The House and Senate are in week two of budget summits with the governor. The meetings are being livestreamed on the governor's YouTube channel and being covered by Capitol media for anyone wanting to tune in.
The state budget is based on revenue figures publicly approved by the State Board of Equalization, taking into consideration budget requests presented publicly to various Appropriations subcommittees by agencies that receive state funding.
Leadership from each chamber normally gather that information and negotiate the budget for the next fiscal year before bringing the final product of their negotiations to their respective chambers in the form of general appropriations bills. The measures face numerous questions and debate from legislative members before a final vote. Once measures pass in both chambers, they are sent to the governor to be signed into law or vetoed. If vetoed, the Legislature can override.
This year, the Senate president pro tem declared his chamber was embracing a more transparent model for these negotiations. They held numerous A&B subcommittee meetings early in the session, rolled their work into a Senate joint resolution and sent that to the House.
The House holds similar public meetings each year. In addition, we always invite the agencies that receive the largest amount of state appropriations to present their budget requests and prior year spending reports before all members and the public in the House chamber.
In addition to that work, the House this year unveiled an online budget transparency portal that is updated each Friday on our website, OKHouse.gov. This lists House budget figures for each area such as education, transportation, public safety, health and more, with a look at how our figures differ from the Senate's numbers and the prior fiscal year.
The expectation was leadership from both chambers would use these figures, publicly released, to negotiate a final product to be brought before both chambers for a vote.
The Senate is now saying they will need to take the House's figures back before their subcommittees before we can move forward to finalize the state budget. This will be the third time for some of those meetings.
While I like the transparency being offered to the public, the Senate's constant changing of the process this late in the game – combined with a last-minute switch in that chamber's budget chair – is slowing the process when we don't have much time left in the legislative session. We're constitutionally required to sine die by 5 p.m. the last Friday in May, and achieving a balanced budget is our one constitutional duty each year.
Also still at issue is the need for a solution for off-formula public schools regarding the mandated teacher pay raise the Legislature passed last session. The 12 schools in our district that are off the state funding formula are still awaiting a payback of the $2.6 million to fund the mandated raises they've already paid this school year. I will continue working to ensure a solution is found soon, but frustrating for sure.
Please remember, if I can help you with something, do not hesitate to reach out. You also can follow regular updates on my House Facebook page or call or email anytime at (405) 557-7407 o r Mike.Dobrinski@okhous e.gov.