By Tim Bakamjian

Oklahoma’s 2025 legislative session was one of the best in recent memory. Gov. Kevin Stitt called it “amazing... one of the best in my seven years as governor.” Speaker of the House Kyle Hilbert said the legislation passed “wasn’t just a checklist of campaign promises, but a roadmap for a better, stronger Oklahoma.” Senate Pro Tempore Lonnie Paxton mentioned how proud he was of what a unified GOP-dominated House and Senate accomplished during the session. “We worked hard with the executive branch and our fellow legislators, and that went really, really well.”

It would be hard to argue with their sentiment. Lawmakers passed meaningful policy reforms in a number of key areas, such as taxes, regulation, business promotion, education, transparency, and tort reform.

TAXES

House Bill 2764 cuts Oklahoma’s top income-tax rate from 4.75% to 4.5%, starting next year. It also consolidates current tax brackets from six to three, and puts the state income tax on a gradual (perhaps too gradual) path to zero. To trigger a quarter point annual reduction, state tax collections must increase by an amount averaging at least $300 million in most years. Signed into law by the governor on May 28th, it allows Oklahoma to continue growing economically and remain competitive with states in this region.

It also means, as Stitt has pointed out, that more than $1 billion in total tax cuts had been achieved during his administration while the state’s savings account has increased to a whopping $5 billion.

Democrats wanted the state to increase spending rather than cut taxes for working Oklahomans. They think the potential loss of revenue from a lower tax rate would cause cuts in essential services. Senator Paxton responded by saying the grocery and income taxes already had been cut, with no cut in essential services. In fact, “we’ve expanded the amount of money we spend on those services every year.” He added that since 2004, the state income tax has been cut seven times, but in all but one of those years, state income grew the following year.

The comprehensive tax bill, which was passed as part of the $12.59 billion state budget for fiscal 2026 (a 0.56% increase over the current fiscal year), also includes expenditures on such critical infrastructure needs as a $250 million new state-of-the-art veterinary hospital at OSU, a $200 million new pediatric hospital at OU, and $312 million to buy a privately-owned prison in Lawton.

REGULATION

“For too long, Oklahoma has been one of the most heavily regulated states in the country, with 142,313 regulations on the books and more added every year,” said Jonathan Small, president of Oklahoma Council of Public Affairs, a statewide conservative think tank. “Only 16 states impose more regulations than Oklahoma does.”

House Bill 2728, authored by state Rep. Gerrid Kendrix (R- Altus) and state Sen. Micheal Bergstrom (R-Big Cabin) addresses this problem. Known as the REINS (Regulations from the Executive In Need of Scrutiny) Act of 2025, it allows an existing legislative office to thoroughly review and assess the economic impact of any state agency rule whose implementation and compliance cost would exceed $1 million over a five-year period. Both chambers of the legislature would then have the option to approve or disapprove the proposed agency rule.

Signed into law by Governor Stitt on May 21, the REINS act should put Oklahoma on a path to a dramatically lower regulatory burden in the future.

ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT

Three new laws passed by this year’s legislature will make Oklahoma more attractive to new corporations or enable the existing ones to enhance their profit potential. The state will launch business courts in Oklahoma City and Tulsa on January 1, 2026. The move will streamline complex commercial litigation and provide a faster and more predictable resolution of business disputes. Shareholder disputes, trade secrets, breach of contract, fraud and commercial real estate are among the areas that will begin falling under their jurisdiction. Oklahoma will join twenty-seven other states in creating courts to handle business matters in a more efficient and knowledgeable manner.

Update: On July 15th, the Oklahoma Supreme Court put this law, Senate Bill 632, on hold after hearing a challenge from attorneys as to its constitutionality. Whether it takes effect on September 1st as scheduled, is unknown at this time. Governor Stitt reacted by calling it “a textbook example of attorneys trying to use the courts to block progress.”

Senate Bill 480, signed into law by Governor Stitt on May 15th, is expected to generate billions in new private-sector investment by allowing private businesses to build their own electricity infrastructure in parts of the state it’s otherwise lacking. Authored by Senator Grant Green (R-Wellston), this “Behind the Meter” legislation will increase energy generation at a time when the growing number of data centers, large-scale manufacturing facilities and artificial intelligence processing centers raise the demand for electricity. “This bill,” said Senator Green, “sends a clear message that our state is ready to welcome major investment from companies looking to build, expand and lead in emerging fields.”

Final passage of another new bill this session has set the stage for Oklahoma to build the first new aluminum plant in the United States in 45 years. House Bill 2781 created the Reindustrialize Oklahoma Act (ROA-25), which revives manufacturing in the state and supports the $4 billion Emirates Global Aluminum (EGA) production plant set to be built at the Tulsa Port of Inola. This project, which comes after a strategic international deal was negotiated by President Trump, is expected to create more than 1,000 high-paying jobs, double the nation’s aluminum production capacity, and strengthen America’s critical mineral supply chains.

“This investment marks a historic milestone for Oklahoma, national security and the future of American manufacturing,” said Rep. Brian Hill (R-Mustang), Chairman of the Commerce and Economic Development committee. “Oklahoma is proud to lead in critical minerals, drive economic growth and build a stronger future for our families and communities.”

