Senate Democratic Leader Kirt looks at 2026 session wins and missed opportunities

OKLAHOMA CITY – Senate Democratic Leader Julia Kirt said that although the 2026 legislative session included some good initiatives for helping more Oklahomans thrive, there were many more missed opportunities to put people over politics. Kirt, D-Oklahoma City, said she was extremely proud of the work done by Senate Democrats who authored key legislation and reached across the aisle to pass bills that solve real problems for Oklahomans.

“Senate Democrats worked hard every day to address the issues folks from across the state told us would help improve their lives,” Kirt said. “Our members championed legislation to improve work culture for educators, increase affordable housing, and help Oklahomans connect to the right resources when facing challenges. Their work will help Oklahomans with real challenges and improve our state.”

Highlights from Senate Democrats’ initiatives:

• Respecting teachers by making career teacher status portable and improving benefits by allowing maternity leave stacking and bereavement leave, by Dossett, Mann.
• Infrastructure loans for affordable housing projects, by Kirt.
• Funding for the 2-1-1 hotline helping Oklahomans access help and community resources, by Dossett.
• Access for Type 1 diabetes screening for children to help prevent life-threatening health crises, by Hicks.
• Practical help for parents who experience a stillbirth or miscarriage, by Nice.

Highlights of overall wins:

• Cost-of-living adjustment (COLA) for retired police, firefighters, teachers, and state employees.
• Teacher pay raise.
• Ratepayer protections from data center developments.

“Senate Democrats not only ran legislation to improve Oklahomans’ day-to-day lives, but we ensured Republicans didn’t forget about the real problems Oklahomans face. I am proud that we have pushed for cost-of-living adjustments for retirees and teacher pay raises year after year and Republican leaders finally listened. These modest improvements will only keep up with inflation for a moment, and we’ll be back next year to demand better for teachers and retirees,” Kirt said.

“Senate Democrats also helped stop sneaky rollbacks of voter initiatives,” Kirt said. “State questions to undermine SoonerCare for working Oklahomans and dismantle TSET won’t move forward. Voters sent us to the Capitol to protect health care, and we did.”

“But we also know too much time was wasted on political issues that don’t solve real problems and are really just election year talking points. We’re still ranked last in education funding, class sizes are too large, and experienced teachers are still leaving – but at the same time, the Republican majority pushed through even more public dollars for private school vouchers. There was no meaningful increase in living wages, or meaningful investment in improving health or mental health. The child care crisis and the need for affordable housing wasn’t addressed.”

Kirt also pointed to the way the budget was handled in the 2026 session. Republicans abandoned transparent processes that made last year’s budget process more open.

“People deserve to know early on in the budget process what the priorities are while they still have an opportunity to voice their concerns,” said Kirt. “But no matter what, Senate Democrats will continue to fight for a better future for Oklahomans.”

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For more information, contact:  Sen. Julia Kirt at 405-521-5636 or Julia.Kirt@oksenate.gov