Over a Barrel: How we ended up on the hook to oil and gas producers to the tune of $294 million

NOTE: This week, Oklahomans learned the state was on the hook to pay oil and gas producers $294 million over the next three years in deferred tax rebates for horizontal and deep well drilling in 2010 and 2011, an amount… Read more [More...]

Revenue forecast confirms need for caution

On Tuesday, the Board of Equalization certified a preliminary estimate of the revenues available for next year’s budget. The numbers confirm that while the worst of the fiscal crisis is over, the state is experiencing a slow, incomplete recovery that… Read more [More...]

An Incomplete Recovery–and a chance to do better

Today we published “An Incomplete Recovery: The State Budget Outlook 2012-2015.” This is the third of our annual series of forecasts for the state budget. Our goals for this project are both to inform leaders and citizens about the state’s… Read more [More...]

The Supercommittee and the states

Though revenue collections continue to show steady growth, state budgets remain under great stress. After three successive years of funding cuts, most state agencies are operating this year with appropriations that are at least 10 percent less than prior to… Read more [More...]

Preliminary FY 2013 budget outlook shows continued challenges ahead

Oklahoma’s fiscal situation presents an apparent paradox. We have now seen state tax collections rise for five consecutive quarters and exceed prior year collections by 10.5 percent. At the same time, the state budget is still being cut. This year’s… Read more [More...]