Tulsa World
by: BARBARA HOBEROCK World Capitol Bureau
Wednesday, December 22, 2010
12/22/2010 6:02:59 AM
OKLAHOMA CITY - The state is expected to have $226 million less to spend in fiscal year 2012, but Gov. Brad Henry said the budget hole that the next governor and Legislature will face is not insurmountable.
The State Board of Equalization met Tuesday and certified a revenue estimate of $5.2 billion, with slightly more than $4.9 billion available to be appropriated by lawmakers for fiscal year 2012.
The panel also made a preliminary finding that conditions have been met for a 0.25 percent state income tax cut in 2012.
The hole in the next budget is significantly less than some had predicted.
"First of all, the budget hole of $226 million is far less than the $600 million people have been talking about and guesstimating in the past," said Henry, a member of the Board of Equalization. "So, it is good news."
Henry, who is in the final days of his administration, said he has faced three very challenging budget years in his eight years in office.
His first year in office, the state had a nearly $700 million shortfall. Last year, it was about $1 billion, Henry said. Officials used state 'rainy day' funds and federal stimulus dollars to plug budget holes for fiscal year 2011... FULL ARTICLE
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Wed, December 22, 2010
by Crystal Drwenski