Question Submitted by: The Honorable Chris Kannady, Oklahoma House of Representatives, District 91

• Court: Oklahoma Attorney General Reports
• Decided: March 31, 2026
• Status: Published

Opinion

OSCN Found Document:Question Submitted by: The Honorable Chris Kannady, Oklahoma House of Representatives, District 91

Question Submitted by: The Honorable Chris Kannady, Oklahoma House of Representatives, District 91
2026 OK AG 4
Decided: 03/31/2026
OKLAHOMA ATTORNEY GENERAL OPINIONS

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Cite as: 2026 OK AG 4, __ P.3d __

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¶0 This office has received your request for an Attorney General Opinion in which you ask, in effect, the following question:

May the Oklahoma Governor's cabinet secretaries receive an annual salary as compensation for their service as secretary in an amount that exceeds the maximum salary established for their respective cabinet positions pursuant to title 74, section 10.5 of the Oklahoma Statutes?

I.

SUMMARY

¶1 The answer is no. The Legislature has prescribed the annual compensation for executive cabinet secretaries under the provisions of title 74, section 10.5 of the Oklahoma Statutes. The statute is unequivocal: cabinet secretaries "may receive a maximum salary of" between $65,000 and $90,000 per year, depending on their position. 74 O.S.2021, § 10.5

II.

BACKGROUND

¶2 In 1986, the Legislature authorized the creation of a Governor's Cabinet as part of the Executive Branch Reform Act (the "Act"). See 1986 Okla. Sess. Laws ch. 207, § 3. The Act provides that "[w]ithin forty-five (45) days of assuming office, each Governor may create a cabinet system for the executive branch of state government." 74 O.S.2021, § 10.3Id. Under the Act, a "cabinet Secretary may be appointed as a position funded by the Office of the Governor from funds available to that office, or appointed as a cabinet Secretary from among the agency heads within the cabinet area." Id. § 10.3(B).

¶3 In 1997, the Legislature established salary amounts for which "[c]abinet Secretaries may be annually compensated for their services." 1997 Okla. Sess. Laws ch. 384, § 2. The current version of the Act's compensation statute for executive cabinet secretaries is codified under title 74, section 10.5 of the Oklahoma Statutes. Section 10.5 lists eleven cabinet positions and sets a "maximum salary," ranging between $65,000 and $90,000 per year, for each listed office. Id. § 10.5(1)--(10). By executive order issued on April 11, 2023, Governor Stitt organized the cabinet system for his second term of office. See Exec. Order No. 2023-08.

III.

DISCUSSION

¶4 Essentially, your question asks whether the Governor's cabinet secretaries may lawfully receive annual salaries greater than the maximum limits in section 10.5. They may not. As a fundamental matter, "[i]f the language in the statute is plain and unambiguous, the legislative intent is deemed to be expressed by the statutory language." Stricklen v. Multiple Inj. Tr. Fund, 2024 OK 1542 P.3d 858see also TXO Prod. Corp. v. Okla. Corp. Comm'n, 1992 OK 39829 P.2d 964See Nealis v. Baird, 1999 OK 98996 P.2d 438

¶5 As a final point, the Oklahoma Personnel Act contains provisions governing the recovery of overpayments to state employees. See, e.g., 74 O.S.Supp.2022, § 840-2.19Id. § 840-2.19(B)(7). Any payment of salary to a cabinet secretary for his or her cabinet service that exceeds section 10.5's maximum salary is therefore subject to the Oklahoma Personnel Act's recovery procedures.

¶6 Accordingly, this Office concludes that: first, a cabinet secretary may not receive an annual salary greater than the maximum salary amount established for his or her respective cabinet position under section 10.5; and second, any cabinet secretary who has been overpaid by the State of Oklahoma contrary to section 10.5 is subject to the overpayment recovery procedures in the Oklahoma Personnel Act.

¶7 It is, therefore, the official Opinion of the Attorney General that:

Oklahoma cabinet secretaries may not be paid an annual salary as compensation for their service as secretary that exceeds the maximum salary amounts created for their respective positions pursuant to title 74, section 10.5 of the Oklahoma Statutes. Any compensation received and retained by a cabinet secretary in excess of the statutorily mandated maximum amount is an improper overpayment under Oklahoma law and is, as a result, subject to the Oklahoma Personnel Act's overpayment-recovery procedures.

GENTNER DRUMMOND
ATTORNEY GENERAL OF OKLAHOMA

CULLEN D. SWEENEY
ASSISTANT SOLICITOR GENERAL

FOOTNOTES

¹ The cabinet positions enumerated in the statute are the Secretaries of (1) Human Resources and Administration, (2) Agriculture, (3) Commerce and Tourism, (4) Education, (5) Energy, (6) Finance and Administration, (7) Health, (8) Human Services, (9) Safety and Security, (10) State, and (11) Veterans Affairs. 74 O.S.2021, § 10.5Id. § 10.3(A).