Friend, Governor Fallin has officially called the Oklahoma Legislature into a special session beginning next Monday in order to fix the state budget. Even before the State Supreme Court threw out more than $200 million in revenues from an unconstitutional cigarette fee, Oklahoma’s budget severely underfunded many core services. A worsening teacher shortage, the closure of senior nutrition sites, reduced support for foster families, and money taken out of child support are just a few of the results of this bad budget. On top of that, its use of more than $400 million in one-time funds has already dug a large budget hole going into next year. In her call for a special session, Governor Fallin challenged lawmakers not just to close the immediate budget hole, but also to address Oklahoma's long-term budget problems and pay for a teacher raise. If lawmakers can find the political will to accept this challenge and raise revenues, they have plenty of good options. In a new post on the OK Policy Blog, we look at what state leaders are saying and lay out the revenue options that should be on the table in special session. You can also use Together Oklahoma’s newly updated budget simulator to decide for yourself what should be done and share the results. Together Oklahoma advocates are signing up for a special session action team here. And you can visit this advocacy alert page for talking points and more tools to tell lawmakers they must use special session to fix the budget, not pass the buck. They need your support to #GetItRightOK! Instead of being a state that is losing its best public school teachers, denying help for people with mental illness, and slashing support for foster care families and seniors, we could be a place with excellent teachers, great care for those in need, and a prosperous future! To make it happen, it’s important to tell your lawmakers and legislative leaders today that they should put more revenue options on the table and not waste their chance to fix the budget in special session. Thank you! -Gene Perry, Oklahoma Policy Institute | Oklahoma Policy Institute
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