Remember Mikey from those old cereal commercials? He was the picky eater whose siblings foisted a bowl of  Life cereal in front of him saying, “It’s supposed to be good for you. But he won’t eat it. He hates everything”. As Mikey  gobbles up his cereal, they exclaim, “He likes it!” (The commercial is, of course, available on You Tube).

When it comes to the state questions on this November’s ballot, Tulsa World editor Wayne Greene has been playing the role of Mikey. This summer he penned a series of columns (you can read a couple of them here and here) that explored the eleven constitutional changes that Oklahoma voters will decide this election.  His verdict:

…I haven’t found much to like. Most of the questions on the ballot range from the vaguely obnoxious (reconfiguring the membership of a state commission that has not met one time in state history) to the truly malignant (requiring voters to show government-issued IDs in order to vote). If you’re an all-or-nothing kind of person, the best choice clearly would be to simply go down the line and mark “no” on every question.

However, Greene’s “Life (cereal) – changing moment” came with the eleventh and final proposal on the November ballot, SQ 757, which would increase the cap on the state’s Constitutional Reserve Fund, or Rainy Day Fund, from a maximum of 10 percent of General Revenue Fund collections to 15 percent. Somewhat grudgingly, Greene concedes:

But there is one referendum – State Question 757 – that is a pretty good idea. Read the rest of this entry »

The latest state revenue collections announced today provided mixed news:

State revenue collections in February exceeded the official estimate for the first time since December 2008, but fell short of prior year collections for the same month, State Treasurer Scott Meacham announced today.

Preliminary reports show General Revenue Fund collections in February are $220.6 million. That amount is:

• $17.3 million, or 7.3 percent below the prior year; but,
• $0.8 million, or 0.4 percent above the estimate.

February collections were buttressed by $25 million in gross production taxes on oil that were allocated to the General Revenue Fund and by stronger-than-expected income tax collections. After tax refunds, the state took in net income tax collections of $10.7 million in February, whereas the official estimate was for a net loss of $9.1 million in income tax payouts. Read the rest of this entry »