Lawmakers agree on Oklahoma budget, could see income tax cut

OKLAHOMA CITY (KFOR) — Lawmakers quickly met Wednesday afternoon to announce they agreed on the upcoming budget.

The big ticket item was the income tax cut proposal. Lawmakers announced that there will be an elimination of the bottom three brackets, and the rest see a .25% cut.

"We still have three-and-a-half billion dollars in savings," said House Speaker Kyle Hilbert (R-Bristow).

Below is a grid from the Tax Commission that displays the tax brackets.

This isn't a .50% cut that the governor had been pushing for, but it is a path.

"You know, the Pro Tem had a great analogy of someone making $33,000 a year. With the flattening of those brackets, would save around $160 I think was his, was his number. And that's very meaningful for a working family in the state of Oklahoma," said Governor Kevin Stitt.

In total, the proposal for the new year's budget amounts to $12.59 billion.

Things that weren't added included the Department of Education (Supt. Ryan Walters') request for $3 million in Trump Bibles to put in every classroom and the $500,000 for concealed carry training for employees.

Agencies requested much more than was agreed upon. According to the budget transparency website, they had asked for $13.31 billion.

Several new additions were announced that were included in this preliminary budget agreement. $250 million is to be spent on a new Veterinary Medicine school. $312 million will go to a prison purchase in Lawton. Even a new pediatric heart hospital was included in this budget agreement.

Last year, the Tax Commission found that the biggest cost that hit Oklahoma revenue was the Private School Choice Tax Credit and the Grocery Sales Tax Cut.

Another question arose surrounding the Department of Mental Health and Substance Abuse Services. There have been many questions around millions missing from the current budget and what will happen to their future budget.

NonDoc reported this week that the budget shortfall for ODMHSAS was around $27 million, but when asked Wednesday, lawmakers said that number is closer to $30 million. That money will have to head their way soon.

"Underscoring Lawson’s questions about creating certainty for a supplemental figure, House Appropriations and Budget Committee Chairman Trey Caldwell reported Wednesday that LOFT had conducted its own review and determined ODMHSAS would need closer to $30.6 million in funding to get through the rest of the fiscal year." - from NonDoc.

"The tentative plan on the entirety of the mental health budget is to stop the bleeding," said House Budget Chair Trey Caldwell.

On Wednesday, Democrats reacted to this proposed budget agreement.

“Senate Democrats have consistently prioritized a bipartisan budget that solves real problems for Oklahomans – one that focuses on working families, not big companies and well-connected people. We’ve advocated for a budget that provides a great education for every student, not $50 million for vouchers with little to no oversight or accountability. We believe our budget should help make sure Oklahomans can see a doctor when they need one and not have to wait months for health care. We don’t believe this budget prioritizes people," said Senate Democrat Leader Julia Kirt.

There are still several steps before this budget agreement reaches it's finalization stage but this is one of the earliest that lawmakers have come together on a preliminary budget agreement in years.