Oklahoma attorney general says state can borrow from 'rainy day' fund

OKLAHOMA CITY — State finance officials can borrow money from Oklahoma’s Constitutional Reserve Fund, Attorney General Mike Hunter wrote in an opinion released Monday.

So far this budget year, Finance Secretary Preston Doerflinger has borrowed the entire $240.7 million balance from the account, also called the “rainy day” fund, and used the money to pay the state’s expenses. That included monthly disbursements to state agencies that lawmakers approved during last year’s appropriation process.

Doerflinger asked Hunter for an opinion on whether the action is legal, considering that the Oklahoma Constitution gives the finance secretary power to transfer money from state funds to cover expenses when revenue is down.

Hunter wrote that the transfers are OK if they are truly temporary; the Constitution requires that all the money be paid back at the end of the fiscal year. However, the attorney general also wrote that money can’t be withdrawn from the fund to avoid a revenue failure declaration.

http://www.tulsaworld.com/news/government/oklahoma-attorney-general-says-state-can-borrow-from-rainy-day/article_5b07e729-c738-5497-9b7f-37bbea12f930.html