Where did the money go? by Senate Minutes by Senator Charles Wyrick
Last Thursday marked the deadline for the third reading of all bills in their house of origin. The Senate worked long days and late nights to ensure legislation was heard and voted on before the deadline.
One of the primary areas of focus this session has been the budget. Last month, after reviewing the data assembled by state economists and examining tax revenue collections, the State Board of Equalization announced its final budget certification. In December, lawmakers were told to expect roughly $300 million less than the current budget year. At the time, this initial cut wasn’t attributed heavily to the downturn in oil prices, but instead due to practices like earmarking funds off the top of collections for specific purposes or increasing the number of dollars taken off the top for special interest tax breaks and incentives. While these tactics can certainly generate a revenue stream for the designated agency or fund, it gives legislators less flexibility in times of economy downturn.
When the Equalization Board certified the final revenue figures last month, it did account for the dramatic impact of decreasing oil prices at that time. As a result, the original $300 million shortfall has now more than doubled to a projected $611 million. It’s also important to remember that because the level of revenue collections was high enough for the EQ Board’s December review, the latest income tax cut will kick in for 2016, which will cut into revenues even more.
Oklahoma is losing teachers to other states because of low pay. While some state workers got small raises last year, many more have gone several years without any cost of living adjustment at all. Our prisons are over capacity, but staffing levels are hovering at 70 percent or less because the Department of Corrections doesn’t have the funding necessary to hire more guards and additional support staff. Simply put, we are already stretched for funds this year, and yet we have to find a way to cut even further to compensate for a $611 million budget hole.
This situation is due to poor budgeting practices and snowballing effects of these habits over recent years. It’s been pointed out that since 2009, state tax collections have increased by $700 million, but that has only resulted in an additional $100 million that was available to be directed to state agencies and services. In 2007 we appropriated 55 percent of tax revenues, and now we’re down to 47 percent. If the situation remains the same, we will continue to see that amount shrink even more in the future.
Our focus should remain on the budget so we can do a better job of managing public resources on behalf of our citizens. Working towards a viable solution means everyone must be completely honest about the practices that brought us to this point in state government and commit to reforms that will allow us to address the way appropriations are allocated and spent.
As always, I welcome your comments and concerns about state government. Please feel free to contact me by writing to Senator Charles Wyrick at the State Capitol, Room 523, Oklahoma City, OK, 73105 or you can call me at (405) 521-5561.
Where did the money go? by Senate Minutes by Senator Charles Wyrick…
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