Hot Seat: Oklahoma Democrats outline priorities ahead of Governor's State of the State Address

As Oklahoma's 60th legislature convenes, Democratic leaders Senator Julia Kirt and Representative Cyndi Munson share their expectations for Governor Stitt's upcoming State of the State address, focusing on public education, housing, and the governor's proposal to eliminate the state income tax.

Stabilizing Public Education

Senator Julia Kirt emphasized the need for the governor to provide stability in public education, noting that 95% of Oklahoma children attend public schools.

"The governor has the ability to set the course for public education our you know, my kids are in public schools. 95% of Oklahoma kids are in public schools. And so we need to hear from the governor how he's going to help stabilize and make sure our schools aren't having to run after every political whim of statewide leaders," Kirt said.

Addressing the Housing Crisis

Kirt also hopes the governor will acknowledge the state's housing challenges, which she says "affects the economy of our communities."

She called for a bipartisan approach to addressing housing supply and affordability at all income levels, including support for the aging population and veterans.

"This is affecting our economy. It's affecting individuals daily, and that market is out of balance, right? So this is a bipartisan issue. We need to work on housing supply, making sure enough housing is being built or revamped. We also need to make sure it's in all income levels so we have enough housing for our wealthy folks, we got to make sure we're looking at our working folks and even those who really need supported housing," Kirt said.

Concerns over Income Tax Elimination

Representative Cyndi Munson anticipates the governor will tout a proposal to gradually eliminate the state income tax, a plan she says raises concerns about the impact on state revenue and core services.

"It sounds like he has a proposal that he has been talking to Republican legislative leaders about. He's calling it a 'half and a path' plan where he wants the legislature to begin cutting the state income tax a half a percent every year until we get to zero. And of course, my concern with that is that it's important that we have revenue coming into our state government to fund core functions of government, like public schools and public safety, our roads and bridges, our hospitals, things that we all value and very much care about," Munson said.

Munson also hopes the governor will avoid divisive and marginalizing rhetoric, urging a more inclusive approach.

"I hope he doesn't spend a lot of time doing what the President has done in his first week in office, where he's really sort of dehumanizing and marginalizing people in our community. I hope he stays away from that applause," Munson said.