An Oklahoma House budget subcommittee advances a bill meant to better prepare the state for revenue problems.
Rep. David Brumbaugh’s bill directs the tax commission to compute a five-year average of all general revenue fund sources for the Board of Equalization. Brumbaugh said the bill builds on work from 2016.
"Senate Bill 1030 ... that we introduced last year, I'm sure you'll recall was the three-year forecasting. This is the second part of this that allows us to look back at monthly and yearly peaks and valleys to come up with a more smoother approach," Brumbaugh said.
SB1030 directed the Oklahoma Tax Commission to provide three fiscal years of estimated revenue collections. Under the new bill, the tax commission would also provide the five-year average to the Board of Equalization before its December and February meetings.
"We're more than happy to fulfill this. This would not be an administrative burden on us, it would just be additional information that we supply to [the Office of Management and Enterprise Services] than right now," said Oklahoma Tax Commission Director Tony Mastin.
Brumbaugh’s House Bill 2245 unanimously passed a House budget subcommittee. The bill now goes to the full House budget and appropriations committee.
