Budget & Tax

A look at corrections spending

July 17, 2024

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:

1. Department of Education
2. Oklahoma Health Care Authority
3. Regents for Higher Education
4. Department of Transportation
5. Department of Human Services
6. Department of Corrections
7. Department of Mental Health and Substance Abuse Services
8. Department of Career and Technology Education
9. Department of Public Safety
10. 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