State budget estimate increases $213 million from last year
BY BARBARA HOBEROCK World Capitol Bureau
Wednesday, February 20, 2013
2/20/13 at 4:12 AM
OKLAHOMA CITY - The state will have nearly $213 million more to spend in fiscal year 2014 based on action taken Tuesday by the state Equalization Board.
Lawmakers will have slightly more than $7 billion to craft the budget, up 3.1 percent from last fiscal year.
The figure is $2 million less than what was certified in December because of adjustments in various estimates.
The state anticipates depositing $83.3 million into its "rainy day" fund, bringing the total to $660.8 million, said Finance Secretary Preston Doerflinger.
The maximum that can be deposited in the fund is $834.7 million, said Ron Jenkins, a spokesman for the Office of Management and Enterprise Services.
The state will have $34 million more for appropriations than officials used in crafting Gov. Mary Fallin's budget because officials did not use all of the available revenue due to fiscal uncertainty in Washington, D.C., Jenkins said.
Fallin is chairwoman of the Equalization Board.
"Our priority now is to begin immediate work with the Legislature to set an honest state budget that uses these growth revenues to reduce income taxes and boost funding for core services like education and other priorities," Doerflinger said.
Fallin said the additional revenue will be used for common education and tax cuts.
She has proposed dropping the state income tax to 5 percent from 5.25 percent. The figure is not tied to revenue growth or curbing tax credits or other economic incentives.
Original Print Headline: State budget estimate is up $213 million from last year
Barbara Hoberock 405-528-2465
barbara.hoberock@tulsaworld.com
