Oklahoma Legislature is projected to have about $170.8 million less revenue available to appropriate

The Oklahoma Legislature is projected to have about $170.8 million less revenue available to appropriate for next fiscal year than it appropriated for the current fiscal year, state Secretary of Finance Preston Doerflinger announced Wednesday.

That would be a 2.4 percent cut and set the stage for tough budget negotiations.

State employees already are pushing for a pay increase and state government officials previously committed to trying to fund multimillion child welfare reforms as part of a settlement to a class-action lawsuit.

“Barring a big revenue increase, it looks like the next state budget will be slightly smaller than last year or flat,” Doerflinger said. “Agencies should be realistic and prepare now for the potential of reduced or flat budgets.”