OKLAHOMA CITY – Lawmakers on Thursday left the Capitol ahead of schedule after inking an early budget agreement.
“We got some things done,” said Senate Pro Tem Lonnie Paxton, R-Tuttle. “Obviously, we’ve had conflicts in session, just like every other Senate has since 1907. It’s just part of the process.”
The Senate ended the second session of the 60th Legislature, followed minutes later by the House.
They had until 5 p.m. May 29 to finish work, but many were anxious to hit the campaign trail for upcoming legislative, statewide, local and Congressional races.
Before they left, lawmakers put state questions on the August and November ballots. Those questions include a proposed cap on the growth of property taxes, which will be decided Nov. 3. They also asked voters to decide on Aug. 25 if it should be a constitutional requirement to present identification at the polls. Currently it’s required by state law.
But efforts to ask voters to make changes to voter-approved Medicaid expansion and the Tobacco Settlement Endowment Trust failed to gain traction. The Legislature did not approve legislation placing either on a 2026 ballot.
Lawmakers announced on April 1 they had a budget deal, well ahead of when prior agreements have been reached. The fiscal year 2027 budget appropriates $12.8 billion, up slightly from the prior year.
Education issues, particularly early childhood reading, were among the Legislature’s top policy discussions this session.
Lawmakers passed stricter requirements for schools to intervene when early elementary students score below their grade level in reading. The new law requires third graders who score below a basic level on the state reading test and fail a second literacy assessment to repeat the grade, unless they meet narrow criteria for an exemption.
The fiscal year 2028 state budget adds $232 million in new funding for public education, including:
— $100 million to increase minimum teacher salaries by $2,000
— a permanent $50 million fund for school security
— $26 million to support reading instruction in schools
— $7.5 million for math instruction and millions more for literacy-related initiatives.
The $232 million investment tees up a seven-day increase to the minimum length of the school year.
House Bill 3151 will increase the minimum from 166 days to 173 days for districts that design their calendars to meet 1,086 hours of instructional time per year.
The measure will take effect in the 2027-28 school year as long as the state education budget remains $175 million higher than it is in 2025-26.
The Legislature also implemented a permanent ban on student use of cellphones during the school day.
“We passed the best literacy law in the entire country this year,” said House Speaker Kyle Hilbert, R-Bristow. “That is a great thing to celebrate. We made permanent the cellphone ban from last year. That is a great policy to celebrate.”
Lawmakers approved a bill that would criminalize the distribution of abortion-inducing drugs.
A plan to construct a privately funded memorial on the Capitol grounds to honor families who lost a loved one in military service secured approval.
While state employees didn’t get a raise, their longevity pay will increase by 50% across all levels of service. Many retirees will receive their first cost-of-living adjustment in six years.
Lawmakers also sought to safeguard ratepayers from the cost of data centers as more come to Oklahoma amid the increasing use of artificial intelligence. House Bill 2992 was signed by the governor and includes a notification process for large load consumers, like data centers, to comply with.
House Minority Leader Cyndi Munson, D-Oklahoma City, said the data center bill was a “true bipartisan effort.”
“It’s rare that we get to experience those opportunities,” Munson said. “There is just outcry across the state of Oklahoma about data centers and the uncertainty around it and managing resources and making sure that those corporations that are coming into our state, that those costs don’t fall on us.”
A bill extending Oklahoma’s moratorium of new medical marijuana business licenses to 2028 was signed into law.
A second measure to limit the number of medical marijuana grows to 2,550 was amended by the Senate but never obtained approval from the House.
A proposal from the governor to make the state superintendent a gubernatorial appointee rather than an elected position lacked support. A resolution to put the idea to a vote of the people failed in the Senate.
Senate leaders’ plan to fund education initiatives by repurposing apportionment money supporting teacher pensions received significant pushback and never came to fruition. Other bills to expand the state Board of Education and limit screen time in elementary schools failed.
The Senate put the kibosh on a sports betting deal that was announced in the waning days of session.
It also declined to advance a state question calling for a constitutional convention.
A bill that sought to ban legislators from consuming and possessing alcohol while on duty got a lot of headlines, but no traction. Likewise, bills to license strippers and lower the guardrails on alligator ownership and breeding went nowhere.
Lawmakers also said goodbye to a number of their colleagues who are terming out, running for higher office or decided not to seek another term.
Oklahoma Voice is part of States Newsroom, a nonprofit news network supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Oklahoma Voice maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Janelle Stecklein for questions: info@oklahomavoice.com.