State Chamber Unveils 2026 Annual Agenda Focused on Literacy, Innovation, and Economic Competitiveness
OKLAHOMA CITY (Jan. 21, 2026) — Better reading scores and a better environment for innovation were top of mind for Oklahoma lawmakers today as The State Chamber unveiled its 2026 Annual Agenda. Chamber leadership and leading legislators outlined a bold, data-driven strategy through legislation to strengthen Oklahoma’s workforce, grow innovation, and position the state for long-term economic success.
The agenda is guided by Oklahoma Competes, a framework launched in fall 2025 following an in-depth national analysis of Oklahoma’s economic landscape.
That study identified four fundamentals necessary for sustained growth: economic climate, infrastructure, workforce and education, and innovation and entrepreneurship. While Oklahoma performs well in economic climate and infrastructure—areas shaped by past State Chamber agendas—the analysis revealed significant gaps in workforce readiness and innovation. The 2026 agenda is designed to directly address some of those challenges.
“If you had a dashboard of green, yellow or red of things that were going well in Oklahoma, economic climate infrastructure would be blinking green,” State Chamber president and CEO, Chad Warmington said. “We are very competitive in those areas. On the other side, education and workforce development and innovation and entrepreneurship, there’s work to do there.”
Literacy and Workforce
Literacy and education anchor the agenda. Oklahoma currently ranks 49th nationally in 4th grade reading scores, a statistic leaders say must change for the state’s workforce to compete in a modern economy.
House Speaker Kyle Hilbert and Sen. Adam Pugh, chair of the Senate Education Committee, highlighted bicameral efforts to improve early literacy, including a focus on third-grade reading proficiency as a cornerstone of workforce development.
“For far too long as Oklahomans, we’ve accepted not mediocrity, not average, but blatant failure when it comes to education outcomes,” Hilbert said. “It all starts with your ability to read at grade level. Third grade is the foundation on which everything is built for your educational and workforce journey. You can’t have better education if kids can’t learn how to properly read.”
Pugh said the path to higher literacy outcomes begins with early intervention and ensuring children arrive at school ready to learn.
“It starts by getting appropriate material and books that kids are interested in into parents’ hands as early as possible, so that when those children show up in school, they are prepared for what the teacher is going to teach them,” Pugh said.
Chamber and Legislature leadership emphasized the need to learn from other states’ success in staying the course and working with teachers and educators to find solutions in raising literacy levels.
Turning Research into Jobs
The agenda also prioritizes innovation and entrepreneurship, particularly improving Oklahoma’s lab-to-market pipeline. Chamber leaders and lawmakers highlighted that the state lags in converting discoveries into companies, jobs, and investment. Sen. Aaron Reinhardt and Rep. Anthony Moore outlined policy priorities aimed at strengthening technology transfer and accelerating commercialization to ensure Oklahoma can compete for advanced industries.
“We have a very outdated technology transfer guidance statute brought about in 1989,” Reinhardt said. “Modernizing that guidance will provide clarity and confidence to researchers, to investors, and to our universities.”
“We’ve got to turn these great research universities into companies and into jobs in Oklahoma, and that’s what we’re going to do.” Said Rep. Anthony Moore.
Modernizing Research and Development
Expanding research and development capacity across both the public and private sectors is another key pillar of the agenda. Sen. Kristen Thompson emphasized the importance of modernizing Oklahoma’s R&D tools to better compete with neighboring states and national peers, helping grow advanced industries and attract high-value investment.
“If we are going to be competitive and we are going to encourage a new opportunity in any industry, we have to make sure that we have the tools in the toolbox,” said Sen. Kristin Thompson. “Most of the research and development activity is in the private sector, but we know that higher education is so incredibly important and a critical piece to this whole package.”
Making Incentives Work Smarter
The agenda also calls for continued progress on tax policy and incentives, building on recent reforms that moved Oklahoma from 39th to 19th in national tax rankings. State Chamber leaders and legislators now want to focus on tax incentives, stressing that incentives must be treated as strategic public investments—measurable, transparent, and aligned with statewide economic goals.
“I think it’s vital that we figure out whether or not the juice is worth the squeeze.” Said Sen. Chuck Hall. “The current statutory criteria focus heavily on individual incentive performance, not on how incentives align with Oklahoma’s economic strategy. Without these reforms, Oklahoma risks spending tax dollars on initiatives that do not increase competitiveness, wages or long-term economic viability.”
A Commitment to Partnership
The State Chamber emphasized its commitment to working with legislative leaders in both chambers throughout the 2026 session to advance policies that strengthen competitiveness, raise wages, and secure Oklahoma’s economic future.
“The State Chamber of Oklahoma isn’t going to go away on these issues, and we are going to be great partners,” Warmington said. “We’re going to work with anyone who’s willing to work with us to improve literacy outcomes.”
Media Contact – Brent Skarky – 405-818-1939
Link to video of entire press conference here
