still analyzing the figures from December’s initial certification by the Board of Equalization and won’t get the final certification numbers until mid-February. We have not yet concluded budget hearings with state agencies. That information and additional data are critical to this discussion. To undertake statewide, comprehensive tax reform in five days, without committee work and public vetting and input, would serve no other purpose than to place politics over policy. The governor’s call for a special session just one week before the regular session begins does not serve the best interest of this state or its citizens.” – Senate Democratic Leader Kay Floyd, D-Oklahoma City.
OKLAHOMA CITY – Oklahoma House Democratic Leader Cyndi Munson, D-OKC, today issued a statement questioning the Governor's fiscal responsibility after his latest political stunt calling for another wasteful special session.
"The Governor’s call for a Special Session to cut income taxes is just his latest political stunt, and it is not a genuine attempt to lower costs for Oklahoma families. We have not even completed our agency budget hearings to gain a comprehensive understanding of our state's fiscal picture, including the potential loss of federal dollars post-Covid.
We will have four months beginning February 5 to deliberate fiscal and policy ideas. Our job as legislators is to work through these important issues, as we are called to do every year. Instead, the Governor is asking us to waste time and taxpayer dollars by throwing ideas at the wall to see what sticks. It is unwise and fiscally irresponsible to ask the Legislature to haphazardly cut revenue.
Why does the Governor insist we keep doing what we’ve been doing when it hasn’t worked? It is time to invest in Oklahoma."
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