Oklahoma Senate Bill SB1404

Oklahoma 2026 Regular Session

• Introduced: 2/2/26
• Refer: 2/3/26

Caption

State fiscal affairs; authorizing withdrawal of funds from the Revenue Stabilization Fund upon federal shutdown; providing for expenditures. Effective date.

Summary

SB1404 amends Oklahoma’s Revenue Stabilization Fund statute to add a new use for the fund during a prolonged federal government shutdown. If a federal shutdown lasts more than 15 days, the Director of the Office of Management and Enterprise Services may withdraw up to one-quarter of the fund’s beginning-of-year balance, but only up to the amount needed to cover certain impacts of the shutdown. Those covered costs are limited to salaries for state employees who are partially or fully paid with federal funds and are furloughed because of the shutdown, and to Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program benefits that are reduced or eliminated because of the shutdown. The bill also requires weekly reporting to the Governor and legislative leaders during any qualifying shutdown, detailing withdrawals, furloughed employees, salary reductions, and SNAP benefit reductions and payments. If federal funds are later provided to reimburse those costs, the bill requires those reimbursements to be deposited back into the Revenue Stabilization Fund. The measure also updates the statute’s deposit rules and terminology, including a definition of “federal government shutdown” tied to federal appropriations law.

Impact

The bill would expand the legal authority governing the Revenue Stabilization Fund by creating a new emergency withdrawal mechanism tied to federal shutdowns, in addition to existing uses for state revenue failures and revenue shortfalls. It would affect the Office of Management and Enterprise Services, the Legislature, and state agencies and programs that rely on federal funding, especially payroll and SNAP administration. It also modifies deposit rules for the fund, including limits based on revenue conditions and forecasted declines in certain revenue sources, and it requires any later federal reimbursement to be returned to the fund.

Sentiment

No committee transcripts or recorded votes were provided, so there is no direct evidence of debate or formal support/opposition in the available record. Based on the bill text, the measure appears designed as a contingency planning tool to protect state operations and vulnerable benefit recipients during a federal shutdown, suggesting a generally pragmatic fiscal and administrative purpose. The absence of recorded opposition or amendments in the provided materials makes the overall sentiment difficult to gauge beyond that.

Contention

The main policy question is whether the state should allow use of the Revenue Stabilization Fund for federal shutdown disruptions, and if so, how broadly and under what limits. Potential points of contention include the size of the withdrawal cap, whether the fund should be used to cover state employee salaries and SNAP benefits, and whether the Legislature or the executive branch should control the withdrawals. Another possible issue is the bill’s interaction with existing reserve-fund rules and whether it could reduce resources available for other state budget emergencies.