Tulsa World: Benge: Time to 'inject some reality' into Oklahoma's budget

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Benge: Time to "inject some reality" into Oklahoma's budget

By RANDY KREHBIEL World Staff Writer
Published: 11/18/2009 12:41 PM
Last Modified: 11/18/2009 5:23 PM

State Speaker of the House Chris Benge said Wednesday it is time to "inject some reality" into the state's deteriorating budget situation, a further indication that deeper cuts to stage agencies may be on the way.

Benge said he and other legislative leaders are increasingly concerned that "we are boxing ourselves in" by cutting monthly allocations 5 percent while general fund revenues for the first four months of the fiscal year are running 25 percent below projections.

Gov. Brad Henry and state Treasurer Scott Meacham have said the difference will be made up from the $600-million constitutional reserve fund, but Benge said he thinks Henry and Meacham have been too optimistic.

"At the current rate, we're looking at a $1 billion shortfall," Benge said. "That's $1 billion out of $7 billion."

Benge said a special session to tap into the reserve fund as well as $600 million in potential federal stimulus funding would not be productive until the first revenue projections for fiscal 2011 are released in mid-December.

By RANDY KREHBIEL World Staff Writer

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Reader comments for this story have been moved to the most updated version of the story, now under the headline "Benge gloomy on state's finances," which was published on 11/19/2009. So far, 32 comments have been made.