A look at Oklahoma public safety spending

Budget & Tax

Curtis Shelton | January 24, 2025

A look at Oklahoma public safety spending

Curtis Shelton

As our series on Oklahoma’s 10 largest state agencies continues, we come to the Oklahoma Department of Public Safety. As a reminder, the 10 largest agencies 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

The Department of Public Safety, whose most well-known program is the Oklahoma Highway Patrol, has seen a slight increase in appropriations (adjusted for inflation) since 2003. Over the last two decades, the department has grown by 13 percent, a $14 million increase. Looking at the long-term trend, funding for the department has been mostly flat with small ups and downs through the years. 

Sources: Oklahoma Annual Comprehensive Financial ReportsOklahoma House of Representatives Fiscal SummarySB1125 Fiscal Summary; U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, CPI Inflation Calculator

Curtis Shelton Policy Research Fellow

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.

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