Special session to begin Dec. 18
The Legislature will be called back for a second special session to address the state's budget shortfall on Dec. 18, Gov. Mary Fallin announced Thursday.
The Republican governor said details are still being worked out and she has not yet filed an executive order or issued an official call. That will come later, she said.
“Discussions are continuing with
legislators and Oklahomans in all types of professions from across the state on a long-term, predictable solution to fix our budget and fund core services,” Fallin said. “Budget plan estimates are being developed on various revenue proposals. Instead of waiting for final details, I wanted to give legislators enough notice as possible about when they should return to the Capitol.”
House Speaker Charles McCall, R-Atoka, seemed less than enthusiastic about the governor’s special session announcement.
“Once again, the governor has called us back into special session without a plan in place, which means more taxpayer dollars will be wasted,” McCall said. “This additional special session could have been avoided if the governor had kept her word.”
McCall contends the state is in its current predicament “because the governor vetoed a compromise bill that would have funded our healthcare programs through the fiscal year without cutting those vital services.”
“Her veto has put those health care programs that Oklahomans rely on in a very precarious position and created uncertainty for health care providers and citizens,” he said. “Had she signed the bill, as she promised the House and Senate she would do, these additional revenue issues could have been addressed during the upcoming regular session.”
Fallin said waiting until Dec. 18 for the start of the second special session will provide time to get the latest revenue estimates for the upcoming 2019 fiscal year.
“A preliminary estimate of available funds for legislative appropriation will be available that week for the Dec. 20 meeting of the Board of Equalization,” Fallin said. “I am hopeful the estimate will show revenue growth for the 2019 fiscal year. But even if it does, there will be a need for additional revenue to address the combination of one-time funds currently in the budget, the current fiscal year shortfall from the loss of cigarette fee revenue, spending obligations for 2019, and money to give our teachers and state employees a muchneeded pay raise. These items taken together will approach close to $800 million.”
The governor said she has seen signs of positive economic activity as she has traveled the state and believes “the future looks bright.”
“However, I expect any additional growth in revenue coming to the state treasury will not be enough to put us on the stable foundation we want to see and give teachers a raise,” she said.
“In recent years, we have patched over our problems by using onetime money that, in effect, borrows from Peter to pay Paul.
“We know we still have a budget hole for this fiscal year of about $111 million from the loss of cigarette fee revenue that will result in cuts that the Health Care Authority will need to make starting January 1 and the Department of Human Services by February 1 if we don’t identify more funding.”
Fallin said that before the start of the second special session, she intends to make specific recommendations on how lawmakers can balance the budget and meet immediate needs.
“I’ll be working with legislative leaders and others with the goal of having at least the outline of an agreement ready for legislators later this month,” Fallin said.
Last month, the governor vetoed most of the revised budget bill approved by legislators in the first special session, while leaving intact parts of the bill that temporarily preserved funding for certain health and human services functions until lawmakers return in another special session to once again consider longterm funding solutions.
She vetoed all but five of the 170 sections contained in the budget measure, contending it did not provide a long-term solution to the recurring budget deficits experienced by the state the past three years.
The current 2018 fiscal year budget includes $509 million of one-time funds and future obligations of at least $180 million not included in the 2018 fiscal year budget, the governor said. Combined, that would contribute to a starting deficit of almost $700 million for the 2019 fiscal year unless changes are made, she said.