“We need to get down to business [working on the state’s budget woes],” Gov. Mary Fallin told Tulsa World. “It is time.”
When did she say it? Probably in 2014, when Oklahoma had a $188 million budget shortfall caused by a combination of falling oil prices and the state’s strict diet of tax cuts. Or maybe she said it in 2015, when the budget hole was $611 million. Hmm. We bet it was late last year, when everyone learned the state faced an $868 million budget hole.
Ha ha! Wink emoji! She said it March 30, about halfway through the state’s 2017 legislative session. So here’s our question: What have lawmakers been doing up to now?
Feb. 14: Senate passes Senate Resolution 1, “applauding the 2016 Class 3A State football champions, the Jones Longhorns.”
Feb. 28: Senate passes SR3, “congratulating the 2017 Class 3A Academic Team Champions, the Wilburton Diggers.”
March 21: House passes House Bill 2177, which “authorizes counties, municipalities, schools and all other political subdivisions to display replicas or statues of historical documents such as the Ten Commandments, Magna Carta, and Bill of Rights on public property.”
Okay, but Fallin made her declaration on March 30. That probably lit a fire under the lawmakers. What have they done si—
April 5: Senate getting close on SB 408, creating various special license plates.
Awesome!
