(Oklahoma City) Gov. Brad Henry, House Speaker Chris Benge and Senate President Pro Tempore Glenn Coffee today announced that they have reached an agreement on a plan to address the $1 billion shortfall in the current fiscal year budget.
The governor and legislative leaders will use a combination of targeted cuts and reserve funds to balance the Fiscal Year 2010 budget.
Under the proposal, the monthly allocation for state agencies will continue to be reduced by 10 percent for the rest of FY 2010 to reflect slumping revenue collections.
In an effort to protect some priority areas, a handful of agencies in education, health and public safety will subsequently receive additional appropriations to supplement their budgets this year and reduce their share of the overall reduction. Even with that action, every state agency will receive some level of targeted cut for the current fiscal year.
Because the level of cuts is not sufficient to fill the $1 billion shortfall, state leaders also agreed to use reserve dollars from the Rainy Day Fund and the state stimulus account to help balance the budget.
Showing posts with label Federal Stimulus. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Federal Stimulus. Show all posts
Tuesday, January 26, 2010
Thursday, May 7, 2009
State Budget Update Story in Daily Oklahoman
"Budget After delays getting started, GOP-led Legislature isn’t surprised when governor rejects spending proposal" (link to story)
Thursday, April 9, 2009
Federal Stimulus Funds Update from the State Capitol
OKLAHOMA CITY (April 9, 2009) – Members of the House Appropriations and Budget Committee called the state treasurer and the agency heads eligible for stimulus funds before their committee today to report how they plan to use the federal money.
Earlier this session, House Speaker Chris Benge designated House A&B Chairman Ken Miller and the members on his committee to serve as an oversight board to ensure federal stimulus dollars are not spent without legislative direction.
“We want to ensure these dollars are spent in a responsible way that will not obligate future legislatures to fill budget holes once the federal funds are exhausted,” said Benge, R-Tulsa.
“Cooperation between legislative members, the executive branch and agency officials is critical to make sure we utilize these funds in a manner that is efficient and transparent to those footing the bill—the taxpayers.”
Members of the committee and other legislative members attended the meeting seeking clarification from the agency heads about the intent for the funds and possible strings that may or may not be attached to spending stimulus dollars.
Rep. Miller said Oklahoma is more fortunate than many states, some of which are looking to use much of their stimulus dollars to fill gaps in their current fiscal years. “It is our duty as the appropriating body of government to account for how these funds are spent,” said Miller, R-Edmond. “To the extent possible, we must concentrate these dollars on one-time expenditures that will not create a budget hole in years to come.”
Additional meetings of the A&B committee will continue as stimulus funds are released and decisions are made on how those dollars will be spent.
“The public deserves to know exactly what these agencies are doing with the federal money, and we will meet as often as necessary to help encourage agency officials to be prudent with taxpayer dollars,” said Miller.
Earlier this session, House Speaker Chris Benge designated House A&B Chairman Ken Miller and the members on his committee to serve as an oversight board to ensure federal stimulus dollars are not spent without legislative direction.
“We want to ensure these dollars are spent in a responsible way that will not obligate future legislatures to fill budget holes once the federal funds are exhausted,” said Benge, R-Tulsa.
“Cooperation between legislative members, the executive branch and agency officials is critical to make sure we utilize these funds in a manner that is efficient and transparent to those footing the bill—the taxpayers.”
Members of the committee and other legislative members attended the meeting seeking clarification from the agency heads about the intent for the funds and possible strings that may or may not be attached to spending stimulus dollars.
Rep. Miller said Oklahoma is more fortunate than many states, some of which are looking to use much of their stimulus dollars to fill gaps in their current fiscal years. “It is our duty as the appropriating body of government to account for how these funds are spent,” said Miller, R-Edmond. “To the extent possible, we must concentrate these dollars on one-time expenditures that will not create a budget hole in years to come.”
Additional meetings of the A&B committee will continue as stimulus funds are released and decisions are made on how those dollars will be spent.
“The public deserves to know exactly what these agencies are doing with the federal money, and we will meet as often as necessary to help encourage agency officials to be prudent with taxpayer dollars,” said Miller.
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