AP: Idea For Budget-Only Sessions Gains Steam
Idea for budget-only Oklahoma sessions gains steam
By SEAN MURPHY, AP
With as many 3,000 bills filed every year and rank-and-file legislators complaining they have little input in the state budgeting process, support is growing among Republican leaders to have every other session dedicated exclusively to mapping out Oklahoma’s spending.
Last year’s proposal to send the issue to voters passed the House with bipartisan support, but was derailed in the Senate. But Republican Gov. Mary Fallin endorsed the plan during her re-election campaign, and it was one of the few things on which she and challenger Democratic state Rep. Joe Dorman agreed.
“A legitimate criticism of the process now is that the budget happens quickly at the end of session without as much debate and scrutiny as lawmakers in both parties and the governor would like,” Fallin spokesman Alex Weintz said. “Specifically, we have some budget challenges as a state that aren’t going away, and the governor really wants lawmakers and our office to sink their teeth into solutions.”
Although final revenue figures haven’t been certified, the Legislature already is projected to have about $300 million less to spend on this year’s budget — a hole that could grow larger if oil prices remain depressed. Fallin also has sounded the alarm over an increasing amount of money being diverted “off the top” of the state’s main operating fund to pay for things like tax credits or transportation projects.