Oklahoma’s House budget and appropriations chair said this session is going to be about fixing the state’s finances.
Tuttle Republican Rep. Leslie Osborn said it’s clear Oklahoma has a revenue problem.
"You're not going to see near as many — they might be filed, but won't see them heard in committee — we're going to move on and not be worrying about social issue bills all day. We're going to worry about funding services," Osborn said.
So far, bills not related to revenue, budgets or appropriations make up a small portion of hundreds of House bills filed. Some of those include bills requiring school uniforms, mandating the death penalty for killing a law enforcement officer and allowing private agencies to refuse child foster care or adoption placements based on religious beliefs.
House members expect to pursue several sources of new revenue for the state this session. Osborn said any changes won’t solve budget problems right away.
"There's lag time. So, when people start seeing that oil's at $50, they expect that we're immediately going to have that income in there. No, it doesn't work that way," Osborn said. "But then next year, when we do see a lot of that income coming in, guess what I'm going to be constitutionally mandated to do, right off the top? Refill the rainy day fund."
Officials will also look to put money into a fund to tap in future oil slumps. Osborn said that’s good.
"Those are the kind of things that will get us through one more tough year before we start seeing things where we can breathe a little bit and start investing dollars in things like mental health that we need to," Osborn said.
Any tax changes the House pursues could lead to a showdown. While Republicans and Democrats now agree more revenue is necessary, they don’t see eye-to-eye on how to get it.
