The Oklahoma House has moved to clamp down on big raises and bonuses for many state workers, advancing a pay-cap bill on a 79-9 vote Tuesday after a public uproar over hefty payouts at the State Department of Education.
What the bill would do
HB3024 would bar most executive-branch agencies from giving a state employee more than a 10% salary increase in a single fiscal year unless the raise is formally approved by the appropriate cabinet secretary. It would also limit most bonuses to 10% of base pay.
The bill orders the Office of Management and Enterprise Services to create standard forms and requires agencies to adopt performance metrics and document any raises or bonuses above that 10% threshold. The measure spells out several exemptions for agency directors and CEOs, wholly non-appropriated agencies, positions that require advanced degrees or professional licenses, and most higher-education, school district, and career-tech employees, as detailed in the bill text at the Oklahoma Legislature.
Why lawmakers pushed it
Backers pointed to a 2025 chief-executive salary report from the Office of Management and Enterprise Services, which found that 18 agency leaders received pay bumps of 10% or more in fiscal year 2025.
Rep. Dick Lowe, R-Amber, told Oklahoma Voice that HB3024 “would not stop raises” outright but would require larger increases to go through a cabinet-level approval process, adding that some of the recent pay practices are “not the way it’s supposed to work.”
Bonuses that triggered the push
Momentum for the bill picked up after revelations that former state Superintendent Ryan Walters handed out roughly $600,000 in end-of-year bonuses to State Department of Education employees in 2024, including about $45,000 in extra pay for a top adviser. Those payouts were first documented by Oklahoma Watch and later summarized by The Journal Record.
Legislators who support HB3024 said the Walters bonuses showed how easily large payouts can fly under the radar without a unified approval system, and argued the bill would set a clearer, statewide process for handling big raises and bonuses.
What’s next
The House vote sends HB3024 to the Oklahoma Senate, where it will face committee hearings, possible amendments, and more debate before it can land on the governor’s desk, according to Oklahoma Voice.
The current committee substitute for the bill includes language that appears to set a July 1, 2026 effective date while also including an emergency clause that could make key parts of the measure kick in as soon as it is signed, per the text filed with the Oklahoma Legislature. Any Senate changes will help determine where lawmakers ultimately draw the line between tighter oversight and agencies’ flexibility to set pay.
What it means for workers
If HB3024 becomes law, state agencies could still give raises tied to promotions, job changes, or strong performance reviews, but anything above the 10% cap would have to clear an extra cabinet-level hurdle.
For state workers, that could mean more transparency and predictability around who gets major pay bumps. For managers trying to lure or hang on to specialized talent, it could also mean a slower and more bureaucratic process. How quickly those guardrails show up on paychecks will depend on how fast the Senate acts and what version of the bill survives to final passage.
