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Oklahoma Senate
Senate Leader Requests Revised Budget from Governor Keating, Direction on Which Obligations He Supports, Opposes
The budget leader of the Oklahoma State Senate is asking Governor Keating to present legislative leaders with a revised executive budget reflecting available funds and a detailed listing of the obligations that still must be met before the conclusion of the legislative session at the end of the month.
After a meeting with the Governor Wednesday morning, Senator Kelly Haney said it was clear that the chief executive had no plan in place for meeting remaining state budget obligations.
"When we asked Governor Keating how he planned to meet obligations on road bonds, education funding and a host of other issues, he didn't have an answer. Even though he busted his original budget weeks ago when he agreed to fund a number of initiatives, he still hasn't put together a revised plan for paying the rest of the state's bills with the money that remains," said Senator Haney, chairman of the Senate Appropriations Committee.
"At some point, the Governor needs to start dealing in budget realities instead of Alice in Wonderland dreams. With just three weeks of session left, the reality is now."
According to the Senate leader, the updated budget should reflect all of the expenditures approved by Governor Keating to date and a detailed list of remaining obligations, including:
Phase I Road Program Bonds $82.2 million Replace Higher Ed Funds $23.5 million Replace Common Ed Funds $17.5 million Annualize Supplemental Approps.(Prisons, Educ., Health Care Auth.)
$41.5 million Phase I Capital Bond Issue $13.4 million Eastern State Hospital Transition $ 2.7 million
"If Governor Keating wants to default on state road bonds, cut education or tell community mental health centers that he's not going to pay them for treating state mental patients, he needs to let us know. Pretending that the state doesn't have bills to pay isn't going to make them disappear.
The Governor just needs to tell us which bills he wants to pay and which bills he's willing to default on," said Senator Haney.
The Senate leader was quick to point out that the obligations listed above do not include other possible expenditures, such as Phase II of the road construction program or budget increases lawmakers would like to enact for education and other important programs.
"At this point, all we can conclude is the Governor doesn't support continuation of the road program or a budget increase for education. Until he comes to grip with the fact that the state can't afford all his spending ideas, we'll just have to go forward without him. We've stretched the
available dollars about as far as they can go. If Governor Keating can stretch them any farther without actually spending them more than once, we'd like to see his plan," said Senator Haney.
In recent weeks, the Governor has claimed that an additional $300 million is available for appropriation, although he has never documented how the state can meet existing obligations and still have such a large surplus. Neither House nor Senate figures reflect that much available revenue.
"I don't think anyone at the Capitol really believes that $300 million is just floating around out there, waiting for some lucky winner to claim it. If the Governor has an extra $300 million hidden away somewhere, we'd certainly like him to show us where it is. All we ask is that he do it without the benefit of creative accounting or smoke and mirrors," said Senator Haney.
With just a little over three weeks remaining in the legislative session, it's important for Governor Keating to present lawmakers with a revised executive budget by no later than the end of the week, according to the Senate budget chair.
"If we're going to adjourn in an orderly manner and get the people's business done on time, the Governor needs to get busy. We can't proceed until we get a concrete picture of Governor Keating's new budget plans," said Senator Haney.
