First Session of 60th Oklahoma Legislature begins
Posted on: 2/7/25
The state Legislature convened Monday, and as is customary, the governor gave his State of the State address outlining his priorities for the session. At the top of the governor’s list is delivering an income tax cut of .25%. This has been a top priority for Gov. Stitt for several years, and he was successful in delivering a tax cut for Oklahomans following legislative action last year with the elimination of the state portion of the grocery sales tax. An important element in considering any tax cut is that the governor and Legislature will not know how much the state has to spend on the budget until the State Board of Equalization meets on Feb. 17 and certifies final revenue estimates. The final revenue estimate is the basis for budget negotiations between the Legislature and governor.
The governor also announced the creation of the Division of Government Efficiency (DOGE-OK) with the Office of Management and Enterprise Services. Per the governor, “I’m launching DOGE-OK to keep the focus on flat budgets and limiting government . . . DOGE-OK will help identify and root out inefficiencies and government waste. It’s an essential part of making us a top 10 state.”
With the beginning of the 60th Oklahoma Legislature comes the introduction of a new two-tiered House committee structure. Per Speaker Kyle Hilbert’s office, this new structure “will allow legislation to be more thoroughly vetted and deliberated at the committee level before bills reach the floor. The process will now be similar on the policy side as to how the committees are currently structured for appropriations.”
The first committee hearing of the 60th Legislature was held Wednesday morning. The House Public Health Committee met and considered several bills, including OHA priorities. HB 1686 by Chairwoman Cynthia Roe and HB 1810 by Rep. Carl Newton passed unanimously out of the committee. HB 1686 aligns best practice with reimbursement for the timely treatment of sepsis, while HB 1810 aligns SoonerSelect prior authorization (PA) requirements with PA requirements that passed last session in HB 3190, also by Rep. Newton. OHA was involved in the development and passage of HB 3190. These bills must now be heard in the newly created House Oversight Committee on Health and Human Services. (Scott Tohlen)