An apparent deal has been reached by Oklahoma Gov. Mary Fallin and leaders of the legislature to fix the state’s $215 million budget hole. It reportedly does not include any hike in the gross production taxes on oil and gas, based on the initial announcement from the governor’s office.
“It’s time now to bring our special session to an end, to bring it to a resolution, so that all of us can move on,” Fallin said. There comes a point to where we have to think about what type of government do we want to have, what kind of services do we want to provide for our citizens?”
Any indication of an increase on the gross production tax was not included in the announcement. Instead the agreement included six provisions.
One was a $1.50 tax on a package of cigarettes. The second was a 6-cent fuel tax increase. Another was a revision of taxes on alcoholic beverages. The fourth was a restoration of the Earned Income Tax Credit. The fifth was to provide for a $3,000 teach pay raise effective Aug. 1, 2018. The final part of the package was to provide for a $1,000 increase in pay for state workers, also effective Aug. 1, 2018.
“This agreement is the result of countless hours of discussions and meetings,” said the Governor. “I appreciate President Pro Tem Schulz and Speaker McCall working to provide a long-term solution to our state’s continuing budget shortfalls.”
There was no mention of what Democratic leaders might have conceded in the deal, if anything at all. However they had earlier demanded an increase in the gross production tax as part of any budget agreement.
The governor and the GOP leaders made the announcement and left without answering questions about further details of the deal.