Fallin, Shannon Differ Over Budget Contingency Plans
Capitol Report: Governor, Speaker at odds – or is it war?
BY WAYNE GREENE World Senior Writer
Sunday, June 09, 2013
OKLAHOMA CITY – Gov. Mary Fallin vetoed 16 pieces of legislation this year, but none was more interesting than her rejection of House Bill 1917, which looks very much like a shot across the bow of Speaker of the House T.W. Shannon.
That bill – Shannon’s so-called doomsday mandate – would have required every state agency to develop a contingency plan and budget for a 25 percent cut in federal funding.
Federal grants represent about 31 percent of state government spending – more than state taxes. So a hypothetical loss of a quarter of that funding would surely hammer state government services, especially for agencies such as the Oklahoma Health Care Authority and the Oklahoma Department of Transportation.
Shannon’s bill also would have required a separate, annual disclosure of all federal funds being used by agencies, the programs for which the funds are being used and the priority of the funds.