OKLAHOMA CITY – Senate Pro Tem Greg Treat, R-Oklahoma City, today announced the long-awaited reduction in Oklahoma's grocery tax will take effect Thursday.
The tax cut, which was approved during this year's legislative session, marks a significant step toward easing the financial burden on Oklahoma families. It also represents the largest tax cut in state history.
For example, of the 40 Republicans, at least 11 are not returning to the body after November, due to term limits, not seeking reelection, or (as in McCortney's case) election defeat. These members still got to vote in-caucus on the leader for 2025-2026. Additionally, it seems that several conservative senators are in Milwaukee for the Republican National Convention, and were not present for the meeting. Perhaps this was by design.
Oklahoma political icon James Mountain Inhofe passed away at the age of 89 on Tuesday following a stroke. The longest serving U.S. Senator in Oklahoma history, Inhofe had a storied political career that began in the Oklahoma House of Representatives in 1966, and included stints in the Oklahoma Senate, as Tulsa Mayor, then the U.S. House of Representatives before winning a seat in the U.S. Senate in 1994.
I didn't realize this, but Inhofe played a key role in getting the USS Batfish submarine to Oklahoma (originally intended for Tulsa, it found a home instead in Muskogee.
OKLAHOMA CITY (June 28th) – Senate Pro Tem Greg Treat, R-Oklahoma City today announced the approved list of interim studies that will be discussed during the legislative interim.
In total, 39 interim study requests were approved and have been assigned to a committee. It is at the discretion of each individual committee chair as to whether a study will be scheduled.
All interim studies must be concluded by November 1.
I've been out of town and busy with other things over the past two weeks, so I'm a bit behind on blogging. Here's some news from earlier this week, when Governor Kevin Stitt signed the state budget into law (some legislators had been concerned he would veto portions of it, but those fears were unfounded).
OKLAHOMA CITY (June 12, 2024) - Today, Governor Kevin Stitt signed the budget for the state’s 2025 fiscal year into law. After giving effect to elimination of the grocery tax, the largest single tax cut to delivered to taxpayers in state history, this budget authorized state expenditures at a reduced level relative to last year while delivering on strategic investments in infrastructure and efforts to further the Governor’s pro-business, pro-family policies.
Here are some session summaries from Senate Pro Tem Greg Treat and House Speaker Charles McCall (both are term limited).
OKLAHOMA CITY (May 28th) – Senate Pro Tem Greg Treat, R-Oklahoma City, and his Appropriations Chairman, Sen. Chuck Hall, R-Perry, today released the following statements after the state budget bill for Fiscal Year 2025 passed off the Senate floor this morning.
Senate Bill 1125 passed off the Senate floor 31-11.
OKLAHOMA CITY (May 22nd) – Senate Pro Tem Greg Treat, R-Oklahoma City, and House Speaker Charles McCall, R-Atoka, today released the following statements after Senate and House negotiators reached an agreement on the state’s Fiscal Year 2025 budget.
The budget agreement is the first time all meetings were hosted in public and gave Oklahomans a behind the scenes look on how the state budget is negotiated.
Well, this was very unexpected. Treat canned Senate budget chairman Roger Thompson in the final month of the legislative session, approaching the height of budget negotiations...
OKLAHOMA CITY – Senate Pro Tem Greg Treat, R-Oklahoma City, today announced a change to his appropriations chairman.
Pro Tem Treat has selected Senator Chuck Hall, R-Perry, to replace Senator Roger Thompson, R-Okemah, as his appropriations chairman.
Senator Paul Rosino, R-Oklahoma City, will now serve as appropriations vice chair.
OKLAHOMA CITY (April 25th) – The Oklahoma House of Representatives today approved legislation to reduce criminal activity in Oklahoma.
Senate Bill 1450, authored by Rep. John George, R-Newalla, lowers the felony threshold for theft from $1,000 to $500, defines organized retail crime, and sets penalties based on stolen property value.
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| Dash cam view just prior to vehicle slamming into car on shoulder |
OKLAHOMA CITY (April 23rd) – Senate Pro Tem Greg Treat, R-Oklahoma City, today applauded the Oklahoma House of Representatives for passing Senate Bill 2035, legislation he authored after his son’s near-deadly accident.
The bill passed off the House floor by a vote of 89-2.
Pro Tem Treat’s son was driving legally but did not have a car tag because current state law allows a private seller of a vehicle to retain possession of the physical car tag. While his son, Mason, was pulled over, the driver of another vehicle veered off the road and slammed into the back of his car, injuring him and the sheriff who had pulled him over.
“This goes beyond politics, and I greatly appreciate the members of the House of Representatives who voted in favor of this legislation,” Pro Tem Treat said. “I nearly lost my son due to no fault of his own. He was driving legally but was pulled over because he didn’t have a tag, even though he had all of the proper vehicle information, insurance and registration forms. Senate Bill 2035 is my main priority this session because I don’t want any families to have to go through what my family has gone through. I deeply appreciate Rep. Kyle Hilbert, who carried this legislation on the House side and all of the coauthors. I look forward to seeing this being signed into law.”
The bill will go back to the Senate for adoption of a perfunctory amendment before heading to the governor’s desk.
