Oklahoma leaders and budget negotiators are reacting to the revelation of a document which identifies more than a billion dollars in possible tax revenue increases to fix a budget hole. The original McCarville Report story can be found here.
Senate Appropriations Budget Chair Kim David said the sides are not close to an agreement on how to shore up the budget. A recent Oklahoma Supreme Court decision threw out a cigarette cessation fee as unconstitutional putting a $215 million hole into the budget. The fate of two other revenue bills are still being decided by the Court.
“My Colleagues and I in Senate leadership are doing our jobs and looking at every option available to us to fix the budget hole created by the court ruling. There are several options being considered but absolutely no agreement has been reached. Anyone who suggests that a deal has been struck is selling a fake story,” said David. “Discussions between the Senate, House, and Governor’s office are frequent and ongoing as we all work together to come up with a plan that the majority of us can support to either make up the lost revenue or make further cuts to agencies.”
Governor Fallin’s chief budget negotiator, Secretary of Finance, Administration and Information Technology Preston Doerflinger echoed the sentiment that leaders are working to find a way forward before a special session is called to order.
“Budget discussions are continuing. The governor’s office is doing due diligence in preparing for a special session as Oklahomans expect by meeting with Republican and Democratic legislative leaders in attempting to reach an agreement on how to adjust the current fiscal year budget as a result of the recent state Supreme Court ruling. As part of that discussion, the fiscal staffs of both legislative chambers and the governor’s office are looking at a variety of revenue sources to make up the budget shortfall and to provide for teacher pay increases. Possible efficiency options to streamline state government operations are also being reviewed. No agreement has been reached between the governor and any legislative party. To suggest we are even close to a deal is incredibly premature and irresponsible,” said Doerflinger.
He contends lawmakers should also set the table to deal with another budget shortfall during the next legislative session.
“It’s important to keep in mind that not only do we have the immediate problem of the loss of $215 million from the court’s ruling, but we should also be working towards filling the anticipated fiscal year 2019 budget hole.”
House Speaker Charles McCall said if a $1 billion dollar tax increase plan is in the works, it would not survive the House.
“There is never a shortage of rumor and innuendo surrounding negotiations at the Capitol, so I will add some facts to the discussion. First, there is no way House Republicans will ever pass a billion dollars in tax and revenue increases to fill a $200 million budget hole. Such a plan would be dead on arrival,” he said.
McCall who also warns that House Minority Leader Scott Inman may not be playing fair.
“Second, Minority Leader Scott Inman has no interest in negotiating in good faith with the governor or anyone else. He has failed at every turn to deliver Democrat votes for any significant revenue package. He has offered conflicting demands in public and private negotiations. The fact is, Scott Inman is only interested in campaign issues for his governor’s race, not real solutions that will help Oklahoma,” McCall added.
House Majority Leader Mike Sanders bolstered McCall’s argument that Inman, who is claiming House Leadership leaked the document to The McCarville Report, is not negotiating in good faith.
“Scott Inman can’t have it both ways. He claims House Leadership is not communicating with him, yet he has not returned a phone call from Speaker Charles McCall from last week nor has he replied to a letter from the Speaker from three weeks ago. To insinuate that House Republicans are not communicating with him is simply not true. Mr. Inman certainly likes to hold press conferences and issue press releases. It sounds to me like he needs to check his voicemail and his mailbox or perhaps take a break from running from governor in 2018 and start governing for 2017. That would be a nice change.
“If House Dems think they can raise $1 billion in new taxes they are not living in reality. Mr. Inman and his caucus are not going to raise taxes on Oklahomans by $1 billion, and they know it. The reason they know it is because House Republicans will not let that happen.
“If Mr. Inman wants to act in good faith, I suggest he pick up the telephone and call Speaker McCall. Grandstanding, political carnivals and wild-eyed accusations are not the way to govern. If Mr. Inman wants to meet with the Speaker, I strongly suggest he walk down one flight of stairs and go to the Speaker’s Office. If he is not familiar where the Speakers Office is located he can call me and I will show him. But I would suggest he not go to the Speaker’s office with a plan to raise taxes on Oklahomans by more than $1 billion.”
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Senator David: the budget hole was not created by a court ruling…You and your kin created the budget hole…good grief! Start by cutting the “fluff” that still exists in state agencies.