Stitt signs $8.1 billion budget, state’s largest ever

OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) – Oklahoma Gov. Kevin Stitt has signed the state’s largest-ever appropriations bill, an $8.1 billion spending plan that funds pay raises for teachers and state workers and pumps tens of millions more dollars into public schools.

Flanked by Republican legislative leaders, the first-year governor signed the bill on Friday, a day after the Legislature adjourned the 2019 session.

The deal also socks away an additional $200 million into a state savings account. When combined with additional revenue in the state’s Rainy Day Fund, the savings will give the state more than $1 billion in reserve funds.

Democrats criticized the plan as not doing enough for working-class Oklahomans and argued the additional $200 million was needed to shore up previous cuts to core services.