OKPOLICY.ORG
The Quick Action Closing Fund was created by HB 1953 in 2011. It is intended as a source of funds available to the Governor to attract high-impact businesses when incentive payments are expected to be the deciding factor in a business’s location decision.
The Governor may recommend payments from the Quick Action Fund based on an economic benefits analysis conducted by the Department of Commerce. Under 2019 legislation, any new jobs created by a qualified establishment must have an annualized average wage greater than the average county wage where the new jobs are being created.
As of the end of FY 2022, the Legislature had appropriated a total of $54.3 million to the Fund, of which $36.9 million had been awarded. Some two-thirds of total appropriations were made since FY 2020, and two-thirds of the total awarded were made in FY 2021 and 2022. The Fund had an unreserved fund balance of $18.6 million at the end of FY 2022, up from $4.3 million at the end of FY 2019.
A 2022 report by the Incentive Evaluation Commission recommended retaining the program but adding more robust reporting requirements regarding anticipated and actual economic benefits of each award. The Oklahoma Department of Commerce last produced an annual report on the Fund in 2020.
