House and Senate budget standoff close to ending after major leadership change

OKLAHOMA CITY, Okla. — Leadership of both the Oklahoma House and the State Senate said they are close to a budget agreement after a nearly month-long standoff in which one chamber accused the other of “operating in darkness.”

Republican leadership in both chambers made the announcement after Senate Appropriations Committee Chairman Roger Thompson (R-Okemah) was removed from his post earlier this week. He then vacated his office on the upper level Senate leadership floor and moved into a new office on the second floor of the State Capitol.

“It’s been a somber week in many ways, but I’m excited for the new chapter,” said State Senate President Pro Tem Greg Treat (R).

Treat said Thompson remains a personal friend of his who has been a champion for budget transparency and a major player when it comes to defending responsible use of Oklahoma taxpayer dollars.

FOX23 has repeatedly reached out to Thompson’s office for a statement, comment, or interview, but none of those means were responded to. Thompson told FOX23′s news partners in Oklahoma City he had no comment except that his head was held high.

In early April, a budget standoff began when Thompson as Senate Appropriations Chairman under the guidance of Treat refused to hear any House budget bills and accused the chamber of “operating in darkness”.

“It is our conviction in the Senate that we started in the beginning to shine light on the budget process, and if you go dark in the middle of that process, the entire process goes dark,” Thompson said in early April.

The State Senate began working on its version of the state’s next budget that will take effect July 1 around last Christmas. After multiple public hearings, the Senate passed its version of the budget in March, the earliest it has passed a budget in decades if ever before.

Thompson was the only Republican to vote “no” in the Senate on the repeal of the state’s sales tax on groceries, and he has maintained the position that Oklahoma cannot afford any more tax cuts this session. He said the reason the state is in good financial standing now is because of tough decisions made during the 2018 teacher walk out that required a supermajority in both chambers to raise taxes and correct massive budget deficits.

“We are positioned to move forward,” Thompson said in February when defending his “no” vote on cutting the state’s sales tax on groceries. “We have worked hard over these years to fund the needs that we need in Oklahoma.”

After Thompson’s removal, House Speaker Charles McCall (R-Atoka) said he believed a budget agreement could be made by the end of the week, and that budget agreement could include another tax cut, this time to the income tax.

“I really hope we’re going to get a budget deal done this week,” McCall said. “I think we’re really close.”

Thompson’s vacating of his Senate leadership office does not mean he resigned. Thompson continues to serve in the Senate representing Okemah and surrounding areas.

Lawmakers have until the end of May to finalize the state’s next budget that will kick in July 1.