Law & Principles

Stitt seeks to cap spending, expand school choice, rein in welfare costs

February 2, 2026

Ray Carter

In his eighth and final State of the State address, Gov. Kevin Stitt urged lawmakers to embrace financial restraint and maximize the freedom of citizens to pursue their dreams unburdened by excessive government.

“True sustainable budgeting demands discipline,” Stitt said. “Let’s work together this year to ensure we don’t go back to the financial mess we inherited in 2019.”

Stitt urged lawmakers to send several proposed constitutional amendments to Oklahoma voters that will rein in government spending and taxes, and also grant policymakers the flexibility to address exploding welfare costs.

He also called on lawmakers to increase educational opportunity by eliminating the current cap on the state’s popular school-choice tax credit program, ensuring that no family is turned away.

Fiscal Restraint

Stitt called on lawmakers to impose constitutional restraints on the growth of government.

“Last year, with your partnership, we delivered one of the greatest budget reform wins in history: the Path to Zero income tax—effectively capping, in statute, spending to protect the taxpayers,” Stitt said. “To preserve this progress, I’m calling for a state question on the ballot. Let’s codify a 3-percent annual cap on recurring spending growth in our constitution, and let’s lock in future cuts with ironclad rules. This keeps the growth of government in check, and it protects the Oklahoma taxpayers.”

If voters approve that measure, revenue exceeding the 3-percent growth rate could be used to reduce Oklahoma’s personal income tax rate, which is currently set at 4.5 percent.

Stitt also called on lawmakers to send a proposal to a vote of the people that would allow policymakers to cut Medicaid welfare benefits for able-bodied adults added through expansion of the program several years ago.

Due to the language of the constitutional amendment that added able-bodied adults to Oklahoma’s Medicaid program, if lawmakers have to reduce Medicaid spending, they can only slash benefits for low-income and disabled beneficiaries, while young men who decline to work have their coverage preserved.

“Government dependency is a trap. It robs self-reliance, and it balloons budgets,” Stitt said. “I always say government programs should be a trampoline, not a hammock, but too often that is not the case. Medicaid is Exhibit A. It’s driving massive spending growth while enabling waste. In 10 years, Medicaid is projected to eat up 37 percent of our annual budget—$6 billion dollars. We have to make a change.”

Stitt also called on lawmakers to allow Oklahomans to vote on a constitutional amendment that would freeze property tax rates.

Education

Stitt called the Oklahoma Parental Choice Tax Credit program, which provides refundable tax credits of $5,000 to $7,500 per child to cover the cost of private school tuition, “the most impactful education reform in our history.”

Under the program, those with the lowest incomes receive the largest credits. Oklahoma Tax Commission data show that most children using the program are from low-income and middle-class families. Among families who used the program to shift a child to private school for the first time this year, 72 percent are from families with middle-class incomes or less.

However, the Oklahoma Parental Tax Credit program is currently capped at $250 million in credits per year. The Oklahoma Tax Commission reports that $249,087,024 in credits have been issued so far this year. If the cap is exceeded next year, families will be turned away from the program.

“To finish the work on this achievement, it’s time to make the program available to every Oklahoma family who wants it,” Stitt said. “Let’s eliminate the cap. Let the money follow the student. Put parents in charge. Encourage competition and excellence.”

A November 2025 poll commissioned by the organization “yes. every kid. foundation” showed that 67 percent of likely Oklahoma Republican primary voters view the Oklahoma Parental Choice Tax Credit program favorably, and 64 percent support removing the cap.

Stitt also urged lawmakers to allow Oklahoma voters the chance to amend the state constitution to make the position of state superintendent a gubernatorial appointee.

“Thirty-eight other states appoint their superintendent rather than electing them,” Stitt said. “It keeps the focus on outcomes instead of politics. Leadership alignment matters. That’s why Oklahoma’s next governor should have the authority to appoint the superintendent of education.”

The governor also noted the success of Oklahoma’s open-transfer law, which allows students to freely transfer from one public school district to another without having to move into a new district.

However, that process has been impeded by the actions of officials at the Oklahoma Secondary School Activities Association (OSSAA), which has tried to bar open-transfer students from participating in sports in certain high-profile cases.

“Last year, we heard stories of students who followed the rules, did everything right to transfer schools, and yet OSSAA denied them the chance to play basketball at their new school,” Stitt said. “Their parents had to hire a lawyer and go to court.”

The governor called that “unacceptable” and said students’ “ability to play sports shouldn’t be contingent on your parents’ ability to afford an attorney.”

“It’s time to eliminate the OSSAA and secure our progress with open transfer,” Stitt said.

The governor also urged lawmakers to allow Oklahoma voters the chance to repeal legalization of “medical” marijuana, calling the marijuana industry one of “the greatest threats to public safety” and saying that voters were “sold a bill of goods” when the industry was legalized.

Stitt noted Oklahoma now has “more dispensaries than we do pharmacies,” and said those storefronts “hide an industry that enables cartel activity, human trafficking, and foreign influence in our state.”

“This industry is plagued by foreign criminal interests and bad actors, making it nearly impossible to rein in. We can’t put a band-aid on a broken bone,” Stitt said. “Knowing what we know now, it’s time to let Oklahomans bring safety and sanity back to their neighborhoods. Send the marijuana issue back to a vote of the people, and let’s shut it down.”

The governor noted that Oklahoma has become more prosperous and safe throughout his tenure and said policymakers could continue that trajectory by working together during his final year in office.

“We’ve proven to the world that Oklahoma is second to none—it’s a state that promotes innovation, champions freedom, and creates opportunity for its people,” Stitt said. “Oklahoma wasn’t built by government planners or bureaucrats. Oklahoma was built by entrepreneurs, risk-takers, and innovators who believe in free markets and the American Dream—this idea that if you work hard, take risks, and create value, you should be rewarded.”