State Budget, School Bathroom And Abortion Bills Head To Gov. Stitt’s Desk

State Budget, School Bathroom And Abortion Bills Head To Gov. Stitt’s Desk

The bills are beginning to stack up on Gov. Kevin Stitt's desk as the regular legislative session winds down.

One of them includes the nearly $10 billion state budget, which is the largest in state history.

The budget, which began the week as a giant question mark, includes $75 payments to individual taxpayers and $150 to married couples.

The State Department of Human Services said a more than $21-million budget item will end the 13-year wait list.

Tensions came to light Tuesday as nearly 90 percent of lawmakers signed on to a call for special session. Lawmakers voted to moving the state's nearly $2 billion in federal COVID relief funds out of an account controlled by Gov. Stitt instead putting it under the traditional budget process.

A bill that could become the most restrictive abortion ban in the country is on the governor’s desk.

The bill bans most abortion after fertilization, going a step further than Texas' ban after about six weeks.

A bill regulating which school bathroom Oklahoma students use is also now on the governor’s desk. If a school isn’t found in compliance, they would lose 5% funding.

All eyes early next week will be on the budget and what the Gov. Stitt decides to do with that. So far, he has been silent on where he's at on the state's checkbook.