Sen. Kirt comments on LOFT budget stress test report

OKLAHOMA CITY – Sen. Julia Kirt, a member of the Oversight Committee for the Legislative Office of Fiscal Transparency (LOFT), issued the following statement after the watchdog agency presented its budget stress test evaluation. The report examined how the state’s budget would be able to withstand mild, moderate or severe economic downturns.

“The state budget impacts every Oklahoman, and a balanced budget is the most important job legislators have, yet we can only make wise decisions if we have all the facts. This report is a strong step in the right direction toward understanding how much we need in savings to weather economic downturns and not cut off critical services.

“This report shows we do not have enough reserves to fully weather even a mild downturn. It’s much more thorough than our typical analysis of financial decisions and shows that we need to look at the consequences in five, 10 and 20 years when we make big financial decisions. This is especially important as we look at current calls for tax cuts. We need to look at the real consequences for the state’s future.

“We need other types of data to make the most strategic decisions to improve health and economic vitality for Oklahomans. This report looks at revenue and expenses, but it cannot show us the lost opportunities for investing in the people of this state. Investments in prevention reduce crisis for Oklahoma in the future, and costs much less than the resources required once people are in crisis.” – Sen. Julia Kirt, D-Oklahoma City.

To view the executive summary, go to: https://okloft.gov/reports/budget-stress-test/summary-of-analysis.

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For more information, contact:  Sen. Julia Kirt at 405-521-5636 or Julia.Kirt@oksenate.gov