OKLAHOMA CITY (OBV) – Rep. Kyle Hilbert is set to become the youngest House of Representatives speaker in Oklahoma’s history after the House Republican Caucus elected him speaker-designate for the 60th Legislature.
Hilbert, R-Bristow, will succeed Speaker Charles McCall, R-Atoka, who is in his eighth and final year as House speaker and 12th and final year in the House of Representatives. An individual can serve no more than 12 years in the legislature.
Hilbert is 29 years old. He will be the youngest speaker in the state’s history. As speaker, he will serve as the House’s chief presiding officer and be responsible for committee appointments, the flow of legislation and the management of the House budget and staff. He will also be an ex officio voting member on all House committees.
McCall led a news conference Monday, welcoming Hilbert to the House’s top leadership position. Hilbert has held numerous positions in the House, including vice chair of the Appropriations Committee. He is in his third year as speaker pro tem of the House of Representatives.
“As of today, I will turn over all the election responsibilities and requirements that I have been tasked with over the last eight years to Rep. Kyle Hilbert,” McCall said. “Kyle Hilbert, in my opinion, is going to be a great speaker of the House of Representatives. Kyle has worked through the absolute worst times in state history, as I have, and emerging to the best times in state history that we see today. I’m very confident that Kyle Hilbert will continue to lead the House of Representatives to better and greater things than I have been experiencing myself, my journey of the last 12 years. The House of Representatives will be in very capable hands, very experienced hands.
McCall said Hilbert won the House Republican Caucus’ favor through his hard work, dedication to helping Oklahomans and serving the House of Representatives over the last eight years.
“I’m not only excited for Rep. Kyle Hilbert, I’m excited for myself [and] the House of Representatives,” McCall said.
Hilbert praised McCall’s leadership as House speaker.
“I could not be more blessed to be following Charles McCall as the next speaker of the House of Representatives, and there’s a lot of pressure in that too. He mentioned all that we’ve experienced together in the past eight years. He’s done a phenomenal job,” Hilbert said during the news conference. “We’ve had highs, we’ve had lows, we’ve had highs again, we’ve had lows again. [The] teacher walkout and COVID pandemic and everything that meant to our budget, followed by years of surplus and trying to find ways with that surplus to make targeted investments in our state to make our state better, but also finding ways to give relief for Oklahoma taxpayers. At the end of the day, these are taxpayer dollars, and with our record surplus, how can we make sure we’re giving those back to the people? When Charles McCall looks back, he can know he did a phenomenal job.”
Hilbert said there’s much to be excited about for the state’s future.
“Fresh ideas, courage, and vigor are what Oklahomans deserve from their leadership. People are frustrated with unresponsive politicians in Washington,” Hilbert said. “If we want to see Oklahoma continue to grow and flourish, I encourage more young, emerging leaders to engage in their communities and in their state. Oklahoma is the best place to raise a family, and I embrace this opportunity to fight for Oklahomans and their families.”
Hilbert, who was elected to represent House District 29 in 2016, carried more than 40 bills into law in the last eight years. He has been vice chair of the House Appropriations and Budget Committee for three years, crafting the annual state budget, funding education at record levels and sustaining essential functions of state government during the COVID-19 pandemic, according to a House news release.
Hilbert accomplished the following as a representative:
- Wrote DRIVE Act, which moved Oklahoma’s transportation funding into the 21st century;
- Spearheaded modernization of Oklahoma’s ad valorem tax reimbursement system;
- Led the effort to create and implement a transparent process for the distribution of federal American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funds to targeted and transformational projects across the state; and
- Authored the Redbud School Funding Act, which directs a portion of marijuana tax revenue to school districts with below-average local property taxes, enabling them to address urgent infrastructure needs. The act also stopped countless lawsuits in their tracks as it settled longstanding questions of funding disparity amongst public schools.
Majority caucus rules require that the speaker-designate for the upcoming legislature be selected through a caucus election on the first Monday in March during election years.
House Democratic Leader Cyndi Munson, D-Oklahoma City, issued a statement congratulating Hilbert.
“Congratulations to Speaker-Designate Rep. Kyle Hilbert on this well-deserved honor and responsibility to serve our state. I look forward to working with him on bettering the lives of Oklahomans in this new capacity. Over the last several years, Rep. Hilbert and I have collaborated on issues important to all Oklahomans, most recently, addressing deferred maintenance on our RUSO and rural higher education institution campuses. I also want to extend my gratitude to Speaker Charles McCall for his leadership, mentorship, and friendship during my first two years as the House Democratic Leader – I know he’ll continue to serve our great state beyond his Speakership. As we move forward, I am ready to collaborate with Speaker-Designate Rep. Kyle Hilbert on helping all Oklahomans, especially those who feel unheard by their state government.”
Rep. Cyndi Munson
The 60th Legislature will be seated after November’s elections. Its first session will convene at the start of 2025. The entire body of the House will formally vote on its next speaker on organizational day for the 60th Oklahoma Legislature in early January.
Hilbert will be the second Republican speaker who is 30 years old or younger in Oklahoma since 1873.
