Gov. Stitt Lays Out His Plans For 2023

With over $4 billion in savings, Governor Stitt outlined his plans for the state. He says his main priorities are to “drive excellence in education,” “continue to make Oklahoma the most business-friendly state in the nation” and “protect Oklahomans and promote freedoms.”

The governor is setting these goals as he continues to work up to his ultimate objective of making Oklahoma a top 10 state. 

“My fellow Oklahomans: the state of our state is the strongest it’s ever been,” Stitt said.

Governor Siitt is requesting over $10 billion in appropriations for the 2024 fiscal year. The budget is broken down into agencies:

1. $5,048,379,510 to education
2. $1,092,703,607 to general government and transportation
3. $2,764,972,413 to health and human services
4. $210,463,867 to natural resources
5. $944,274,129 to public safety and judiciary

In education, he recommended a $5 billion appropriation. He wants to put $100 million toward State Superintendent Ryan Walter’s comprehensive reading plan with the goal of having all Oklahoma students reading proficient going into fourth grade.

He also wants to invest $100 million to create new schools and $50 million for a performance- based teacher pay raise. 

Stitt is also pushing for school vouchers, a program that would give public school money to parents to pay for private school education.

“Every child deserves a quality education that fits their unique needs, regardless of economic status, or background. let’s fund students, not systems,” Stitt said.

Stitt challenged the two biggest state schools, OU and OSU to “grow and deliver a quality education to 40,000 students by 2030,” Stitt said.

“We need our universities to meet the nursing needs of our hospitals, the engineering needs of our growing aerospace industry, the teaching needs of our secondary schools, the software developer needs for tech companies,” Stitt said.

Stitt added that he wants Oklahoma universities to have less Diversity Equity and Inclusion officers and more career placement counselors. This comes shortly after Ryan Walters, in his role as Secretary of Education, called for an audit of all DEI personnel and dollars spent in higher education over the last 10 years.

Stitt says he wants to reduce the personal income tax rate to 3.99% tax and end the grocery tax. This would reduce tax collections by around $665 million.

“This year, we must capitalize on the progress we’ve made. That means continuing to focus on key areas: energy, infrastructure, workforce development, and tax policy,” Stitt said.

“The time is now, we need to keep the momentum going, let's cut taxes,” Stitt said.

He wants to put $20 million towards the “Quick Action Closing Fund” in order to attract more businesses, saying Oklahoma has the third fastest growing economy in the nation, but workforce is the biggest challenge companies are facing.

“Companies from all over the country – and the world – are moving to our state to build and expand,” Stitt said.

Oklahoma is also home to over 340,000 veterans, making up about 9% of our total population. 

“With help from our veteran members in the Legislature, we enacted new laws last year to help Oklahoma veterans across the state,” Stitt said.

“It’s my goal to make Oklahoma the best state in the nation for those who fought for our freedoms,” said Stitt.

He also talked extensively about the positive impacts of fully funding law enforcement in the state. 

“When we back the blue, we are creating safer communities, safer schools, and a safer Oklahoma,” Stitt said.

“This also extends to combating drug and human trafficking and cracking down on illegal marijuana operations in our state. We have deactivated over 800 illegal marijuana farms, completed 165 arrests, and seized over 600,000 pounds of illegal marijuana,” Stitt said. 

Stitt also called on the Legislature to send him a bill banning all gender transition surgeries and hormone therapies on minors in the state. 

“After all 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,” Stitt said. 

Stitt also spoke on the investment he wants to make in healthcare: $700 million towards expanding primary care across the state and improving rural hospitals. 

Stitt covered broadband services in the state, saying Oklahoma was ranked in the bottom 10 for broadband access when he came into office.

“Today, we’ve jumped 23 spots to 26th in the nation for fastest coverage,” Stitt said. 

“Last year, thanks to the leadership of House Speaker Charles McCall, we formed the Oklahoma Broadband Office and set a vision to deliver high-speed internet access to 95% of the state by 2028,” Stitt said.

Stitt says they have also “secured millions in federal funding to add shoulders to rural highways,” Stitt said.

“And just last week, Oklahoma secured the largest transportation grant in state history - $85 million for improving I-44 and the US-75 interchange, a major win for Oklahoma,” Stitt said.

He also called for transparency laws to protect the integrity of elections in the state, saying Oklahomans deserve to know who is funding political campaigns.

Wrapping up his address, he said “Oklahoma feeds the world, fuels the world, and protects freedoms around the world.”

He said the future is possible- right here in Oklahoma.

“With our fiscal discipline, economic growth, and record savings, let’s make a significant statement that Oklahoma is here to stay on the national stage,” Stitt said.