Predicted $167 million shortfall, smallest in years

Oklahoma's next budget shortfall will be the smallest in years, according to an estimate released Tuesday.

Lawmakers writing the fiscal year 2019 budget will only have to account for $167.8 million in spending cuts, one-time funding or new revenue, according to the Office of Management and Enterprise Services. That amount is considerably less than recent years when shortfall estimates ticked toward, and eventually past, $1 billion.

The amount of revenue available to lawmakers actually rose, enough that the budget year will start with $104 million more than the current year. However, there are new obligations that push things into the familiar realm of another shortfall. Most of those are things the Legislature decided to put on hold during the special session, including payments to cover hospital residency programs affected by a federal policy change and more than $92 million to repay local school districts when property owners in the districts claim a tax exemption.

In all, lawmakers will have $5.88 billion to spend for the budget year starting July 1.

Gov. Mary Fallin said Tuesday that without legislative agreement to secure new revenue, state agencies could endure a 2.5 percent budget cut to accommodate the shortfall.

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