Oklahoma agencies outline big needs for next fiscal year (Capitol Update)

In his last year in office, Governor Kevin Stitt’s usual admonition to state agencies to submit a flat budget, or budget cuts, for legislative consideration during the upcoming session seems to have had less impact on agency directors than it once did. That could be because of his lame duck status or possibly because of lessons learned from having observed the consequences of starving some agencies.

An example is the Oklahoma Department of Mental Health and Substance Abuse Services, where years of moving money around to compensate for inadequate funding finally caused the agency’s budget to crash. Other agency directors likely watched and saw that it was the commissioner’s neck on the line when things went south, not the governor’s.

According to the House Budget Transparency Portal, agencies are asking legislators to appropriate over $1.6 billion in new appropriations for fiscal year 2027. A couple hundred million of that is for one-time capital improvements, but most is for ongoing operational expenses of the state government.

An interesting example of a request for increased funding is the Office of Management and Enterprise Services, essentially an adjunct of the governor’s office under his direct control. That office is asking for an additional $32 million for FY27, an increase of 22%.

$12.7 million is for something called “transparency and efficiency projects,” while $10.1 million is for “underfunded mandated responsibilities” and $8 million is for “unfunded mandated responsibilities.” No criticism here. Agencies should be allowed to ask for what they need. But they could just as easily have categorized the budget items as “additional money we need to do our job.”

Another good example of a requested budget increase is the Office of Juvenile Affairs. OJA is the agency that deals with preventing troubled youth from becoming involved in the juvenile justice system and providing rehabilitative treatment for those who are already entangled in the system. OJA also shares responsibility with the Department of Human Services for children and youth who, through no fault of their own, are temporarily unable to be in their homes.

OJA is requesting an additional $12.3 million, an increase of 12%. Some of the items include about $2 million for behavioral health assessments and treatment, $3.5 million for OJA group homes, $2 million for “secure treatment,” and $2.3 million for transitional living programs. OJA previously requested $3.5 million for group homes, but it was not funded. Interestingly, DHS has similar group homes that are funded at a higher rate than OJA group homes, making it difficult for OJA to maintain them.

Another OJA budget request item is $2.3 million for transitional living programs. Many youth “age out” of the juvenile system at 18 but are still unable to care for themselves and develop productive lives without help. Transitional living programs continue the assistance they need to transition to successful adult living. The alternative in many instances is homelessness and/or involvement with the adult criminal justice system.

Obviously, legislators will not be able to fund $1.6 billion in additional appropriations next fiscal year. But the appropriations committees will spend many hours, days, and weeks sorting out these requests and trying to make the best use of the resources available.

The State Board of Equalization will meet on December 19 for a preliminary estimate of how much the legislature will have to spend, and the appropriations subcommittees will begin budget hearings in December. The board of equalization will meet again in February for the final certification of funds available for appropriation