State Agencies, Lawmakers Call For Special Session To Figure Out Budget Problem

<p>Yesterday's state Supreme Court ruling to strike down the added fee on cigarettes is forcing local agencies to react to the fallout as the budget now sits with a more than $200 million hole.</p>

Friday, August 11th 2017, 4:57 am

By: Amy Avery

State Agencies, Lawmakers Call For Special Session To Figure Out Budget Problem

Yesterday's state Supreme Court ruling to strike down the added fee on cigarettes is forcing local agencies to react to the fallout as the budget now sits with a more than $200 million hole.

Many agencies, including the Oklahoma State School Board Association, are speaking out about the issue. The board is requesting Governor Mary Fallin call for a special legislative session to find additional revenue to fix the broken budget. They want lawmakers to come up with a fix, one that hopefully includes a teacher pay raise and investments in schools around the state.

"Starting the school year amid budget uncertainty is bad for children," Shawn Hime, executive director of the Oklahoma State School Boards Association, says, "and bad for schools. Oklahoma desperately needs a budget with long-term revenue sources to ensure our schools have the resources needed to keep and hire the best educators and provide a high-quality education for every child."

Several lawmakers were reacting on social media as well yesterday, saying they need to go back to the drawing board for a solution.

My statement on the #OKSupremeCourt ruling today. #okleg pic.twitter.com/FVzmlpXHZh
— Scott Inman (@RepScottInman) August 10, 2017

Level heads did not prevail in May. Let's make sure the outcome is different the second go around. Our state & its people depend on it. https://t.co/bNkMqFWobo
— Rep Jason Dunnington (@jdunnington) August 11, 2017

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Yesterday's state Supreme Court ruling to strike down the added fee on cigarettes is forcing local agencies to react to the fallout as the budget now sits with a more than $200 million hole.

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