Oklahoma Senators Pass Preliminary 2025 Budget

The state senate has approved the preliminary state budget for 2025. The $12.3 billion figure is the first number that will spark negotiations between the Senate, House, and Governor.

Monday, March 18th 2024, 10:24 pm

By: News 9, Haley Weger

OKLAHOMA -

The state senate has approved the preliminary state budget for 2025.

The $12.3 billion figure is the first number that will spark negotiations between the Senate, House, and Governor.

This is a major milestone of the state senate’s push for budget transparency this year.

Each state agency got the chance to meet with state senators this year, in an open meeting, to discuss their individual budget requests. In the past, these meetings have taken place behind closed doors.

Today, senate committee chairs read line-by-line the senate resolution continuing the preliminary state budget for 2025. “Today I'm not asking for a vote on the budget this year, I'm asking for a vote of confidence that we've done our due diligence, that these numbers are within our balanced budget and they are our beginning numbers,” said Sen. Roger Thompson, ( R) Senate Budget Chair.

Senators have laid out a preliminary state budget of $12.3 billion. The figure includes the $300 million that the grocery tax cut will cost the state and put $1.2 billion into the state’s savings account. “It is time that we look at the need to have a balanced budget recognizing there are other needs within the state,” said Sen. Thompson.

The budget had bipartisan support on the Senate floor, but still had three ‘no’ votes from Senate democrats.

“I do however remain concerned about protecting our key investments in education, public safety and mental health, and childcare,” said Sen. Carri Hicks, (D) OKC. “I believe this budget falls short of reducing maternal mortality, tackling the housing crisis, and ending child hunger.”

Senators Julia Kirt and Carri Hicks say they don’t think the budget meets the needs of Oklahomans. “Unfortunately, agencies were artificially constrained to tell us what they really need, we did see the executive branch limited what those agencies could request so saw a lot of flat budgets,” said Sen. Kirt, (D) OKC.

But, with overwhelming support from the Senate majority, the resolution is headed to the state house where the real negotiations begin. “Now we will turn and start finding where there is agreement on the budget with the other legs of the stool between the house, the governor, and the Senate to come up with a budget agreement,” said House Speaker Charles McCall.

Highlights from Senate budget proposal:

Total Education: $5,705,903,603
Total General Government and Transportation: $1,269,769,640
Total Health and Social Services: $2,211,397,036
Total Human Services: $923,744,407
Total Natural Resources and Regulatory Services: $470,876,292
Total Public Safety and Judiciary: $1,046,702,444
Total State Agencies: $607,800,000
Total FY’24 Supplementals: $92,450,000

The full Senate budget resolution document can be read below:

Haley Weger

Haley Weger joined the News 9 team as a multi-media journalist in August 2022. She came to OKC from Lake Charles, Louisiana. Haley began her career as a producer and multi-media reporter and then transitioned to a morning anchor position. While she was in Louisiana, Haley covered an array of news topics, and covered multiple hurricanes on the coast.