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Steve Lewis served as Speaker of the Oklahoma House of Representatives from 1989-1991. He currently practices law in Tulsa and represents clients at the Capitol. You can sign up on his website to receive the Capitol Updates newsletter by email.
State Finance Director Preston Doerflinger issued a press release last week saying Oklahomans should expect another “flat” state budget next year. For the first third of this fiscal year general revenue collections are about $141.5 million above last year. Assuming the trend remains the same it would mean $424.5 million in “new” money. That hardly sounds like a flat budget. But Doerflinger reminds us that this year’s budget has a big hole to be filled next year before any new spending can be added. To balance this year’s budget some of the agency revolving funds were used for general purposes. That has left them with lower balances and likely cannot be repeated. There are probably other adjustments, and a tax cut, if I remember correctly, will begin in January.
The state spends our money to provide public services like public safety, transportation, health and social services, education and the regulatory environment. Much of the service provided by state government is done by contracting with private businesses, often non-profits, who do the work of government under the supervision of someone in a state agency.
Doerflinger is probably trying to manage expectations for next year. Like a business you can only make do with less for so long. Most schools, state agencies and private service contractors have taken substantial cuts over the past five years. At best they’ve been trying to provide expanded services with flat funding. Doerflinger knows most agencies and private providers will be hoping and asking for “new money.” If there is any new money it’s not likely to be much, and chunks of it could go for big ticket items like common education, higher education and Medicaid.
Here’s an example of the squeeze most of us don’t feel but state workers and private providers doing the work of government see too often. Congress passed “welfare reform” in 1996. In 1997 Oklahoma established a maximum monthly payment for “temporary assistance for needy families” (TANF), formerly known as “aid for dependent children” (AFDC.) Set at the minimum allowed by the federal government, the assistance in Oklahoma hasn’t been raised since it was set in 1997. Folks needing assistance get the same amount they did 17 years ago. I heard recently that young people who want to spend their lives doing good things no longer look at government as an option to accomplish that. And the turnover rate for state workers is high. No wonder.
