Governor Stitt Issues Statement on Oklahoma State Board of Equalization Certification

Statement

Governor Kevin Stitt today issued the following statement after the Oklahoma State Board of Equalization certified an estimate indicating lawmakers will have $8.4 billion to build a budget for the 2022 fiscal year, which begins July 1, 2021.

"Over the course of this past fiscal year, Oklahoma's state revenues have dropped due to the impact of the historic COVID-19 pandemic, coupled with the substantial loss of oil and gas drilling activity," said Gov. Stitt. "However, Oklahoma was one of the first states to fully re-open its economy after the onset of the pandemic to allow Oklahomans to operate their businesses and safely return to work. Thanks to this decision, and the effective deployment of the CARES Act Coronavirus Relief Funds to our citizens, businesses, cities and counties, the Fiscal Year 2021 predictions are coming in better than expected. By these projections, we now believe we will see less than half the revenue losses predicted in April. Moving forward, the Legislature will still have difficult decisions to make regarding the budget, but my team is committed to working alongside our legislators to ensure we remain fiscally responsible with Oklahomans' hard earned tax dollars."

During the meeting, Gov. Stitt gave attention to one-time cash sources of $1.03 billion as part of the spending authority estimate that will not be available in FY 2023 and does not bring the State back to its previously projected pre-pandemic levels.

The Board of Equalization will return in February to certify a final estimate on how much revenue lawmakers will have to build a budget during the upcoming legislative session.

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