Prior to the 2020 statewide vote on Medicaid expansion, we at the Oklahoma Council of Public Affairs warned that projected costs were unrealistic, lowball estimates and spending would quickly surge, forcing lawmakers to divert millions from other uses, such as education or public safety.
Officials with the Foundation for Government Accountability and Americans for Prosperity also made that argument with reams of data.
Expansion supporters dismissed those critiques. In June 2020, Medicaid expansion was authorized by statewide vote, albeit by the narrowest of margins.
But now there’s no denying critics knew what we were talking about.
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 CITY – Senate Democratic Leader Kay Floyd announced Wednesday her caucus has elected Sen. Julia Kirt to follow Floyd into that leadership role for the 60th Oklahoma Legislature. Sen. Michael Brooks was chosen to succeed Sen. Kevin Matthews as Democratic caucus chair. Due to term limits, the 59th Oklahoma Legislature will be the last for both Floyd and Matthews, who will continue to serve in their Senate leadership roles until they leave office in November of 2024.
OKLAHOMA CITY (October 21st) – Sen. Julia Kirt [D-OKC] will hold an interim study on Oct. 24 focused on Oklahoma’s laws for ethics and accountability for elected officials.
OKLAHOMA CITY - Sen. Julia Kirt will host a series of public forums in September to let Oklahomans hear from tax and economic experts about Oklahoma’s tax system as well as allow citizens to share their ideas, concerns, and questions on the issue.
OKLAHOMA CITY (May 18th) – The Oklahoma Senate Democratic Caucus released the following statements after passage of the FY 2023 General Appropriations bill:
OKLAHOMA CITY – Senate Appropriations Chair Roger Thompson, R-Okemah, issued the following statement after the Oklahoma State Board of Equalization (BOE) met on Tuesday to certify revenues available for appropriation for the Fiscal Year 2023 budget. The amount initially certified by the board in December was $10.3 billion. The amount certified Tuesday was $10.49 billion.
“The revenue figures show Oklahoma’s economy is still strong, but I emphatically believe it is in the best interest of the state that we continue to take a fiscally conservative approach. It’s important to remember that of the $10.49 billion certified, nearly $1.3 billion is made up of one-time carryover funds and special cash from previous sessions.
“Oklahoma has continued to benefit from federal dollars related to the pandemic, which helped these numbers. Knowing that will change, and that energy prices will not always remain as high as they are now, we must be cautious in our approach to the budget. We need to continue to boost our emergency savings and make careful decisions now while the economy is strong, so that we are prepared for what may come the next few years.”
OKLAHOMA CITY – The Democratic members of the Senate Finance Committee released the following statements in response to today’s State Board of Equalization meeting:
