House approves budget cuts
The sometimesraucous Oklahoma House of Representatives quietly closed the latest chapter on a political saga that’s gripped Oklahomans for months with a vote Monday to cut spending by another $44.7 million.
After all the negotiations, late-night meetings and proposals to cover spending priorities set back in May, both Republicans and Democrats said the outcome isn’t ideal. But the vote — eight months in the making — is the one that will let agencies and legislative leaders turn their focus to the next budget cycle that begins July 1.
The budget cut bill passed the House by a 67-24 party-line vote. It can be heard in the Senate as early as Wednesday. Gov. Mary Fallin previously expanded the scope of the special session to include budget cuts.
House Bill 1020 forces nearly every state agency to cut about 2 percent from their budgets over the next four months. For the Department of Education, it’s $16.2 million.
The Department of Corrections will have to find $3.19 million to cut from its original fiscal year 2018 budget.
The trio of agencies plunged into a $214 million budget shortfall last August will also see cuts, despite months of legislative work trying to restore their spending levels:
• Oklahoma Health Care Authority: $6.8 million cut.
• Department of Mental Health and Substance Abuse Services: $2.16 million cut.
• Department of Human Services: $4.64 million cut.
Democrats voted against the bill, and in a prepared statement, urged House Republican leaders to consider more revenue-raising measures for fiscal year 2019.
Separately, House Democratic Leader Steve Kouplen told The Oklahoman that the political winds are shifting.
Kouplen said he thinks many Oklahomans now believe that previous years’ tax cuts went too deep and more revenue is needed. “We need large
amounts of revenue to reinvest in our state,” he said.
His caucus supports a revenue plan by State Auditor Gary Jones, who is a Republican candidate for governor. Last week, Jones proposed higher tax rates on oil and natural gas production, motor fuel and cigarettes.
The tax rates on motor fuel and cigarettes would be set at lower levels than earlier proposals.
“The disappointing thing to me was we didn’t have to find ourselves in this situation if we had negotiated an agreement before we ended last year’s session,” said Kouplen. “This has been an ongoing saga for over a year now, and it all boils down to the fact that we’ve got to have true negotiations and not just a ‘take it or leave it’
approach. Hopefully that will resonate.”
House Speaker Charles McCall criticized Democrats, saying they had repeatedly thwarted GOP plans to fix the budget crisis.
“Even with these minimal cuts, our state agencies will still receive more than 99 percent of their original (fiscal year 2018) appropriation,” McCall said.
McCall’s floor leader, state Rep. Jon Echols, R-Oklahoma City, said the vote Monday was about legislators “doing their job.”
“We only have so many dollars,” Echols said, although he hinted at possible good news Tuesday from the Board of Equalization that could show a better economic outlook for the current round of budget negotiations.