This excellent article by Jamison Faught gives the details of the state budget agreement for this year and despite a few failings we must say adults must be back in charge of the legislature because the budget was generally reasonable as was the session in general this year.
The early agreements between the legislature and Governor Stitt appear to have managed to maintain core funding and replenish the State Rainy Day Fund for 2022, spending a record 8.3 billion dollars.
Common education got an additional 172 million which they likely didn't need with all the federal money flowing in and there was more corporate welfare spent on a new film incentive to the tune of 30 million dollars. And 42 million was wasted on rural and “under-served” areas for broadband along with 35 million wasted on new economic development funding, AKA corporate welfare. If broadband is needed then it isn't the government's job to make it available, that is the private sector doing it where it is economically feasible and sustainable. Ditto on trying to create jobs with giving millions in tax incentive, either the jobs make economic sense or they do not. The Medicaid program was expanded, once again the state paying for people's personal expenses including illegal aliens to keep the hospital industry fat and wasteful.
The corporate income tax was dropped by one third from 6% to 4% and 700 million was put away in the rainy day fund. The Earned Income Credit tax credit was restored after being cut a few years back, it is problematic, we like tax relief and the less the state has the less they can waste but the poor and working poor ought to pay tax like everyone else does or there is no incentive for them to vote to limit tax increases.
House Bill 2900 is carrying this budget agreement and it has to wind its way through the House and Senate in the days to come with May 28th being the last possible day before the session ends.
The atmosphere today would have been unthinkable back in 2009 when the Tea Party first stood up and begin to fight back. We thought we would be fighting liberal Democrats when we started only to find out it was corrupt Republicans doing the harm. They say American politics is a huge flywheel that slowly turns in response to pressure being applied and that is a good thing as it is a safety feature. But the changes have been amazing especially after coming out of a pandemic economy. Perhaps 2021 is the beginning and 2022 is when the legislature finally begins to be serious about following the values of the GOP and supporting Oklahoma values instead of rushing to make the state cosmopolitan and progressive. After all, look how well that has turned out in the blue states. The state legislature might well put the Sooner Tea Party out of a job.
