By Barbara Hoberock, Oklahoma Voice
OKLAHOMA CITY – Lawmakers will return Monday to the Capitol seeking ways to reduce homeowners and health insurance costs.
Regulating data centers and artificial intelligence, improving childhood literacy and reducing property taxes are also on the list.
“Reading sufficiency is definitely on the list of things we need to improve,” said Senate Pro Tem Lonnie Paxton, R-Tuttle, who is serving his second year as leader of the Senate.
According to the bills that have been filed, lawmakers will take another stab at allowing sports betting and increasing the minimum wage.
Legislators return to session facing requests from state agencies for over $1.5 billion in increased funding, but are expected to have about $692 million less to spend amid slower revenue growth.
Most agencies are expected to see flat budgets, with possible exceptions for health care and education.
In recent years, lawmakers reduced the state income tax and eliminated the state sales tax on groceries.
Paxton said he favors waiting to see the impact of those efforts before talking about additional tax cuts.
Lawmakers will also grapple with bills covering wedge issues, or divisive political and social topics, such as abortion, marriage and religion.
“As far as those wedge issues, they are out there every year,” Paxton said. “It is not just election years.”
While wedge issues are seen every session, they appear to be a bit more common in election years as lawmakers try to placate their base of support.
“Some of the bills that make the news are the ones that probably are the ones that are least likely to advance,” he said.
Paxton said he doesn’t know if the hotly contested gubernatorial race will impact the session.
“We’ll sure try to make sure it doesn’t,” Paxton said. “Our job is to pass good legislation.”
Republican Gov. Kevin Stitt is serving the last year of his second term.
After a year leading the upper chamber, Paxton said he has learned a few things.
He wants to get out of the office more and spend time with senators.
“Every senator represents a different part of the state and those different parts of the state have different needs from government, or different desires from government, or are different things that are big issues to those districts,” Paxton said.
He has three years left on his Senate term and would like to continue to lead the Senate. Republicans have a supermajority in the chamber, holding 40 of the 48 seats.
He said he believes his chamber is working well with their counterparts in the state House.
“We can disagree without being disagreeable, and then most people like the fact that we are not launching grenades over the House of Representatives all the time,” Paxton said.
