Political Analyst Discusses Big Agenda Items For Oklahoma Legislature

The Oklahoma Legislature starts their regular session Monday, February 5, and it's a sprint. The session typically only lasts until May, when they adjourn for the year.

Scott Mitchell is a political analyst here at Griffin Media. He hosts Hot Seat and Your Vote Counts every Saturday and Sunday morning respectively, here on Channel 6.

Mitchell joins News On 6's Dave Davis at 9 in the morning to talk more about the big agenda items that would impact everyday Oklahomans.

What do you see happening in terms of tax cuts?

"So our economy right now still has the implications of all that COVID money that came into the state. That's been something that's fueling the state. Income tax is something that the Senate disagrees on. An income tax cut, that's $300 million a year that they would wipe out of there. Also, I think the only agreement I can see on the horizon is cutting the state's portion of the grocery tax. That seems to be the one thing where there might be some agreement. But meanwhile, the Senate is ruling on this. You can't get anything through without the Senate signing on to it. And the Senate is being very fiscally conservative about this," Mitchell said.

Will sports betting be legalized in Oklahoma?

"I think the powers that be want to do that. But here's a little wrinkle in this, it's going to take cooperation with the state's tribes to get this done. And you know how that's worked out in the last few years. So I think a lot of people are wanting to move forward on that. It's not on the front burner that I can see. But it's going to be an issue very soon. And it has a lot of revenue potential for the state of Oklahoma. So that's why it will eventually happen," Mitchell said.