The Chamber’s board of directors recently adopted a comprehensive set of public policy priorities for the 2026 legislative session, which are crucial to creating a strong future for Oklahoma businesses. These priorities reflect the Chamber’s top legislative priorities and are designed to address the key issues that will shape the state’s economic growth and development. Below is an excerpt of key priorities. View the full list at okcchamber.com/legislative.
- Educational Outcomes – Advance policies that strengthen reading, math, and overall academic performance, supported by continuous monitoring through a comprehensive data system.
- Transportation Priorities – Advance investment in a modern transportation system that keeps pace with regional growth. This includes expanding roadway capacity, strengthening public transit options, and integrating multimodal infrastructure to ensure residents and businesses can move efficiently and safely throughout the region.
- Improve Mental Health Outcomes and Expand Attainable Housing – Collaborate with the State of Oklahoma and regional partners to strengthen mental health outcomes and reduce homelessness through expanded access to services and attainable housing solutions.
- County Government Reform and New Jail Construction – Advance reforms that strengthen the efficiency and effectiveness of county government, while constructing a modern jail that reduces recidivism, streamlines court operations, and expands opportunities for justice-involved individuals to successfully reenter the workforce.
Other 2026 legislative priorities include:
Business and Economic Development priorities
- County Government Reform
- The Chamber supports empowering Oklahoma counties to alter their form of government to meet their unique needs.
- Protecting Critical Infrastructure
- The Chamber recognizes that the protection of critical infrastructure—including energy facilities, education facilities, communication networks, water systems, transportation hubs, and healthcare institutions—is essential to public safety, economic stability, and national security. The increasing accessibility and sophistication of unmanned aerial systems (UAS), or drones, present new and evolving risks to these assets. Unauthorized drone activity can disrupt operations, compromise security, endanger personnel, and expose sensitive information.
- To address these emerging threats, the Chamber supports the development and enforcement of comprehensive federal, state and local policies to prevent, detect, and respond to unauthorized drone intrusions over critical infrastructure.
- Improve Workplace Safety/Mental Health
- Enhancing mental health infrastructure is essential to improving workforce participation, reducing absenteeism, and lessening the economic and social costs of untreated mental illness and substance use disorders.
- The Chamber supports state and local efforts to strengthen Oklahoma’s behavioral health system by increasing the availability of treatment beds and expanding the network of qualified service providers.
- Attainable Housing for Families
- The Chamber supports data-driven, results-oriented state and local policies that address homelessness through coordinated systems of care and solutions targeting root causes such as mental health, housing access, criminal justice reform, and substance use.
- The Chamber also supports legislation that drives public and private investment in attainable, workforce, and mixed-income housing to promote growth and community reinvestment. The Chamber will also oppose policies that would make it more difficult for communities to address homelessness in their area.
- Protecting and Improving Incentive Programs
- The Chamber supports the Oklahoma Incentive Evaluation Commission (IEC), which was established to make recommendations to the Legislature and governor on which incentive programs are serving their intended purpose and creating economic/community development. If an incentive program cannot show a positive return to the state, it should be scaled back or repealed.
- The Chamber supports re-positioning and broadening the mission of the IEC to require a thorough review be conducted of incentive programs offered by other states. The purpose of this review would be to learn “best practices” to ensure Oklahoma is offering the most effective, up-to-date, and innovative incentives possible.
Education and Workforce Development Priorities
Increasing Learning Capacities of Oklahoma Students…