EDUCATION

Although Oklahoma still ranks near the bottom in most education metrics, the legislature passed several new laws that may improve those rankings. Senate Bill 139, by Sen. Ally Seifried (R-Claremore) bans cell phone use during instructional time, except for emergencies or monitoring of health conditions. The new policy seeks to help students stay focused, provide less classroom distraction and eliminate some behavioral issues. Senate Bill 105, authored by Sen. Julie Daniels (R-Bartlesville)and Rep. Chad Caldwel (R-Enid) eliminates the requirement that special needs students must attend public school for one year before they can receive a Lindsey Nicole Henry scholarship to attend private school. This gives children faster access to specialized education, thus improving their chances of long-term success.

Both of these laws will go into effect for the 2025-26 school year. So will several others that affect Oklahoma students and educators:

House Bill 1087 increases the number of school days from 180 to 182, limits virtual days to two and gives teachers a slight raise by adding 10 more years, from 25 to 35, to the number of salary increments.

Senate Bill 235 creates the Grow Your Own Educator Program, which provides matching funds to school districts to help support staff, such as paraprofessionals and teaching assistants, become teachers.

Senate Bill 796 means no college in Oklahoma will be able to use state funds, property or resources to support Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) initiatives. This includes job positions, departments, activities, procedures and programs based on race ethnicity or national origin.

LAWSUIT REFORM

New tort reform legislation authored by Sen. Brent Howard (R-Altus), should spur economic growth, job creation and attract new business to the state. Senate Bill 453 restores the cap on non-economic or “pain and suffering” that people who are injured can receive in a lawsuit.

In 2019, the Oklahoma Supreme Court struck down a $350,000 cap on noneconomic damages because it treated survivors of injuries differently from those who died in the same incidents. SB 453 sets the cap at $500,000 on such damages, with exceptions in cases of “permanent and severe injury or instances involving fraud and negligence.”

Sen. Howard said the legislation will provide financial certainty to all Oklahomans (especially rural doctors) while still allowing injured parties to be made financially whole. “Now,” said Howard, “not everybody will be worried about losing every bit of property they’ve saved for their own benefit, their own retirement, if they have a simple mess up at some time.”

According to the State Chamber of Commerce’s Research Foundation, excessive tort costs have cost the state $3.7 billion in state gross product each year and almost 32,000 jobs annually.

A less high-profile but similar lawsuit reform bill also became law in 2025. Senate Bill 642, protects businesses and their owners from undue liability in workers’ compensation cases by safeguarding the role of private contracts between businesses. For instance, the bill makes sure employees of subcontractors have adequate workers’ comp coverage, but prevents them from filing claims against multiple sources. Senator Daniels expects a reduction in workplace injury claims against premise owners or general contractors.

INITIATIVE PETITION REFORMS

The initiative petition process enables citizens to bypass their state legislature by placing proposed statutes, and in some cases, constitutional amendments, on the ballot. In Oklahoma, that’s been so easy that the process has been abused. Out-of-state groups and wealthy donors have successfully forced their left-of-center policies on the ballot by only soliciting signatures from Oklahoma’s most liberal communities, such as Oklahoma City, Tulsa and Norman. The majority of Oklahomans, especially those in rural areas, have been bypassed. Our poorly designed medical marijuana laws, which have created more problems than benefits, passed this way in 2018. The result has been an infusion in this state of organized crime, international cartels and a law so lenient that “anybody with a hangnail.” as Governor Stitt described it, can obtain a medical marijuana card, even though the law was meant for limited health conditions.

Another initiative petition effort in 2020 ended in the public narrowly voting to expand Medicaid benefits to include able-bodied adults as well as the medically needy. The move was supposed to improve health outcomes and save rural hospitals. It did neither. Plus, the expansion ’s much larger than anticipated cost could, over time, break the state budget.

Senate Bill 1027, authored by Sen. David Bullard (R-Durant), doesn’t end this democratic process, but puts needed guardrails on it. The new law, which was approved by the governor on May 23, 2025, makes three needed improvements. It requires: 1)a more diverse cross-section of Oklahoman’s signatures, 2) signature gatherers to be state residents (so they have a stake in the outcome), and 3) that the petition language be clear and easily understandable to voters.

FINAL THOUGHTS

The State Income Tax Reduction (HB2764), the Initiative Petition Process Reform (SB1027), and the End Higher Education DEI (SB796) were all part of this publication’s annual Oklahoma Conservative Index. In each case, a YES vote in support of the bill was the conservative vote. Almost every Republican legislator supported all three, as only three GOP senators opposed SB2764, four Republican representatives voted against SB1027, and no Republican opposed SB796.

Let’s hope the 2026 legislative session is as productive as the recently ended one. Further strides in education reform, tort reform, public safety and business development will likely be part of their agenda.

Tim Bakamjian is an independent real estate broker and investor living in Tulsa. He holds a bachelor’s degree in political science from Kenyon College in Ohio and a bachelor’s in journalism from the University of Tulsa. He’s married with one grown child. Political and economic issues have been a life-long interest. He may be contacted at: tbakamjian@gmail.com