Enormous budget requests from state agencies called ‘unrealistic’
State agencies frequently ask the Legislature for more money than they end up receiving, but this year is a doozy.
Despite a huge budget hole, the wish list for appropriations is something to behold. Corrections wants a billion dollars more than it is currently receiving. Common education wants an extra halfbillion. Higher education and the Department of Human Services also want significantly more.
The result is that requests already exceed current-year appropriations, even though most agencies still haven’t weighed in yet on their funding needs.
How to pay for it all?
“Whether it’s an income tax increase on wealthy Oklahomans, gross production tax increase, tobacco or fuel tax, or new taxes on services, the public deserves a hearing to know how the Legislature is planning to fund these core functions of government,” said Rep. Jason Dunnington, D-Oklahoma City.
House Speaker Charles McCall scheduled presentations from Oklahoma’s largest agencies.
“What Speaker McCall has done with these hearings is a great start,” said Rep. Forrest Bennett, D-Oklahoma City. “Opening these meetings to the public is helpful. But the message from all of these agencies has been that we are not bringing in enough revenue to
operate our core functions of government.”
Agency budget requests include:
• Oklahoma Board of Corrections, $1.64 billion, or about 3 ½ times more than the $484 million appropriated to the department for the current fiscal year.
• Common Education, $2.6 billion, a $221 million increase over current spending. A separate request seeks another $282 million for a $3,000 teacher pay raise.
• Higher Education, $957 million, an increase of 18.3 percent or more than $147 million from the current budget.
• Health Care Authority, seeking $200 million above its current budget of about $1 billion.
• Human Services, $739.9 million. The agency’s current funding is $651.5 million, but it has asked for another $42.6 million in immediate supplemental funding.
• Department of Transportation, seeking restoration of $50 million that was pulled from its account and sent to the state’s general revenue fund.
These requests are coming even as the state is facing a nearly $900 million budget hole owing to oil industry declines, generous tax credits and income tax reductions.
“It is clear that these agencies and others have been cut to the bone, and my constituents would like to hear more about how we’re going to raise revenue in order to carry out the most basic functions of state government, like providing education and paving our roads,” Bennett said.
Rep. Leslie Osborn, R-Mustang, House Appropriations Committee chair, said some of the requests are more to make a point than an actual expectation of funding, including the $1.64 billion sought by Corrections Director Joe M. Allbaugh.
“Let’s be honest,” she said. “When he made a billion-dollar request, he knew that was not what he would receive.”
The point is that until Oklahoma reduces its incarceration rate through criminal justice reform, its corrections costs will continue to spiral out of control, Osborn said.
Over the past decade, many agencies have seen allocation cuts while their workload has increased.
“This is when our very really red state has to make a decision,” Osborn said. “We’ve reached a saturation level of not providing core services at the level most Oklahomans expect.
“If that’s the case, it is incumbent on us to at least consider broadening the tax base.”
Senate President Pro Tem Mike Schulz, R-Altus, said many of the budget requests this year have been unrealistic.
“Oklahoma is still suffering the tremendous effects of an economic contraction brought on by slumps in the energy sector and agsector,” he said.
“I would hope state agencies understand this and prepare accordingly. While there will be talk about finding new sources of revenue, lawmakers ultimately are going to have to make choices about spending priorities in the face of another significant budget gap. What we’re focused on in the Senate is finding the best way to close the budget gap while minimizing the impact on the services Oklahomans receive from state government.”