By Cody Maynard
OKLAHOMA CITY – The State Board of Equalization met Feb. 14 to release certified revenue figures for the Fiscal Year 2026 state budget. The Legislature has authority to appropriate up to $12.3 billion, about $1 billion less than was authorized for our current fiscal year. This includes about $11 billion in recurring revenue and the remainder in available cash and one-time funds.
This news was not unexpected. We’ve seen a flattening in state revenue recently, including less in sales tax since we cut the state’s portion of the grocery tax last year. In 2021, we cut personal income tax by a quarter percent, and we cut the corporate tax rate as well.
This decline in state revenue actually means Oklahoma taxpayers are now keeping more of their money, and as continued high income tax reports show, more people have more money, a sign of economic prosperity.
This still leaves the state in great shape. We have healthy state savings accounts. We’ve been able to appropriate historic high amounts to public education and transportation in recent years, and we’ve held other core services stable.
Over the next few months, budget leaders in the House and Senate will be drafting the state budget, with that work culminating in May. For those interested, there is plenty of information on our House website, okhouse.gov, through our budget transparency portal to show agency requests and current state accounts.
In other news, the House recently approved legislation that would reform the state’s administrative rulemaking process.
Each year after legislation is signed into law, state agencies are often required to draft administrative rules to help them follow the regulations specified in statute. These administrative rules, once approved, become as enforceable as the law itself. Unfortunately, sometimes agencies misinterpret legislative intent or actually exceed regulations in statute.
I coauthored House Bill 2728 to establish the Regulations from the Executive in Need of Scrutiny (REINS) Act of 2025, modeled after similar federal legislation.
This bill would set up a more rigorous review process of state agency rules and regulations, which will help eliminate unnecessary regulations, ensure oversight remains with the proper branch of government, and make sure administrative rules are transparent and streamlined. I am a huge supporter of putting restraints on agencies’ rulemaking authority, and this measure does that.
On one final note, the House this week adopted a consent decree between the Oklahoma Department of Mental Health and Substance Abuse Services and plaintiffs who sued the department in 2023 for violating their due process rights. Plaintiffs argue they had been declared incompetent to stand trial, but the department, under former leadership, did nothing to restore their competency. Instead, they endured long wait times in county jails. The consent decree establishes new training and a timeline for the department to restore competency, so these people can stand trial. This will ensure these people get the mental help services they require and that everyone, including victims and their families, see speedier justice in these cases.