Republican legislators announce state budget deal, democrats respond

In a press conference on Wednesday afternoon, Republican legislators announced a state budget of $12.59 billion for Fiscal Year 2026, a 0.5% increase from the 2025 budget. 

After months of negotiations, the deal will give all Oklahomans a tax cut. 

“As the folks in this room know, when you have a budget agreement, that’s a culmination that the end of session is near. Constitutionally, we have one job in the legislature every year, and that is to pass a budget,” said House Speaker Kyle Hilbert, R-Bristow. 

Most state agencies will see no increase in their budgets. 

Gov. Stitt said, “It is the best budget that we put together to make Oklahoma a top ten state and the most business-friendly state." 

One new thing in the Fiscal Year 2026 budget is an income tax cut, something the Governor has been championing since he took office. 

Lawmakers said they will get rid of the state's bottom three tax brackets and make quarter-point cuts for the remaining three. 

“We all had input as we represent our constituents to try to build a budget that makes sense for the state of Oklahoma, and this is a budget to really be proud of. We’re still sitting on $3.5 billion in savings,” said House Speaker Hilbert. 

Senate Democratic Leader Julia Kirt, D-Oklahoma City, argued the budget process has not been transparent. 

“I just want to briefly respond and say we're deeply concerned about transparency. We did not get details about this budget before this announcement was made,” she explained. 

Oklahoma Policy Institute echoed the sentiment, accusing a small group of Oklahoma lawmakers of meeting behind closed doors to develop the state's budget. It said the lack of transparency is a step backward for Oklahoma. 

Both chambers and the Governor held public budget negotiations for the last two years, but that did not happen this year. 

RELATED: Oklahoma lawmakers approve $12.59 billion budget with tax cuts, flat agency funding