by Bailey Ashbaker, Senior Policy Analyst and Engagement Specialist, and Jessica Dietrich, Director of Government Relations and Public Policy
State Updates:
Governor Stitt called for a special session regarding taxes and the state legislative budget process, which is slated to begin October 3. The session calls the Legislature to address tax cuts that will work towards zero income tax for Oklahomans, budget transparency to ensure Oklahomans and elected representatives can view how taxpayer dollars are spent, and a trigger law in response to a pending Oklahoma Supreme Court case that could determine whether certain Native Americans within certain tribal jurisdictions are exempt from state income tax.
Interim Studies:
The majority of approved 2023 interim studies have been scheduled, with a number that have already concluded by the end of September. Hunger and food security have the limelight this interim study season, with two studies set to take place in October.
- Free School Lunches; Rep. Waldron, Rep. Menz, Senator Garvin: 10/2/23 at 8am
- Food Inequity in Oklahoma; Rep. Boatman: 10/24/23 at 9am
- Combined with Food Security in Immigrant Communities: Rep. Deck
- And Urban Agriculture: Rep. Kerbs and Rep. Pittman
If you cannot attend the studies in person, they are also streamed online on the OK House and Senate’s websites. Keep an eye out on their media pages if you want to tune in!
ARPA Funds:
The Oklahoma Legislature, through the Joint Committee on Pandemic Relief Funding, has allocated a portion of our state’s American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) Coronavirus State dollars to support food security in areas that have been negatively and/or disproportionately impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic. These one-time grants, totaling $12.5 million, will assist food programs to expand the availability of and access to affordable and nutritious foods and serve more Oklahomans.
Oklahoma Human Services has opened applications for local or Oklahoma-based organizations that address the issues of food insecurity through the availability of and access to affordable and nutritious foods. You can view the application and additional eligibility information here.
Federal Updates
Federal Budget:
Congress has yet to finalize a budget for federal fiscal year 2024, which runs October 1, 2023 – September 30, 2024. If a budget agreement is not reached, Congress will need to pass a continuing resolution to keep the government funded past September 30 or the government will shut down.
At this point, a shutdown looks likely as members of the House struggle to come to an agreement that will garner enough votes to pass. SNAP is a mandatory program (as opposed to a discretionary program) and so benefits will be issued no matter what – though benefit issuance could be delayed if the shutdown continues for more than one to two months. The USDA has confirmed that October SNAP benefits will be issued as normal.
HFO staff recently travelled to DC to advocate in partnership with both the Regional Food Bank of Oklahoma and the Food Bank of Eastern Oklahoma for Congress to pass a budget and avoid a government shutdown and to pass a strengthened and bipartisan Farm Bill before the end of the year. In addition, we advocated for increased funding for the WIC program, which is seeing large increases in participation, including a nearly 11% increase in participation in Oklahoma from May 2022 to May 2023.
Farm Bill:
Until the federal budget is finalized, Congress will not take action on the Farm Bill, meaning that the Farm Bill will not be reauthorized by the September 30 deadline. The good news is that significant consequences of the lapse in Farm Bill authorization will not begin until January 2024. Additionally, these negative consequences of a lapsed Farm Bill do not directly impact SNAP. Right now, we believe that there is a chance that the Farm Bill can be negotiated and passed by Congress before the end of the year, but it will be an uphill battle.
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