![A look at corrections spending](https://oklahoma-council.transforms.svdcdn.com/production/assets/img/Department-of-Corrections-1.jpeg?w=768&auto=compress%2Cformat&fit=min&dm=1721234145&s=b4ddc144a3d467f61df8cc689c1b0234)
Budget & Tax
Curtis Shelton | July 17, 2024
A look at corrections spending
Curtis Shelton
You may recall that Oklahoma’s 2024 legislative session wrapped up after legislative leaders and Gov. Kevin Stitt agreed to large increases in government spending. In our ongoing series of blog posts on spending trends, we continue to work our way through the 10 largest state agencies in terms of state appropriations. As a reminder, they are:
- Department of Education
- Oklahoma Health Care Authority
- Regents for Higher Education
- Department of Transportation
- Department of Human Services
- Department of Corrections
- Department of Mental Health and Substance Abuse Services
- Department of Career and Technology Education
- Department of Public Safety
- Office of Management and Enterprise Services
Today we consider the Oklahoma Department of Corrections. As of 2022, the department was responsible for 22,745 sentenced prisoners. Oklahoma has the fourth-highest imprisonment rate in the nation, according to the Bureau of Justice Statistics in the U.S. Department of Justice.
In fiscal year 2025, the Oklahoma Department of Corrections’ total appropriation was $544 million. That is a 14 percent decline from fiscal year 2003’s total of $631 million when adjusted for inflation.
Sources: Oklahoma Annual Comprehensive Financial Reports; Oklahoma House of Representatives Fiscal Summary; SB1125 Fiscal Summary; U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, CPI Inflation Calculator
![Curtis Shelton Policy Research Fellow](https://oklahoma-council.transforms.svdcdn.com/production/assets/img/Author-Headshots-05.png?w=300&auto=compress%2Cformat&fit=min&dm=1644340332&s=a0f0516e63bcbb8de1a24f464187e9c4)
Curtis Shelton
Policy Research Fellow
Curtis Shelton currently serves as a policy research fellow for OCPA with a focus on fiscal policy. Curtis graduated Oklahoma State University in 2016 with a Bachelors of Arts in Finance. Previously, he served as a summer intern at OCPA and spent time as a staff accountant for Sutherland Global Services.