Oklahoma is facing serious challenges when it comes to having the resources to provide the sorts of public services that help create jobs and build a strong economy.

Yet while the need to chart a sound, sustainable fiscal course is urgent, our policymakers too often are flying blind. Legislators routinely make spending and revenue decisions that will have long-term consequences without access to key information about the cost of funding existing obligations in the coming years.

Two recent reports from the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities (CBPP) suggest a pair of sensible budget management tools that Oklahoma should adopt .

• Current services budget: This tool would provide lawmakers and the public with the cost of maintaining today’s level of programs and benefits.
• State PAYGO requirement: It would require all new spending and tax cuts be fully paid for. Read the rest of this entry »

In 2004, Oklahoma voters approved a series of measures intended to raise new revenues for education and health care through a state lottery (SQ 705 and 706), gaming compacts (SQ 712), and increased tobacco taxes (SQ 713).  OK Policy has now released a set of newly updated fact sheets that explains how these revenue sources operate, how much revenue each generates, and where the dollars are allocated. You can access all three 1-page fact sheets as a single document, or you can download the PDF separately for the lottery, gaming and tobacco.

During the most recently completed budget year, FY ’11, Oklahoma collected $346.2 million from these three revenue sources. This is an increase of $10.8 million, or 3.2 percent, from FY ’10. While the rate of revenue growth for the three “sin taxes” has clearly slowed compared to the first years following their enactment, their steady and uninterrupted growth over recent years stands in marked contrast to most other revenue sources, which were strongly affected by the economic downturn of 2008-09.  General sales tax revenue, for example, declined 8 percent in FY ’10, before recovering in FY ’11. Read the rest of this entry »

This week OK Policy distributed a 4-page memo on the state budget to all candidates for state offices, which we have now released to a broader audience. The memo is intended to offer policymakers a clearer understanding of the budget situation they will face following the November election, while suggesting some guiding principles and specific recommendations for addressing the challenges that lie ahead. Here are some of the highlights of the memo: (Much of the information is contained in our most recent 2-page Budget Trends and Highlights fact sheet).

We begin by stating that:

The state budget crisis of the  past two years has put great strains on the public structures and institutions that Oklahoma families, businesses, and communities count on to help us meet our common goals as a state. Whoever wins the elections in November will face difficult choices in filling large budget holes and balancing the budget over the next two to three years.

Our overview of the past two years emphasizes the historic drop in state revenue collections and the importance that non-recurring revenues from the federal Recovery Act, state Rainy Day Fund, and other sources have had in mitigating the magnitude of budget shortfalls. However:

Even with these funds… this year’s appropriations of $6.714 billion represent an overall cut of 7.2 percent from FY ’09. Over half of all appropriated state agencies have absorbed funding cuts of at least 15 percent, and some cuts have been multiplied by the loss of matching federal dollars. These cuts have weakened the ability of state agencies and schools to fulfill their core missions and have contributed to a corrosion of the public structures and institutions that Oklahoma rely on to promote our well-being and invest in our future. Across state government, shortfalls have forced agencies to serve fewer Oklahomans in need, eliminate programs,  reduce hours of operation to the public, cut payments to private providers, and lay off or furlough employees. Read the rest of this entry »

In 2004, Oklahoma voters approved a series of measures intended to raise new revenues for education and health care through a state lottery (SQ 705 and 706), gaming compacts (SQ 712), and increased tobacco taxes (SQ 713).  OK Policy has now released a set of newly updated fact sheets that explains how these revenue sources operate and sets out out how much revenue each generates and where the dollars are allocated. You can access all three 1-page fact sheets as a single document, or you can download the PDF separately for the lottery, gaming and tobacco.

We found that during the most recently completed budget year, FY ’10, Oklahoma collected $335.4 million from these three revenue sources. This is an increase of $12.2 million, or 3.8 percent, from FY ’09, reflecting a clear slowdown in revenue growth from these sources compared to prior years. Some key findings:

Read the rest of this entry »

Today we released our long-awaited Online Budget Guide, a comprehensive resource exploring how Oklahoma’s state and local government collect and spend money to provide public services. While the Guide is packed full of facts and figures and works as both an introduction for citizens and students and a quick-reference for legislators, public managers, advocates, and reporters, it is about more than basic information. It’s also about some basic concerns we want to share with our fellow Oklahomans. Matt Guillory, OK Policy’s Executive Director, said: Read the rest of this entry »

On October 6, Oklahoma Policy Institute will release its Online Budget Guide. This unique tool for understanding Oklahoma state and local government finances will be valuable both as an introduction for newcomers and as a reference guide for the more well-versed. Because it is online, it’s easier to use than a book. You can read through from “cover to cover” or you can look just at the topics that interest you most. The guide also includes links to sources for more information. We will also update the guide regularly as new data become available. We hope to add new topics based on user feedback and requests. Read the rest of this entry »