One More Week: Legislature Convenes Feb. 1
Oklahoma Legislature gets ready to convene Feb. 1
By Rick Green, NewsOK.com
When this year’s legislative session begins on Feb. 1, the focus will be on finding more than $900 million to fill a budget hole created by the decline in the oil industry, but other hot-button issues also will be on the table, including education and justice reform.
With the price of a barrel of oil dropping from more than $100 in 2014 to about $30 now, state production taxes paid by energy companies have declined sharply. As thousands of employees in this sector are laid off, other categories of state revenue have dropped, as well.
“It just has a ripple effect when you have now over 12,000 Oklahomans out of work, who not only had jobs, but good jobs and good wages,” House Speaker Jeff Hickman said. “They are no longer remitting income tax, or generating sales tax revenue or buying vehicles. It has a very dramatic effect on our state and on state revenue.”
What can the state do to shore up its budget?
“Get the oil price back up would be the obvious answer,” Hickman said.