A half-percentage point cut in the state income tax; an Oklahoma version of DOGE to cut wasteful spending in state government; a pledge to help the Trump White House with its deportation efforts.
Those are just a few of the highlights from Governor Stitt’s 2025 State of the State speech, in which he covered a lot of ground
He dubbed his income tax cut plan ‘A Half and a Path”, with the “path” referring to his proposal to gradually reduce the state income tax rate to zero, like Texas and Florida.
Stitt also announced a plan to create a state version of DOGE, the effort by the Trump Administration and Elon Musk to cut wasteful spending in government.
He said the new division would be called “DOGE OK.”
Stitt also said he wants a $4 billion rainy day fund to be standard practice going forward for the state.
In the speech, Stitt said he has directed the heads of both the Department of Public Safety and the Oklahoma Department of Corrections to do everything they could to cooperate with the deportation efforts by the Trump White House.
On the topic of criminal reform, Stitt is encouraging lawmakers to reduce the fees, fines, and court costs that are imposed on people convicted of crimes, saying that the penalties can reach in the tens of thousands of dollars and that the result is akin to a “debtors’ prison” and leads to increased recidivism.
With regard to education, Stitt says the state should eliminate all virtual school days, arguing that it’s “common sense” that students learn better when they’re in person in the classroom.
He also said he wants to increase apprenticeship programs for students, to open a path to careers in skilled trades, which often face a shortage of new workers.