Tag: Oklahoma

FY '10 budget agreement leaves questions and challenges

In a press release Tuesday afternoon, Governor Brad Henry, Speaker Chris Benge and Senate Pro-Tem Glenn Coffee announced agreement on how to address the shortfalls in the FY ’10 budget that have resulted from this year’s revenues coming in sharply… Read more [More...]

Glimmers of good news in state revenue collections?

This month’s announcement of December General Revenue collections didn’t seem to provide much in the way of good news. Revenues for the month again came in around 30 percent below levels of one year ago (graph) and 30 percent below… Read more [More...]

New report looks at impact of Oklahoma’s immigration bill HB 1804

No piece of legislation in Oklahoma in the past decade was more controversial or contentious than HB 1804. Passed in 2007, HB 1804 – officially designated the Oklahoma Taxpayer and Citizen Act – enacted a series of restrictions intended to… Read more [More...]

Cutting budgets AND cutting taxes?

Today’s Tulsa World has a strong editorial opposing legislative proposals to enact further restrictions on property taxes.  For those who haven’t been following, this week has seen a public flare-up of a long-simmering internal battle within the House Republican caucus… Read more [More...]

Why government can't be run more like a business

Last week I attended the Stand Up for Seniors advocacy forum which focused on the impact the state’s worsening economic and fiscal situation is having on programs serving seniors. State Treasurer Scott Meacham was among the elected officials who addressed… Read more [More...]

Is this state fiscal crisis worse than the 1980's? Yes and no…

In writing about the state’s current budget woes, I’ve tended to say that Oklahoma is in the midst of its worst fiscal crisis since the oil bust of the 1980’s. Whether we were around during those days or not, I… Read more [More...]

Tom Joad dances on

Kurt Hochenauer, whose OkieFunk: Notes from the Outback blog provides consistently sharp and perceptive commentary on Oklahoma political issues, recently had a nice piece in the Oklahoma Gazette putting the recent rise in poverty in the state in its historical… Read more [More...]

It pays to recycle: Lessons from the Budget Crisis

Just a quick post to let you know that the Oklahoman today ran an op-ed setting out the policy proposals we have developed for managing budget downturns. The op-ed was based on the full issue brief and 1-page summary we… Read more [More...]

Say "ow": Next round of Medicaid budget cuts to hit providers

According to an e-mail that went out late last Friday afternoon from Nico Gomez, the Deputy CEO for External Relations and Communications of the Oklahoma Health Care Authority (OHCA), the agency will recommend to its Board this week that it… Read more [More...]

Simply Dismal: Budget gap should spur look at improved forecasting

Everyone knew it would be bad. Could we have known it would be this bad?  Nearly one year ago, in February of 2009,  several months after the national economic recession finally hit Oklahoma, the Board of Equalization certified an official… Read more [More...]