OKLAHOMA CITY (OBV) — The Oklahoma Senate passed SB 1990 Tuesday, a measure tightening how the state reviews and reports on business incentives through the Incentive Evaluation Commission. The bill clarifies what must be examined in each review and adds new criteria aimed at determining whether incentives truly change business behavior.
From the floor, the Sen. Chuck Hall, R-Perry, framed the purpose plainly:
“What we’re trying to accomplish here is to find out if the juice is worth the squeeze,” said Hall. “We try to see if these incentives will drive some sort of job creation or broader benefits. But sometimes we overstep. What this does is, it directs those that are doing the report to take a look at incentives to see if the business would have done what they were going to do even without the incentive.”
What the bill does:
- Strengthens evaluation scope and process. SB 1990 amends 62 O.S. §7005 to require the Commission or its contractor to produce at least one draft report per incentive before finalizing, hold public review, and submit annual reports to state leaders and make them public.
- Adds explicit “but‑for” analysis. Each evaluation must consider “the extent to which the incentive changes business behavior, including whether a business … would likely have taken any action required … in the absence of such incentive,” and weigh both positive and negative effects on Oklahoma’s economy.
- Requires comparative and forward‑looking tests. Reviews must compare outcomes to similar incentives in other states, assess administration effectiveness, recommend whether to retain/reconfigure/repeal, and advise on data/reporting changes to make future evaluations more conclusive. New criteria also ask whether an incentive advances strategic sectors and creates a competitive advantage at a macro level.
Vote: The measure passed the Senate 47–0 and advances under the normal process.
