Appropriations bills are handled differently from other legislation in that they pass through the House and Senate appropriations committees almost simultaneously. Technically, the two committees are considered one joint committee, but they never actually meet together.

Bills heard in this manner cannot be amended by the committees.

Thus, the Senate Appropriations Committee, which includes all 48 members of the body, passed all eight bills, while the House passed only six and laid two over.

The two laid over were House Bill 3205, which would shorten from three to two years the time during which use and sales tax refund requests can be filed, and Senate Bill 1580, which would cap a multiunit housing credit for counties with populations of 150,000 or fewer.

Lawmakers have $1.3 billion less to appropriate for FY 2017, which begins July 1, than they did a year ago. Some hoped to address the drastic drop in general revenue partly through significant reform of the tax system and business incentives.

Senate Finance Committee Chairman Mike Mazzei, R-Tulsa, indicated Thursday, though, that most of the major incentive programs will not be touched.