Latest Oklahoma revenue figures dip below estimate
The state fund used for Legislative appropriations didn’t meet expectations in July, according to the latest General Revenue Fund monthly report.
According to the Office of Management and Enterprise Services, state revenue earmarked for the fund was $9.6 million, or 2.1 percent below what analysts predicted.
However, the figures showed an increase in the fund by nearly 10 percent compared to the same time last year, another indication that Oklahoma’s economy is improving.
“Historically, July isn’t the strongest month for collections, but we expected to make the estimate,” said OMES Director Denise Northrup. “While I’m not overly concerned by the July receipts, there are still some hurdles that we need to clear before we see numbers that are in line with where we were before the economic downturn.”
A week ago, the state treasurer released another financial report that looked at all state revenue, instead of just the money going into the General Revenue Fund. Treasurer Ken Miller announced overall tax revenue growth of more than 10 percent. However, Northrup cautioned that Miller’s report doesn’t show the health of Oklahoma’s government.
“Drawing comparisons to reports that do not outline the same data is risky,” said Northrup. “Policy makers must be cognizant of the difference between the gross receipts to the Treasury report issued earlier this month and this report, as these numbers are the only ones directly applicable to the state budgeting process.”
Some tax revenue goes to the General Revenue Fund for lawmakers to appropriate, she said, while other funds are automatically diverted to other priorities like education and transportation needs.
“Structural differences such as off-thetop apportionments contribute to the disparity between the numbers in the two reports,” she said.
General Revenue Fund collections in July topped $449 million, with more than $161 million of that coming from sales tax. Revenue from oil and gas production was up 48 percent over the previous year at $26.1 million for the month.