Fallin comments on tax bill failing in House JCAB

Governor Mary Fallin Statement on House Committee Failure to Advance Budget Bill

OKLAHOMA CITY –  Governor Mary Fallin today issued the following statement after the House of Representatives Joint Committee on Appropriations and Budget (JCAB) failed to advance House Bill 1054x:

“I was hopeful that the Senate’s resolution would have provided a path for success. It met the elements of most of my special session call: providing a teacher and state employee pay raise; putting Oklahoma on a path to long-term stability by making more recurring revenue available; and reducing the use of one-time funds to balance our budget.

“I’m extremely disheartened by the inability of the House Joint Committee on Appropriations and Budget (JCAB) to advance House Bill 1054x. I believe Oklahomans lost today by the House committee’s inability to move this budget solution forward.

“It appears that as a result of the House JCAB’s failure to pass the budget bill,  we will have to prepare a budget that will include drastic across-the-board cuts for all state agencies to deal with the loss of revenue. The House JCAB’s inability to pass a meaningful revenue bill means our state will not have enough funds for agencies to deliver essential core services that work for our people. As a result, worst-case scenarios will become reality. Our state is at a fiscal crossroads, and it’s unfortunate that this House committee couldn’t get the job done and failed so miserably by keeping us on a road to failure.

“Oklahomans deserve better!”