Legislature prepares for battle royale with Gov. Stitt, starts veto override votes

Legislative leaders set veto override votes

OKLAHOMA CITY – The Legislature will consider overriding Gov. Kevin Stitt's vetoes of budget legislation today. The House of Representatives returns to session at 5 p.m. and the Senate is currently in session. Overrides of budget legislation vetoes will be taken up today.

House Speaker Charles McCall, R-Atoka, and Senate President Pro Tempore Greg Treat, R-Oklahoma City, issued the following joint statement:

"The Legislature will initiate veto overrides immediately. Since the governor refused to do so, legislators will rise to the moment to enact a balanced budget for the people of Oklahoma that protects education from deep cuts without harming the transportation or public retirement systems. The deep education funding cuts the governor’s vetoes cause are unnecessary and unacceptable, as is his false rhetoric about the bills’ effect on the transportation and retirement systems.”

UPDATE: The Legislature is voting even as we speak. You can follow my Capitol News list on Twitter for live-tweets of the events, which are swiftly unfolding:
A Twitter List by JamisonFaught

BREAKING: Governor Stitt vetoes state budget bills, calls for Legislature to re-evaluate

GOVERNOR STITT VETOES LEGISLATURE’S PROPOSED FY 2021 BUDGET

OKLAHOMA CITY (May 13, 2020)— Governor Kevin Stitt today issued the following statement after vetoing the Oklahoma Legislature’s proposed Fiscal Year 2021 Budget (Senate Bill 1922):

“This budget was created behind closed doors, without meaningful input or consultation from the Executive Branch.

This proposed budget does not reflect the values of Oklahoma or the clear directive voters gave elected officials at the ballot box of living within our means and making hard decisions when times get tough. Instead, Senate Bill 1922 reflects misguided policies that conservative republicans have spent the past decade reversing. It is propped up with one-time funds that will not be available for Fiscal Year 2022.

House passes state budget, sends to Governor's desk

House approves FY 21 budget

OKLAHOMA CITY – The House of Representatives overwhelmingly passed a Fiscal Year 2021 general appropriations bill Thursday designed to spare common education from cuts amid COVID-19 while maintaining adequate funding to avoid service reductions elsewhere in government.

The House vote on Senate Bill 1922, the general appropriations bill, was 77-23. The Senate previously passed the bill, 36-11. It now goes to Gov. Kevin Stitt.

Oklahoma Senate approves, sends budget bills to House

Oklahoma Senate advances FY’21 budget bills

OKLAHOMA CITY – The Oklahoma Senate on Tuesday advanced a series of bills as part of the Fiscal Year 2021 budget agreement announced earlier this week.

“Oklahoma has weathered challenging times before, and we will get through this storm too. Our fiscal position is stronger today because of our actions during the last downturn and our decision last year to save money,” said Senate President Pro Tempore Greg Treat, R-Oklahoma City. “This is a far better budget than most expected considering the toll taken on state revenues by the coronavirus pandemic and depressed oil and gas prices. The budget prioritizes education and other core services that Oklahomans rely upon. I want to thank Senator Thompson and the appropriations subcommittee chairs for their diligent, round-the-clock work on this budget.”