I am excited to share that at least eight of the rural fire departments within House District 15 have been awarded grants to purchase new gear ranging from trucks, Jaws of Life and personal protective equipment. Several departments will have access to new bunker gear for the first time in their existence. In total, we are looking at nearly $500,000 coming to our district.
A special thank you goes out to State Secretary of Agriculture Blaine Arthur who oversees the Oklahoma Department of Agriculture, Food and Forestry, and to the rural fire coordinators for processing and reviewing these applications. As we have seen this year, ensuring our rural firefighters have proper equipment is extremely important.
This week in the House I was privileged to help recognize R. Carroll Huggins who recently retired after serving nearly three decades as a regent of Carl Albert State College. Prior to this, he served for 15 years on the Stigler Board of Education and as the executive director and CEO of KI BOIS Community Action Foundation, Inc. since 1978. He’s overseen initiatives focused on alleviating poverty, expanding community services and addressing behavioral health needs across southeastern Oklahoma. Mr. Huggins also is a veteran, serving 32 years in the U.S. Army.
Mr. Huggins and his wife, Lana, have just been phenomenal friends to me and to the Stigler community for many years. It was an honor to recognize them in the House and present him with a citation for all of his years of service.
The House and Senate, meanwhile this week, began hearing budget bills. The governor still will have to sign them before they become law.
House Bill 2766 is the overall general appropriations bill, which details funding for various state agencies for Fiscal Year 2026. More than 50 additional measures set funding limits for the agencies and many of the programs they administer.
The biggest portion of this budget would deliver a quarter-percent income tax cut to those in the top three brackets and eliminate the income tax altogether for those in the remaining brackets. We also set a path to zero for the income tax in the future should certain revenue projections be met.
There’s also good news for our counties, which stand to receive up to $4,000 per mile for county road repairs and $25 million for repairs to dilapidated bridges.
The budget also contains provisions to add about 3% to public education, including $26 million directly to the school funding formula. We also include more funding for several public safety projects, including for National Guard projects and military base protections.
In addition to the budget bills, we are still considering legislation that was amended in the opposite chamber, and we’re holding conference committees to work on final language in bills where amendments were rejected.
Remember, if I can help you in my capacity as your representative, please do not hesitate to contact me at the Capitol. My office phone is (405) 557-7375, and my email is tim.turner@okhouse. gov.
Rep. Tim Turner, a Republican, represents House District 15 in the Oklahoma House of Representatives. His district includes Haskell County and portions of McIntosh, Muskogee, Le Flore and Pittsburg counties.
