Oklahoma Legislature leaders optimistic of a compromise following State of the State

OKLAHOMA CITY (KOKH) — Leaders in the Oklahoma legislature hope for compromise following Governor Mary Fallin's final State of the State address.

The governor delivered her eighth State of the State address Feb. 5 to kick off the second regular session of the 56th Oklahoma Legislature. Fallin spent several minutes during the speech urging legislators to work for a compromise and pass the "Step Up Oklahoma" plan. The plan was proposed by a group of community and business leaders to fund education, public safety, health and infrastructure needs.

Oklahoma House Speaker Charles McCall (R-Atoka) called the plan a "solution" and said it will be heard early in the legislative session.

“I understand that House Democrats have some concerns with the package; to be clear, House Republicans certainly don’t like everything in the Coalition’s plan, either – but that is why it is a compromise," McCall said.

McCall said he remains optimistic that Democrats and Republicans can come together on the issue. Oklahoma Senate Pro Tempore Mike Schulz (R-Altus) said he looks forward to working with the governor and the House for solutions to the state's budget problems.

"The Senate has repeatedly passed responsible revenue measures that would help fix the structural problems in our state budget and pay for important things like a teacher pay raise. But we can’t only focus on revenue. We need to implement budgetary reforms and prioritize our spending to ensure the most efficient use and best return on each tax dollar collected," Schulz said.

Oklahoma House Democrats are giving a cool reception to some of the proposals floated by Republican Gov. Mary Fallin in her final State of the State address.

New House Minority Leader Rep. Steve Kouplen says the series of tax increases and policy changes included in the "Step Up Oklahoma " plan that Fallin endorsed on Monday "needs to be tweaked." Some Democratic support would be needed to pass any tax increase in the House.

Democrats want to see the restoration of Oklahoma's individual income tax to 5.25 percent and some tax deductions that benefit the poor and working-class taxpayers.

Some Democrats also complained that the increase in the gross production tax on oil and natural gas should be higher than the proposed 4 percent.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.