With state financial savings accounts and income collections at all-time highs, tax cuts will likely be a prime precedence for Oklahoma Gov. Kevin Stitt and the Republican-controlled Legislature for the 2023 session that started on Monday.
Stitt, who easily won reelection in November, offered his government funds proposal to lawmakers and delivered his fifth State of the State tackle to a joint legislative session. In it, he known as for lawmakers to eradicate the state gross sales tax on groceries and reduce the person and company revenue tax charges.
“In my executive budget, I am proposing to eliminate Oklahoma’s state grocery tax and reduce our personal income tax rate to 3.99 percent,” Stitt mentioned. “These cuts will save each family in Oklahoma hundreds of dollars each year.”
Eliminating the 4.5 p.c state portion of the gross sales tax on groceries would price an estimated $351 million yearly, whereas decreasing the person revenue tax charge from 4.75 p.c to three.99 p.c would price a further $261 million, primarily based on estimates from the governor’s workplace. Democrats within the House and Senate each have endorsed slicing the state’s grocery gross sales tax, and House Democratic Leader Rep. Cyndi Munson mentioned they might achieve this once more this yr.
“Hopefully, our colleagues on the other side of the aisle will join us,” mentioned Munson, D-Oklahoma City.
“With our fiscal discipline, economic growth and our record savings, let’s make a significant statement that Oklahoma is here to stay on the national stage,” Stitt mentioned.
Stitt additionally urged lawmakers to once more goal transgender kids by prohibiting legal guidelines that enable gender-affirming medical therapy for minors, at the same time as tons of of activists chanted “protect trans rights” and “we are Oklahoma” within the rotunda outdoors the chamber.
“Minors can’t vote, can’t purchase alcohol, can’t purchase cigarettes. We shouldn’t allow a minor to get a permanent gender altering surgery in Oklahoma,” he said, prompting the gallery to erupt with applause and nearly all Republican members to give him a standing ovation. ”That’s why I’m calling on the Legislature to ship me a invoice that bans all gender transition surgical procedures and hormone therapies on minors within the state of Oklahoma.”
Those proposals come after the governor signed payments final yr to prevent transgender girls from taking part in on women sports activities groups and requiring college students in public colleges to use only the bathrooms that correspond with their gender at start.
“Talking about the indoctrination in our universities and to just totally disregard and ignore the people who are outside fighting for their lives, asking their state leaders to recognize them as whole human beings, to bring up those two issues was quite frustrating and really upsetting,” Munson mentioned.
Lawmakers are also prone to go a pay increase for academics, though the small print will likely be hammered out throughout the session. State Sen. Adam Pugh, the chairman of the Senate Education Committee, unveiled a plan final month to provide an across-the-board trainer pay increase of between $3,000 and $6,000, primarily based on years of service, however the governor’s Secretary of Education and new State Superintendent Ryan Walters has put forth a plan to provide merit-based pay raises to academics.
The Legislature is also prone to once more take into account a plan endorsed by Stitt and Walters for a voucher-style plan to divert public schooling funds from public colleges to personal colleges, though the proposal stays unpopular with many House Republicans, significantly these in rural areas.
Plenty of payments even have been launched by Republicans this yr to revive among the abortion restrictions that had been imposed final yr, together with a bill that might enable abortions in circumstances of rape or incest which have been reported to legislation enforcement and clarifying the definition of when an abortion is allowed in circumstances of medical emergencies that threaten the lifetime of the mom.
“That bill is supported and endorsed by Oklahomans for Life, so I would anticipate (it) has a chance of passing,” mentioned Rep. Jon Echols, majority ground chief within the House. “I definitely think it will get considered.”
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