Revenue from voter-approved "sin taxes" grew in FY 10, but pace is slowing

In 2004, Oklahoma voters approved a series of measures intended to raise new revenues for education and health care through a state lottery (SQ 705 and 706), gaming compacts (SQ 712), and increased tobacco taxes (SQ 713).  OK Policy has… Read more [More...]

State revenue glass: Half-full or half-empty?

Treasurer Scott Meacham today announced that General Revenue (GR) collections for the first month of the new state fiscal year, FY ’11, came in 9.9 percent above the prior year and 11.9 percent above the official certified estimate. The sales… Read more [More...]

By the numbers: FY'10 revenues down..from FY'01

Last week, Treasurer Scott Meacham presented the preliminary data on full-year collections to the state’s General Revenue fund for FY ’10, which ended June 30th.  He emphasized both the magnitude of the decline in collections from the prior year –… Read more [More...]

By the numbers: State personal income recovering far more quickly than state revenues

The latest edition of our monthly Numbers You Need bulletin reports on the most recent state personal income data that was put out last month by the Bureau of Economic Analysis. In the 1st quarter of 2010, state personal income… Read more [More...]

April revenues: Collections have stabilized but remain well below pre-downturn levels

April General Revenue collections were announced this afternoon and provided further confirmation that while the fiscal free fall has now stopped, the return to pre-downturn levels is likely to remain long and slow. Overall, April’s collections of $512.3 million were… Read more [More...]

Revenues: Despite improvements, next year’s die is cast… unless the Legislature acts

Today’s announcement of the monthly General Revenue collections brought incontestable good news: State revenue collections in March topped prior year collections for the first time since December 2008 and the official estimate for a second consecutive month, State Treasurer Scott… Read more [More...]

Ambidextrous revenue report: One the one hand…on the other hand…

The latest state revenue collections announced today provided mixed news: State revenue collections in February exceeded the official estimate for the first time since December 2008, but fell short of prior year collections for the same month, State Treasurer Scott… Read more [More...]

New revenue numbers: Still waiting to exhale

We may never have expected to see the day when the announcement that monthly revenue collections had come in 16.7 percent below the prior year and 20.8 percent below the certified estimate would be taken as good news. But after… Read more [More...]

State revenues: The storm may be subsiding but the forecast remains bleak

The latest monthly budget release (PDF) from Treasurer Scott Meacham provided some good news and some bad news. The bad news is that October revenues fell well short of projections, as they have in each month of the current fiscal… Read more [More...]

Short on gas: Low natural gas prices hindering budget turnaround

The continued weakness of natural gas prices and production is the most important factor accounting for Oklahoma’s disappointing revenue collections.  July collections from natural gas production to the General Revenue Fund (GRF) totaled just $22.2 million in July –  a… Read more [More...]