OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) — Facing an expected budget shortfall next year, Oklahoma lawmakers are taking a close look at some of the roughly $3.6 billion in state-appropriated funds that pass through various state agencies and are spent on other programs.
Members of House and Senate budget committees met Wednesday in a joint meeting to discuss the so-called "pass-through" funding and its implications on the budget.
Representative Leslie Osborn of Mustang requested the study because she says there has never been a comprehensive study on all such funding to state agencies. She described "pass-through" funding as appropriations to an agency that are then spent somewhere else.
Included in the analysis are appropriations like $1.8 billion for public schools that is appropriated to the State Department of Education.