OCPA column: A successful session

A successful session

By Jonathan Small

The 2025 legislative session has provided many policy wins for Oklahomans, and it is evidence of the intentional efforts by lawmakers to pass meaningful reforms.

The success of this session owes much to the leadership of Gov. Kevin Stitt, House Speaker Kyle Hilbert, and Senate Pro Tempore Lonnie Paxton, as well as the hard work of many lawmakers.

House Bill 2764 cuts Oklahoma’s top income-tax rate from 4.75 percent to 4.5 percent and puts the income tax on a gradual path to zero. This will help Oklahoma remain competitive with other states while encouraging more investment and job creation in Oklahoma. State Sen. Micheal Bergstrom and state Rep. Mark Lepak, in particular, deserve credit for their work on this issue.

House Bill 2728, by state Rep. Gerrid Kendrix and Bergstrom, creates the Regulations from the Executive in Need of Scrutiny (REINS) Act of 2025. The new law requires thorough review and proactive legislative approval before any state agency regulation can take effect if the rule’s implementation and compliance costs exceed $1 million over a five-year period. Over time, this will dramatically reduce excessive regulation.

Senate Bill 1027, by state Sen. David Bullard and House Speaker Kyle Hilbert, improves transparency for initiative petitions, such as informing voters who funded a petition as well as any taxpayer costs associated with a proposal. The bill also requires initiative petitions to gather signatures from a larger swath of Oklahoma.

Senate Bill 453, by state Sen. Brent Howard, caps awards for vague “noneconomic” damages at $500,000, while still allowing plaintiffs to receive full recovery for true economic damages, such as lost wages and medical expenses.

Under Senate Bill 642, by Paxton and Hilbert, the workers’ compensation statute’s exclusive remedy provision will not prohibit general contractors from enforcing indemnity contracts they’ve entered with subcontractors.

Senate Bill 105, by state Sen. Julie Daniels and state Rep. Chad Caldwell, eliminates a requirement for Oklahoma children with special needs to attend public school for one year before they can receive a Lindsey Nicole Henry Scholarships for Students with Disabilities scholarship to attend a private school.

Senate Bill 684, by Paxton and Hilbert, provides certainty to families who participate in the Oklahoma Parental Choice Tax Credit program to pay for private school by grandfathering in those who received a tax credit the prior year. Recipients with income below $150,000 were already grandfathered, but this meant a family with one child and income of $149,000 was guaranteed education stability while a family with three children and income of $151,000 was not. SB 684 treats everyone fairly.

Each of these bills represents a win for Oklahomans. But taken as a whole, they are proof this was a highly productive legislative session.

Jonathan Small serves as president of the Oklahoma Council of Public Affairs.