Gov. Mary Fallin has signed a bill appropriating more than $7.1 billion to fund state government for the fiscal year that begins July 1.
The general appropriations bill was one of several dozen measures Fallin signed into law Tuesday.
“While many agencies will receive cuts, the budget delivers a much needed $80 million funding increase for K-12 education, getting more money into the classroom and funding reforms that will improve accountability and boost student performance,” Fallin said in a statement. “With that increase in resources, K-12 public schools have now received more than $154 million in the past two years, more than any other area of government during my administration.”
The $7.1 billion agreement was drawn primarily from the General Revenue Fund but also mixes in money withdrawn from revolving funds and cash carried over from previous years, budget writers said when the agreement was announced May 16.
The budget bill represents a decrease of about $102 million from the current year's state budget, and most agencies will receive cuts averaging about 5.5 percent.
The governor and Republican legislative leaders were able to carve out increases for targeted agencies, including that $80 million boost in funding for common education. Funding for the state's colleges and universities was kept flat, with no change from the current year's budget.
The bill also includes money for pay raises for more than 12,000 state workers.
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