Legislative Leaders Say Budget Reconciliation Process Will Begin Next Week

Senate President Pro Tempore Cal Hobson and House Speaker Larry Adair announced Thursday they plan to officially appoint the General Conference Committee on Appropriations next week to begin the budget reconciliation process.

“The budget process begins in earnest in General Conference,” said Hobson, D-Lexington. “The sub-committees on both sides of the rotunda will begin writing the specifics of the budgets for each agency.”

“The House and Senate have created the framework for the budget and now we can start the process of working out the intricate details,” said Adair, D-Stilwell.

The General Appropriations bill, House Bill 2007, was approved by the Senate March 10 and won final approval in the House March 16.

Governor Henry said Wednesday he will thoroughly review the bill over the weekend and expressed concerns about some items not funded in the measure.

“We’ll be working to address the Governor’s concerns in the sub-committees and GCCA process. The GA bill is the big picture. Now it’s time to get down to individual programs and give agencies legislative direction,” said Senate Appropriations Committee Chairman Mike Morgan, D-Stillwater.

“There’s been some confusion over the GA bill. The bottom line is the process is only half finished and soon we will have a final product,” said House Appropriations and Budget Committee Chairman Bill Mitchell, D-Lindsay.

That final product will be the result of a series of budget reconciliation bills detailing the appropriations to individual state agencies. The bills are written by six sub-committees in each House and approved by the General Conference Committee on Appropriations, which includes all 101 members of the House and 45 of the 48 members of the Senate.

“Speaker Adair set a precedent last year by involving the entire House in the budget writing process and this year we will continue that trend by giving every member the opportunity to participate again,” Mitchell said.

Morgan said every member of the Senate except the President Pro Tempore, Majority Floor Leader and Minority Floor Leader serve as Senate members of the GCCA.

“This inclusive budget process has worked for us in the past and we’re going to utilize the talents of all of our members to ensure that we write the best possible budget for state government,” Morgan said.

Adair and Hobson said they are pleased that the appropriation process is moving forward and predict an orderly completion of the budget and a timely adjournment of the Second Session of the 49th Oklahoma Legislature.