Stalemate in Oklahoma Budget Negotiations Continues
Gov. Kevin Stitt and legislative leaders met again Monday to negotiate a budget for fiscal year 2025.
Oklahoma Voice reports for the third day, they adjourned without an agreement. Stitt and House Speaker Charles McCall have been pushing for an income tax cut.
Senate Pro Tem Greg Treat said he would not put the matter up to a vote.
"Governor I’m telling you, it’s like I’ve told you since day one, you don’t run the Senate chamber," said Treat. "I decide what goes up for a vote on the Senate floor in consultation with my caucus. I’m not going to sit here and give control of the Senate to the Governor."
"Will you do any kind of tax cut this year?," Stitt asked.
"Yeah, grocery tax. $408 million," Treat replied.
"But not an income tax?," Stitt said.
Lawmakers approved a grocery tax cut earlier this year. But Treat says the state can’t afford to cut more taxes.
Legislative leaders and the governor are expected to reconvene.
The budget needs to be finalized by the end of May when session adjourns.
Oklahoma Legislators Establish New Fund to Aid Tornado Victims
A new state fund for people impacted by recent tornadoes will soon be available. Lawmakers passed two measures Monday to help pay for natural disaster response.
Members of the House and Senate convened for a Joint Committee on Appropriations and Budget, or J-CAB, meeting to approve two bills aimed at relieving Oklahoma towns ravaged by recent tornadoes.
The measures approved were House Bills 2912 and 2913. One creates the “Disaster-impacted Local Economies Revolving Fund,” the other appropriates $45 million to seed it with enough money for places like Sulphur, Barnsdall and other impacted communities to pay for rebuilding costs.
House fiscal chair Kevin Wallace says the new fund is in addition to an existing money pool the Oklahoma Emergency Management office uses to match federal relief money and it will be state-funded as needed.
Oklahoma Corporation Commission Mulls Overhaul of Contracting Process Following Auditor's Scathing Report
The Oklahoma Corporation Commission is considering dropping "no-bid" contracts. The move comes after Oklahoma State Auditor Cindy Byrd identified large-scale mismanagement of taxpayer money last month related to the practice.
Competitive bidding is meant to ensure contract work is the most cost-effective use of taxpayer dollars for the state.
The Oklahoma Office of Management and Enterprise Services introduced a new set of rules in 2019 under which a company could secure a “statewide contract” and no longer be required to compete with other businesses to offer the lowest price.
Since Byrd’s audit report, state agencies haven’t been sure whether contracts they made under those rules are valid.
The Oklahoma Corporation Commission has identified eight vendors they contracted with under the questionable rules. The Commission is still working with at least six.
Now, Commissioner Bob Anthony is moving to adopt the State Auditor’s policy on these types of contracts. He says he hopes to “ensure unquestionable agency compliance with state statutes going forward.”
The full Corporation Commission will consider the new rules in a meeting Tuesday.
Thunder Rally to Even Playoff Series Against Mavericks
The Oklahoma City Thunder evened their playoff series with the Dallas Mavericks at two games apiece Monday night with a 100-96 win.
The Thunder played from behind for most of the game and were down by as many as 14 points in the third quarter. But OKC hit a few clutch three-pointers late, and made 23 of their 24 free throw attempts, while Dallas only hit 12 of their 23.
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, who led the Thunder with 34 points, said they knew exactly what they needed to do.
“We just stuck to it. We just plugged away, took it possession by possession, and eventually the game turned for us," said Gilgeous-Alexander. "We’ve been in this situation a lot. We’ve been down, we’ve been down double digits - I think we lead the league in double-digit comebacks. We’ve been there before, and we just knew what it took, and we got it done tonight.”
The series now shifts back to Paycom Center for Game 5 on Wednesday night.
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