Capitol

Lawmakers mull timing of special session
December 1, 2009

OKLAHOMA CITY – State lawmakers remain undecided on a special legislative session, a spokesman for the governor’s chief budget negotiator said Monday.

Deputy Treasurer Tim Allen said state Treasurer Scott Meacham, Gov. Brad Henry and legislative leaders were still talking about the possibility of meeting in late December or early January to develop a fix for what could become a $1 billion hole in the state’s checkbook.

“The special session is still only a possibility,” Allen said. “If there were to be a special session, it wouldn’t be until after the Dec. 21 Board of Equalization meeting.”

Earlier in November, Henry said budget decisions would hinge on the official estimate developed by the Oklahoma Tax Commission.

Allen said that information would be released later this month.

“What everyone is waiting on is the projection for this fiscal year and estimate for next fiscal year,” he said. “Both of those numbers will be presented to the state Board of Equalization at its Dec. 21 meeting.”

At present, lawmakers face a state budget that is $471.7 million below the estimate for the first four months of the new fiscal year. The state’s fiscal year runs from July 1 through June 30.

Additionally, the governor has asked lawmakers to develop a better method for the budget process. In mid-November Henry called for a more reliable fiscal road map to make the many difficult decisions required to protect core services and balance the budget.

Henry asked legislative committees to hold hearings on budget reductions in November and early December, to review how state programs and services would be affected if agencies had to bear further cuts in the months to come.

“I don’t think anyone truly understands the consequence of another deeper round of across-the-board cuts, because there has been no public review or discussion about the potential impact on vital programs and services,” the governor said.

Around that same time, House Speaker Chris Benge, R-Tulsa, said the House was working on scheduling budget hearings in December.

“I understand there is much anxiety about our budget situation,” Benge said. “But we are striving to find a balance between how much should be cut and how much from the Rainy Day Fund should be deployed to ensure we balance our budget this year, while also setting our state up to withstand the possibility of ongoing declining revenues into the future.”

A spokeswoman for Senate Pro Tempore Glenn Coffee, R-Oklahoma City, said no decision about a special session timeline has been made.

“Nothing has changed since our last press release,” said Ashley Kehl, Coffee’s spokeswoman.

Still, while lawmakers seek ways to reduce state spending, they may find their hands tied in some areas – such as education. Because the state used stimulus funds for its common education system, those funds required lawmakers to follow federal guidelines, Allen said.

“Prior to the end of this fiscal year, funding for education is going to have to be increased from its current levels,” he said, “because of requirements placed on federal stimulus money.”

The governor said that when the state accepted $1.2 billion in federal stimulus funds, it agreed to maintain funding levels for public education and health care. He said continued cuts in those areas could jeopardize the federal money, worsening the state’s budget difficulties.

Courtesy of Journal Record