Senate Appropriations Co-Chair Says DOC Funding Among Top Priorities

State Senator Mike Johnson, R-Kingfisher and co-chairman of the Senate Appropriations Committee, said fully funding the Department of Corrections will remain a top budget priority in the 2008 legislative session despite a new Tax Commission estimate that revenues will be lower than originally estimated.

“The MGT performance audit was very clear that the Legislature must end the budget practice created by former Democrat Senator Cal Hobson that deliberately under-funded prisons every year and made DOC come begging for supplemental funding,” Johnson said.

“A tighter budget means that spending proposals must be prioritized. Senate Republicans are committed to fully funding DOC now and in the future. Protecting the public safety must be priority one for government, even in a tight budget year,” he said.