Lawmakers will convene six weeks from now in regular session with much uncertainty about how much they can appropriate for next year's budget.

The December Board of Equalization meeting, held each year, usually gives state leaders a first look at the following year's budget picture. The lack of finality in the current fiscal year 2018 budget, however, left gaping holes Wednesday in the information provided to the board by the Oklahoma Office of Management and Enterprise Services.

Each year in December, OMES provides estimates that lawmakers can use as they ramp up budget negotiations. A second meeting in mid-February gives final numbers they use to build the budget, which takes effect July 1.

On Wednesday, the board certified nearly $6 billion in revenue for the 12 months beginning in July. Lawmakers will be able to appropriate $5.69 billion of that figure, as long as they don't approve additional revenue in the coming weeks.