Growth in revenue increases lawmakers’ spending capacity

Revenue earmarked for Oklahoma’s general revenue fund grew 11.6 percent in the first six months of the budget year, according to the state’s finance secretary.

Preston Doerflinger said Tuesday that the past six months of deposits into the fund, which is used primarily for legislative appropriations, also beat the estimate by 2.9percent over the first six months of the previous year’s budget cycle.

December collections, alone, were significantly greater than the same month in 2016. According to Doerflinger’s monthly general revenue fund report, it was more than 22 percent higher.

Each state budget year begins on July 1.

“Once again we exceeded the monthly estimate for the month and that is a positive sign,” said Doerflinger, secretary of finance, administration and information technology. “Conversely, I would caution anyone who is using unrestrained adjectives to describe our current financial position. This has been, and will continue to be, a touch-and-go situation as we climb our way out of the economic damage caused by the downturn in the energy sector.”

So far this fiscal year, Oklahoma taxpayers have contributed $2.7 billion to the state’s general fund, which is $278.1 million more than the amount collected during the first six months of the previous fiscal year.

In his report, Doerflinger again prodded the Oklahoma Legislature to enact revenue-raising measures.

“For months I have urged cautious optimism and that is what has been playing out with the returns to the general revenue fund, but do not mistake these small increases as an indicator that we don’t need to create new recurring revenue. The state will continue the cycle of using one-time funds to plug the budget hole if we do not make significant structural changes to our budget,” Doerflinger said.

“The modest increases we are seeing monthto-month will not fix the state’s ongoing budget issues.”

As state government’s main operating fund, the general revenue fund is the key indicator of state government’s fiscal status and the predominant funding source for the annual appropriated state budget, Doerflinger said. General fund collections are revenues left over after rebates, refunds and mandatory apportionments.

State Treasurer Ken Miller reported last week that Oklahoma collected more than $1 billion total in December, which left $512.6 million for the general revenue fund.