Oklahoma State Budget

Facing a difficult economic recovery from the coronavirus pandemic, the group representing Oklahoma’s city governments told state lawmakers during an interim study at the state capitol last week that they’re struggling with dozens of sales tax exemptions.

Mike Fina, executive director of the Oklahoma Municipal League, said those exemptions cost a total of $8.3 billion in sales tax funding. Fina said that not only constrains city budgets, but it also holds up policies many would like to see, like making groceries exempt from sales tax. 

OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) — Collections to Oklahoma’s main government operating fund exceeded the estimate last month by about 1%, state finance officials reported Tuesday.

Office of Management and Enterprise Services Director Steven Harpe attributed the higher-than-expected collections to a couple of anomalies, including the timing of corporate income tax payments.

“These anomalies should not be expected to continue in other months, especially after federal assistance payments are fulfilled and deferred tax payments are received,” Harpe said.

OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) — Overall collections to the state’s main operating fund for fiscal year 2020 were more than 10% below projections as the state’s economy reeled from slumping energy prices and the economic impact of COVID-19, state finance officials reported on Thursday.

Total collections to the general revenue fund for the fiscal year that ended June 30 were $6.27 billion, which was 10.2% below the estimate, the Office of Management and Enterprise Services reported.

Late Wednesday afternoon, Oklahoma Gov. Kevin Stitt vetoed lawmakers' $7.7 billion budget in its entirety, along with bills temporarily reallocating nearly $300 million in apportioned dollars to public schools.

By 10 p.m., lawmakers voted to override Stitt's vetoes of all four bills.

OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) — Collections to Oklahoma’s main government operating fund missed projections by 44% last month, the biggest shortfall in modern history, state finance officials said.

Postponing the income tax deadline from April to July, plummeting energy prices and the coronavirus-related shutdown of businesses across the state amounted to a “threefold economic gut punch,” said Office of Management and Enterprise Services Director Steve Harpe.

“Missing this month’s estimate is not a surprise, but the magnitude is notable,” he said.

OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) — Revenue collections in Oklahoma fell by half a billion dollars in April from a year ago as an economic slowdown caused by the coronavirus pandemic swept the state, Treasurer Randy McDaniel said Thursday.

Gross receipts fell $502.5 million to just under $1.1 billion, down 31.8% from April 2019, McDaniel said.

Income tax collections fell by 50.5% to $405.8 million. McDaniel noted that the filing deadline for income taxes was postponed from April 15 until July 15 because of the pandemic.

OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) — Federal relief aid and reopening Oklahoma businesses shuttered to slow down the spread of the coronavirus could potentially offset the steep economic impact of the pandemic, state lawmakers said.

The Oklahoma Tax Commission projected earlier this month that the state is slated to have $1.366 billion less to spend in fiscal 2021 than it had the previous year, based on analysis of current trends in revenue streams such as oil and gas production, tax collections and sales, and payroll tax receipts.

Oil Market Turmoil Likely To Have Economic Repercussions On Both State And Local Levels

Former Tulsa mayor Dewey F. Bartlett Jr. has seen a lot over his decades in the oil and gas industry, but he said he's never seen anything like this week's market turmoil, and never thought he would.

"Never," Bartlett said. "Not to this degree, and not this quickly. Not even close."

"It's as bad as it seems."

With prices already tanked, forecasters are now starting to estimate how much global oil demand will fall because of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Oil and Gas Journal Managing Editor of Economics Conglin Xu said it will likely be a steep drop.

"I expect that oil demand this year will decline 13% from last year to 87 million barrels per day. The size of the collapse is almost six times heavier than the collapse during the 2008 financial crisis period," Xu said.

In response to an order from the Oklahoma Supreme Court, a budget board led by Gov. Kevin Stitt will meet Monday afternoon.

House Speaker Charles McCall and Senate President Pro Tempore Greg Treat asked the high court to weigh in on the dispute between them and Stitt. The lawmakers want the court to order the Board of Equalization, chaired by Stitt, to meet and declare a revenue failure.

Chief Justice Noma Gurich also set oral arguments in the case for Tuesday before a Supreme Court referee.

OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) — Revenue collections to Oklahoma’s main state operating fund were just 3.6% below projections last month, but state finance officials warned Tuesday that the biggest hit is expected over the next three months.

Collections to the General Revenue Fund in March totaled $494.6 million, which was 3.6% below the monthly estimate, the Office of Management and Enterprise Services reported.

The state’s top lawmakers asked the Oklahoma Supreme Court on Tuesday to intervene in their budget dispute with Gov. Kevin Stitt.

House Speaker Charles McCall and Senate President Pro Tem Greg Treat have filed a lawsuit to force the State Board of Equalization to declare a revenue failure.

Stitt chairs the board and abruptly canceled a scheduled meeting last week after lawmakers sent him three bills that closed a projected $416.8 million budget hole but blocked any dollars from going to his Digital Transformation Fund.

Oklahoma may use hundreds of millions of dollars from savings to deal with the impacts of an oil slump and the pandemic over this fiscal year and the next. While the state has reserves, the amount of the shortfall is unclear.

Josh Goodman, state economic development officer at the Pew Charitable Trusts, says states can get a better picture of potential problems by running budget stress tests, which banks started doing after the federal Dodd-Frank Act.

Updated April 10, 7:23 a.m.

Oklahoma Gov. Kevin Stitt on Thursday signed two out of three bills lawmakers sent him this week to close a projected $416.8 million hole in the current fiscal year budget.

Stitt did not sign Senate Bill 199, which would have made $302.3 million in the state Rainy Day Fund available to spend.

It remains to be seen what Gov. Kevin Stitt will do with bills to tap Oklahoma’s reserve funds and cover a projected $416.8 million budget gap this fiscal year.

Those bills keep state agency budgets from being slashed but block money from going to Stitt’s Digital Transformation Fund. One bill moves $302.3 million from the Rainy Day Fund to the general revenue fund for appropriation.

The other bills move $201.6 million from the Rainy Day Fund to the Revenue Stabilization Fund and authorize spending up to half the stabilization fund's balance.

Oklahoma leaders did not declare a revenue failure on Monday after suddenly postponing a special meeting of the State Board of Equalization.

That came after lawmakers advanced bills to tap state savings accounts for an amount that would cover the anticipated $416.8 million shortfall. House Appropriations Chair Kevin Wallace (R-Wellston) said their solution drew from the Rainy Day and Revenue Stabilization funds.

Gov. Kevin Stitt said Friday Oklahoma will be $416 million short this fiscal year between an ongoing oil slump and the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Usually, a revenue failure would result in automatic cuts to state agencies. The governor's office said the one currently projected would result in agency budgets being slashed 6.2%.

Gross receipts to the Oklahoma Treasury of just more than $1 billion in March were up $6.4 million over the prior year, but officials warn the future is dim.

"This month marks the end of almost three years of economic growth," State Treasurer Randy McDaniel said in a statement. "I expect to see a much different picture emerge in the coming months."

Gross production taxes on oil and natural gas totaled $78.9 million in March, a decrease of $17.3 million, or 18%, from last March. Compared to February reports, gross production collections are down $6 million, or 7%