

Calling on the Oklahoma Legislature to pursue an “energy abundance agenda” and to make Oklahoma “the high-tech data center capital of the world,” Gov. Kevin Stitt delivered his seventh State of the State address today, asking for an income tax cut, a pair of education reforms and the elimination of “fines, fees and court costs” to address “what is essentially debtors’ prison” for those in county jails and Department of Corrections facilities.
“Winston Churchill said, ‘The price of greatness is responsibility.’ That means sacrificing now for future benefit,” Stitt said. “The reality is there is going to be pain either way — the pain of discipline now, or the pain of regret later. Many of us have witnessed that over the last six years. In 2018, the state was facing massive budget deficits and we had nothing in savings. Over the next six years, we said ‘No’ to good ideas in the moment so we could say ‘Yes’ to the well-being of future generations of Oklahomans. Because of that discipline, we got to come together as Republicans and Democrats to say ‘Yes’ to cutting the grocery tax last year.”
Unlike his version last year, Stitt’s session-starting speech included no mention of his long-standing legal battles with sovereign tribal nations over criminal and civil jurisdictional uncertainty throughout the Indian Country reservations affirmed across eastern Oklahoma. He also omitted reference to a $150 million funding gap facing the Department of Mental Health and Substance Abuse Services’s new OKC hospital and the Legislature’s looming decision on a proposed consent decree to settle a lawsuit and address allegedly unconstitutional delays in ODMHSAS’ provision of competency restoration services to pre-trial detainees deemed temporarily incompetent to stand trial.
Instead, Stitt’s oratory opined on economic development, conservative principles and a desire to limit the growth of government. Stitt stated four overarching goals:
- Protect Oklahoma taxpayers;
- Be the best state for business;
- Safeguard our savings; and
- Protect the Oklahoma way of life.
Stitt touted his “half and a path” request that asks the Legislature to pass 0.5 percent reductions to the state’s personal income tax rate and corporate income tax rate, as well as the establishment of a pathway to eventual elimination. Stitt said lawmakers should consider the dynamics of Oklahoma’s competition with other states that are either on the same path or that have already reached that goal.
“If we don’t act quickly, we are going to be left behind and we’ll be considered a high tax state,” Stitt said. “I like to remind the naysayers, when we cut taxes, the money doesn’t disappear. It simply stays in Oklahomans’ pockets and gets reinvested in our economy.”
Arguing that “Oklahomans should keep more of their hard-earned money,” Stitt referenced an infamous local steakhouse where legislators and lobbyists often meet to discuss policy proposals over drinks and complimentary bacon.
“It’s no secret,” Stitt said. “Left unrestrained, government will always grow and grow and grow. It’s just like the lobbyist bar tabs at Broadway 10.”
The governor’s bar tab jab received faint guffaws among the assembled legislators, 31 of are embarking upon their first session at a time when state revenues look to be declining.
“He brought up 2018 and not wanting to go back there. Well, we say the same thing,” House Minority Cyndi Munson said in response to Stitt’s speech. “In 2016, 2017 and 2018 (…) we had a $1.5 billion budget deficit, and that was due to Republican income tax cuts.”
Munson (D-OKC) discussed how the Legislature made major cuts to “things Oklahomans all care about.”
“Now, with his proposal to cut the income tax, he’s going to put us right back in that same position,” she said. “He only has two years left in his term, but those in the Legislature today have a longer way to go, and to leave that behind as his legacy is a huge disgrace.”
Lawmakers will know exactly how much money they have to spend on the state’s Fiscal Year 2026 budget buffet after the Board of Equalization certifies its final revenue estimates at its scheduled Feb. 14 meeting.
“We all agree in wanting Oklahoma taxpayers to keep as much of their hard-earned money as possible while being as prepared as possible for future budget uncertainty. We will continue budget discussions in earnest once we have final FY26 numbers from the Board of Equalization,” House Speaker Kyle Hilbert (R-Bristow) said in a statement after the speech. “We have a lot of challenges ahead, but we are united in wanting to make Oklahoma better for future generations. That work officially begins today.”
Hilbert praised another of Stitt’s ideas as “a shared priority.” In saying state and federal governments are “overspending” and “causing inflation to rise rapidly,” Stitt announced he is following the lead of President Donald Trump by creating an Oklahoma version of the new Department of Government Efficiency.
“I was at Mar-a-Lago a few weeks ago and talked to President Trump about DOGE at the state level. I’m excited about the momentum, and we’re going to build on it here in Oklahoma. Today, I’m launching DOGE-OK to keep the focus on flat budgets and limited government,” Stitt said. “For years, I’ve instructed my Cabinet secretaries and agency directors to shrink employee count and cut unnecessary contracts.”
During the middle of his speech, Stitt’s office distributed his executive order creating the new government department intended to shrink government.
