FY 2018 Budget Highlights

Download the budget highlights as a pdf.

OK Policy’s annual Budget Highlights issue brief is one of the most informative and accessible ways to track Oklahoma’s public spending. Today we’ve released the FY 2018 Budget Highlights, which includes a bullet point summary of the state budget, charts illustrating different aspects of the budget, and a table showing appropriations for every state agency going back to 2009. You can find more information and analysis about the state budget at our Budget & Taxes Issue Page.

Appropriations are flat compared to FY 2017 and remain significantly below pre-recession (FY 2009) levels.

  • Total appropriations for FY 2018 are $6.848 billion. This budget is $70 million (1.0 percent) more than the initial FY 2017 budget and $20 million (0.3 percent) less than the final FY 2017 budget after mid-year budget cuts and supplemental appropriations.
  • Adjusted for inflation, the FY 2018 budget is $1.26 billion, or 15.6 percent, below FY 2009. More than half of all appropriated agencies – 39 of 65 – are more than 20 percent below FY 2009 funding levels, without accounting for inflation.

Most agency budgets will be cut deeper in FY 2018.

  • Forty-seven of the sixty-five agencies receiving state appropriations will see a further cut in FY 2018. Most agencies were cut by 4.9 percent, but ten agencies were held flat or cut by less than 1 percent. Seventeen agencies will see an increase compared to their initial FY 2017 appropriations [See Table 1].
  • Two agencies were made non-appropriated. Appropriations funding for the Horse Racing Commission was replaced by a share of gross gaming revenues going to the agency. Appropriations for the Fire Marshal was replaced by off-the-top apportionment of the first $2 million in fire insurance premium tax revenues.
  • Of the ten largest state agencies, CareerTech received the deepest cut in FY 2018 – 4.2 percent compared to its initial FY 2017 funding. Higher Education received the second deepest cut (3.95 percent), which comes on top of a 15.9 percent cut to Higher Education in FY 2017.

The budget includes more than $800 million in additional revenue beyond the certified estimate.

  • Lawmakers generated an additional $821 million for the FY 2018 budget to add to the $6.030 billion certified by the State Equalization Board in February.
  • The most significant revenue enhancements were a $1.50 per pack fee on cigarettes ($214 million), a 1.25 percent use tax on vehicle purchases ($111 million), elimination of some gross production tax breaks and rebates for wells drilled before FY 2015 ($138 million), and transfers from transportation funds ($150 million), the Rainy Day Fund ($83 million), and agency revolving funds ($60 million).
  • Of the $821 million in additional revenues, about $369 million (45 percent) are one-time revenues which will need to be replaced in developing the FY 2019 budget.
  • Various recurring revenue options were considered but not adopted, including increasing fuel taxes, increasing gross production taxes on newly drilled wells, and capping itemized deductions.

Charts and Tables

Figure 1

Figure 2

Figure 3

Figure 4

Figure 5

Table 1

Table 2

Download the full report with current and historical appropriations levels for all appropriated state agencies.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Gene Perry worked for OK Policy from 2011 to 2019. He is a native Oklahoman and a citizen of the Cherokee Nation. He graduated from the University of Oklahoma with a B.A. in history and an M.A. in journalism.

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