It took the 2017 Regular Session, two special sessions, several failed attempts at raising revenues, but the Fiscal Year 2018 State Budget was finalized on Tuesday with Governor Fallin’s signature on House Bill 1020xx. The budget totals $6.98 billion. The fiscal year ends on June 30.
The measure cuts state spending by about $44.7 million and requires every state agency to cut about 2 percent from their budgets over the next four months. It is the result of two special sessions that Fallin convened after three health-related agencies were plunged into a $214 million budget shortfall last August when a proposed smoking cessation fee passed in the final week of the Regular Session was struck down by the state Supreme Court.
Fallin blames House Democrats for the issues in the budget negotiation process.
“Most House Democrats chose politics over people by refusing to vote for the budget package,” said Fallin. “Their no votes resulted in votes against a teacher pay raise, funding our health and human services and protecting our most vulnerable citizens, and against putting our state on a stable budget path forward. Unfortunately, House Democrats kept moving the goalposts and the people of Oklahoma are the ones who lost.
“Developing a budget in this difficult fiscal and political climate is never easy. This budget keeps our government operating and, despite challenging circumstances, funds our core mission services. Passage of the Step Up Oklahoma plan, House Bill 1033XX that failed earlier this month would have helped fill our budget hole for the current fiscal year as well as put Oklahoma on a more stable budget path.”
