One measure adopted this session to mitigate the extent of budget cuts was HB 2359, which aims to increase the collections of taxes owed on purchases made over the Internet or by other remote retailers. After opposition emerged, the final…
Read more [More...]
![](https://i0.wp.com/okpolicy.org/wp-content/uploads/2010/05/GRestvsact02-10.jpg?fit=150%2C89&ssl=1)
Once bitten, twice shy. Or is it twice bitten, thrice shy? Oklahoma’s budgeting laws try to protect against mid-year budget shortfalls by allowing the Legislature to appropriate only 95 percent of the certified estimate of General Revenue (GR) fund collections…
Read more [More...]
Earlier this year, we explored the question of what does and does not fall under the supermajority provisions of SQ 640. In these final days of the legislative session, this question has assumed renewed relevance with the introduction and passage…
Read more [More...]
![](https://i0.wp.com/okpolicy.org/wp-content/uploads/2010/05/header_home_psrw1.png?fit=150%2C48&ssl=1)
From time to time, we use the OK Policy blog to post contributions that offer interesting perspectives on important policy issues for the state. Michael Lipsky is a Distinguished Senior Fellow at Demos, a non-partisan public policy research and advocacy…
Read more [More...]
Legislative leaders and the Governor yesterday announced their agreement on the FY ’11 budget. We’ve posted the press release here and the document that was provided comparing appropriations for each agency for this budget year and next, and listing the…
Read more [More...]
![](https://i0.wp.com/okpolicy.org/wp-content/uploads/2010/05/GRannualchange02-09.png?fit=150%2C73&ssl=1)
This week, the Oklahoman’s editorial board revisited the question of whether the state’s budget crisis is the result of the large and permanent tax cuts enacted during the mid-2000’s when the economy was booming and state revenues were soaring. The…
Read more [More...]
![](https://i0.wp.com/okpolicy.org/wp-content/uploads/2010/05/DOCscenariosFY11-31.jpg?fit=150%2C72&ssl=1)
Back in March, a member of the Board that oversees the state Department of Corrections (DOC) delivered a blunt message to the state’s elected officials about the impact that growing inmate populations and funding cuts were having on the department’s…
Read more [More...]
![](https://i0.wp.com/okpolicy.org/wp-content/uploads/2010/05/Top10agencies-FY10.jpg?fit=150%2C95&ssl=1)
As legislative leaders and the Governor continue to work on an agreement on the FY ’11 budget facing a budget gap of some $800 – $850 million, here’s a quick visual reminder of why you can’t address a shortfall of…
Read more [More...]
![](https://i0.wp.com/okpolicy.org/wp-content/uploads/2010/05/5-yr-avg-Apr2010.jpg?fit=150%2C68&ssl=1)
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...]
We are at a truly critical time for Oklahoma. The state faces its most severe budget crisis of the past quarter century, perhaps the most severe in its history. As revenues have fallen, successive rounds of budget cuts have created…
Read more [More...]