Attorney General Gentner Drummond has expressed a lack of confidence in the budget numbers used by Governor Kevin Stitt to justify his proposed tax plan. This announcement was made ahead of the Board of Equalization (BOE) meeting, where Drummond criticized the Governor's approach.
Drummond's concerns follow December's BOE meeting, where he questioned the validity of Stitt’s budget and called for increased legislative involvement to enhance transparency. “I am disappointed but not surprised that the Governor refused to increase legislative involvement in this process, which is far too important to the future of Oklahoma to be monopolized by a single politician,” Drummond stated. He emphasized that the current budget certification process allows for manipulation in favor of policy agendas rather than consensus-driven decisions.
The Attorney General highlighted discrepancies from last year's budget certification as evidence of a flawed process. In December 2023, it was reported that $8,976,523,862 would be available for appropriation in Fiscal Year 2025. However, this figure increased to $9,037,537,501 shortly after Gov. Stitt outlined his budget priorities, supporting his argument for an income tax cut.
A year later, projections show a decrease of $295 million for Fiscal Year 2025 with an expected revenue drop of $408 million according to the Oklahoma Tax Commission. “Last December, we were told one amount; then two months later it was a new number that magically was enough to help pay for the Governor’s tax cut,” Drummond remarked.
Drummond urged legislators to revise Gov. Stitt’s tax plan into a more responsible package that maintains essential funding while providing tax relief. “While I certainly support lowering the tax burden on working families, this tax plan is irresponsible and will drastically harm our ability to fund vital priorities like public education, roads and bridges, and public safety,” he said.
Today's announcement follows Drummond's lone "no" vote at last February's BOE meeting due to doubts about certain revenue estimates provided at that time. He also announced he would not attend today's BOE meeting stating: “Gov. Stitt has taken what should be a serious, thoughtful and collaborative gathering of constitutional officers and turned it into a scripted event that is mostly for show.”