Senate Bill 2035 provides that motor vehicle license plates shall be transferable to different owners but shall remain with the vehicle it is initially registered to beginning July 1, 2024. The measure repeals a statute authorizing the transfer of a license plate to a different vehicle.
Pro Tem Treat’s son Mason spent 20 days in the hospital recovering from his injuries. He continues his recovery at home and in various physical therapy sessions.
Click here to watch Pro Tem Treat’s floor debate on Senate Bill 2035.
Provisions of Senate Bill 2035
OKLAHOMA CITY (April 11th) – Speaker Charles McCall, R-Atoka, and Senate Pro Tempore Greg Treat, R-Oklahoma City, today announced the substance of what will be included in jointly agreed to legislation aimed at addressing the illegal immigration crisis here in Oklahoma. The legislation, which will be filed next week, creates the crime of impermissible occupation. Details include:
OKLAHOMA CITY (March 20th) — Sen. Dusty Deevers, R-Elgin, released the following statement concerning comments made by Sen. Greg Treat, R-Oklahoma City, at a press conference on Tuesday.
“On Tuesday, during an interview with KOCO 5, Senate Pro Tem Greg Treat attempted to crawl out of the ad hominem hole he dug by calling Senator Nathan Dahm and me ‘terrorists’ for lawfully advocating for our constituents. His chosen shovel was another defamatory term, ‘toddlers.’
“I had hoped for a higher level of professionalism and decorum rather than resorting to name-calling. Such a leadership style only exposes its own immaturity. Also, it’s important to note that Governor Stitt supported our efforts.
OKLAHOMA CITY (March 18th) – Senate Pro Tem Greg Treat, R-Oklahoma City and Senate Appropriations Chairman, Senator Roger Thompson, R-Okemah, today released the following statements after the Senate budget resolution passed 41 – 3 off the Senate floor.
Senate Resolution 31 is the result of the Senate’s budget transparency project that has been in the works for months. The new process brought the Senate budgeting process to light and showed a behind the scenes look at how members make decisions on where taxpayer money goes.
The saga continues (see Monday's post, Dahm and Deevers discuss Tyrannical Treat's 'terrorist' tirade after Senate filibustering):
OKLAHOMA CITY – Sen. Nathan Dahm, R-Broken Arrow, on Thursday released the following statement in response to Senate Pro Tem Greg Treat’s continued name-calling and contention that Dahm’s legislation is “crazy.”
On Thursday, conservative state senators Nathan Dahm (R-Broken Arrow) and Dusty Deevers (R-Elgin) engaged in a filibuster of-sorts to protest, among other things, the lack of action on conservative members' priority legislation and the general state of how things are run in the Senate under Pro Tem Greg Treat.
At a press conference during the day, Treat commented on the action, saying that he "doesn't negotiate with terrorists," before back-tracking moments later to say, "I am not calling them terrorists; I'm calling their actions 'terroristic'". And yet, as Sen. Dahm points out below, everything that he and Deevers did was above board and by the Senate Rules.
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| Dash cam view just prior to vehicle slamming into car on shoulder |
OKLAHOMA CITY (Feb. 27th) – Senate Pro Tem Greg Treat, R-Oklahoma City, today released the following statement after Senate Bill 2035 unanimously passed through the Aeronautics and Transportation Committee.
Senate Bill 2035 was authored by Pro Tem Treat in the wake of a tragic accident that involved his son, Mason. He was driving legally with proper documentation but didn’t have a car tag because the sale of the vehicle was from a private individual. Current state law requires a private seller of a vehicle to retain possession of a motor vehicle tag after the sale of a car.
OKLAHOMA CITY (Feb. 29th) – Senate Appropriations Chairman Roger Thompson, R-Okemah, said the Oklahoma Legislature’s upper chamber is on its way toward making this year’s budget process more transparent than ever.
The public got its first glimpse at proposed state agency appropriations for the upcoming fiscal year in a Wednesday meeting of the Appropriations Committee.
The Oklahoma State Senate voted today 42-2 to end the state's 4.5% sales tax applied to groceries, sending the measure to Governor Kevin Stitt for his signature (the House voted 88-7 to pass HB1955 last year, meaning the bill was still eligible for Senate action this session). The change will likely take effect in August.
Local sales tax on groceries still applies; Locally assessed sales taxes on groceries will remain unchanged by the law through June 30th, 2025, after which point it seems counties and municipalities can change their rates (... which I'm sure they will).
When it comes to Gov. Stitt's desire to pass an income tax cut and eliminate the grocery sales tax, Senate GOP leadership is loath to pursue both. Pro Tem Treat is set on only moving on the grocery tax.
OKLAHOMA CITY (Feb. 15th) – Senate Pro Tem Greg Treat, R-Oklahoma City, today issued the following statement after the Oklahoma Board of Equalization released the estimate of revenue that will be available for lawmakers to spend on government services.
“These numbers are certainly encouraging, and they show a lot of promise,” Pro Tem Treat said. “With these numbers and the current savings we have, now is the time to cut the grocery tax. Cutting the grocery tax will give Oklahomans immediate relief every time they leave the grocery store and will be more beneficial than any other form of tax cut.
