With just about a month remaining in the 2012 legislative session, we’ve completed work on many of the bills before us that impact policy. At this point, completion of a balanced state budget is the main focus. I have been appointed to the General Conference Committee on Appropriations which is the panel of legislators from each chamber assigned to this task.

Although the governor presents her version of the budget to lawmakers at the beginning of the session, it is the Legislature that has the Constitutional mandate to actually write the budget. The final product can differ quite a bit from the executive budget unveiled a few months ago.

While the State Equalization Board has certified how much money the legislature will have available to appropriate, there are many other factors that must be taken into account during the final negotiations between leaders of the Senate, the House and the governor.

All three have continued to push for a reduction in state income taxes, but as I write this article, no agreement has been reached yet as to how much that will be and when it will take effect. That’s certainly going to have an impact on how much funding will be available for critical state services like education, transportation, health and public safety.

Another issue is whether gross production revenues on natural gas will meet projected levels.  Prices have been extremely low in recent months for a couple of reasons, including moderate temperatures and an abundant supply of natural gas. If prices fall lower than the projected amount used to determine available funding for next year’s budget, we face the possibility of not having all the funds we’d anticipated at the time the budget was approved. Negotiators will have to take that variable into account.

We also know there will be increased expenditures resulting from a federal court settlement in the lawsuit against the Department of Human Services. That increase must be part of the calculations as well.

At the beginning of the session, members were told by leaders of the House and Senate that at best, we should be prepared for a stand-still budget. We should know within the next couple of weeks whether that will continue to be the case.

As always, I welcome your comments on state government. Please feel free to contact me by writing to Senator Charles Wyrick at the State Capitol, Room 521, Oklahoma City, OK, 73105; call me at (405) 521-5561.