“I am committed to having fewer state employees at the end of my term than when I took office in 2019,” Stitt said. “I also mandated an end to work-from-home policies for state employees to better serve the people of our state. Even still, we have public officials who have asked the Legislature to double the size of their budget. Our constituents voted for fiscal conservatism, not growing government.”
While Stitt did not mention it in his speech, his simultaneously released FY 2026 budget proposal includes support for Senate Bill 229, which would grow the fiscal impact of the tax credit created in 2023 for families who homeschool their children or send them to private schools. Filed by Senate Floor Leader Julie Daniels (R-Bartlesville), SB 229 proposes eliminating the annual $250 million cap on the credit.
In saying the state should retain $4 billion in savings, Stitt’s budget also proposes turning the Revenue Stabilization Fund — which has a current balance of $664 million — into an invested account.
“By setting aside collections above the five-year average of volatile revenue sources, the state can utilize them during economic downturns,” Stitt’s budget proposal states. “The next step is to make this fund an invested asset, using its earnings to stabilize the budget rather than depleting the principal. In 20 years, the fund could produce enough earnings to replace oil and gas tax revenue. The additional recurring revenue and reduced budget volatility will also support the goal of eliminating income taxes for Oklahomans.”
In his 35-minute speech, Stitt also called for:
- The full development of the “business courts” promised as part of last year’s budget deal;
- A bell-to-bell ban on students having cell phones in Oklahoma public schools;
- The elimination of “virtual days” in public schools;
- Support of a state-sponsored religious charter school whose rejection is being challenged before the U.S. Supreme Court; and
- The deportation of undocumented immigrants currently incarcerated in Oklahoma prisons.
Stitt: Impact of court fines, fees ‘simply unacceptable’

While it remains unclear to what extent Stitt may be willing to commute the sentences of undocumented prisoners to pave the way for their deportation, Stitt dedicated multiple portions of his address to calling for continued criminal justice reform.
In doing so, Stitt recognized a man named John Standfill, who was first incarcerated in 2005 and most recently released from prison in 2022. A series of family tragedies — including his mother’s murder — led to “bad choices” and Standfill’s incarceration, primarily for drug crimes.
Gesturing to Standfill in the House gallery, Stitt said the man — now 50 years old and working to support others seeking second chances — “reportedly owes nearly $30,000 in fines, fees and court costs.” He called the situation “simply unacceptable.”
“We know that high fees keep people trapped in this cycle and contribute to higher recidivism,” Stitt said. “That doesn’t make sense. I want to change that structure and make sure that a second chance is actually a second chance and get rid of fines, fees and court costs for good.”
After Stitt’s speech, Standfill called the proposal “a great thing.”
“With the way the fines and fees work (…) to come out of prison kind of puts people in a bad place because you’re weighed down by all the fines, the economy’s bad, and it causes people to go back to jail,” Standfill said. “Hopefully they could decrease the burden to make things a little bit more conducive to people’s success that want to do better. That way, people have an opportunity. Because I had to learn from my lessons, and today, it’s pushed me to do the things I’m doing.”
Eliminating fines and fees by appropriating new revenues to the state’s Judicial Revolving Fund would cost about $15 million, according to legislative leaders. But despite Stitt’s call to eliminate fines and fees paid by criminal defendants and those incarcerated, his executive budget proposal includes no new money for the Department of Corrections or the state court system (other than the $2 million proposed for business courts).
Still, lawmakers ultimately make the building’s budgetary decisions, and reducing the burden of court costs has been supported by Republicans and Democrats alike in recent years.
“That’s potentially an area of agreement with the governor. We have supported his criminal justice efforts in the past,” said Senate Minority Leader Julia Kirt (D-OKC). “The big concern is, ‘Is it a shell game?’ If we cut taxes over here, how are we to pay on the other side?”
For his part, Standfill is still trying to figure out what “to pay” to clear his ledger.
“They can’t even tell me how much I owe,” he said. “Before, they told me it was $300,000, but now it’s changed, and I still don’t know if that’s right, and finding out how much I actually owe is impossible. Because they send me to different places, and after being gone for so long, I’m left in the dark.”
The distance between proposing such a lofty policy proposal and finding a way to fund it represents the proverbial marathon the Legislature started Monday. With miles to go, Senate President Pro Tempore Lonnie Paxton (R-Tuttle) said cooperation among state leaders “can build a stronger, more prosperous Oklahoma for generations to come.”
“Gov. Stitt laid out his vision and outlined a plan to move Oklahoma forward in a positive trajectory that we can all agree with,” Paxton said. “The Senate shares his commitment to growing our economy, improving education, ensuring safe, thriving communities and improving the lives of Oklahomans by allowing them to keep more of their hard-earned money. This session, the Senate looks forward to working alongside the governor and our colleagues in the House to advance policies that will strengthen our workforce, create new opportunities for business investment and make strategic investments in core services.”
(Clarification: This article was updated at 3:30 p.m. Tuesday, Feb. 4, to clarify the cost of the Judicial Revolving Fund number discussed above.)