Rep. Duel: House passes tax cuts in Special Session; regular session begins

Our legislative session officially began on February 5, but the State Capitol has been busy preparing all month.

We had a January 18 deadline to file new legislation, and I filed a few different bills to consider this year. I’ll share details about those bills in a future column.

Every bill faces challenges on its path to become law. This year, just over 1,200 House Bills were filed before the deadline, and there are still 1,463 House Bills filed last year that are eligible to be considered this year. Hundreds more were filed in the Senate.

History tells us that less than 10% of filed bills are ultimately signed into law, and what bills are pursued depends on a number of factors, including legislative support, outside stakeholders, and prioritizing the most pressing matters.

In the Governor’s annual State of the State, he renewed his call for tax cuts. He has called the Legislature into special session three times to cut taxes. Personally, there has never been a more opportune time to cut taxes and provide economic relief to our fellow Oklahomans.

The House met in special session last week, passing a bill that would cut the income tax rate by 0.25% retroactively to include 2023 tax filers and those going forward. This would reduce the top tax rate from 4.75% to 4.50% and eliminate the tax completely for those earning the least in the State.

Senate leadership, however, has said they do not plan to cut taxes until they have final revenue certifications from the state Board of Equalization, which happens mid-February. That chamber met in special session but adjourned to a call of the chair before we could pass our tax legislation to them.

However, the Speaker of the House has introduced several measures for our regular legislative session that started this past week, so there’s still hope for an income tax cut for Oklahoma taxpayers.

I am thankful and honored that the constituents of House District 31 have entrusted me with the responsibility of serving in the Oklahoma House of Representatives. As always, please do not hesitate to reach out to me with any concerns at 405-557-7350 or [email protected].

Rep. Collin Duel, a Republican, serves District 31 in the Oklahoma House of Representatives, which covers Logan and Oklahoma counties.