Lawmakers nix idea of special session

<br>OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) _ Despite requests for a special legislative session to deal with budget cuts, top House and Senate leaders seemed to have ruled out that possibility. <br><br>The Oklahoma Education

Sunday, October 20th 2002, 12:00 am

By: News On 6

OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) _ Despite requests for a special legislative session to deal with budget cuts, top House and Senate leaders seemed to have ruled out that possibility.

The Oklahoma Education Association and other education groups have called attention to the schools' dilemma and raised the possibility of laying off teachers, eliminating bus service, increasing class sizes and eliminating sports, art and music programs.

The group has asked legislators to hold a special session to see how to ease the pinch of budget cuts.

The Oklahoma Public Employees Association, which represents many of the more than 4,000 Department of Corrections employees facing 23 days of unpaid furloughs over the next eight months, also is demanding a special session. The group announced Friday that it may seek a court injunction to stop the furloughs.

While the groups have requested a session to solve the crisis, legislative leaders say there is no plan to solve the crisis, no money to solve it with and no likelihood of raising the revenue needed.

``If the OEA has a plan, I'm open,'' said Sen. Cal Hobson, D-Lexington, who will become the Senate pro tem in January.

``There needs to be a plan before anyone shows up (for a special session),'' he said.

The problem is, Hobson said, that the state has about a $200 million budget deficit and only about $36 million available in the ``rainy day'' fund to fill it.

House Speaker Larry Adair, D-Stillwell, agreed.

``No one has suggested a plan. What they (special session advocates) are talking about it raising money,'' he said. ``That's what this all about.''

He pointed out a constitutional amendment adopted by the voters a decade ago requires a three-fourths vote in both houses of the Legislature to approve a tax increase, which most Capitol lawmakers believe is highly unlikely, if not impossible.

Adair said it is too late to get such an issue on the ballot at the Nov. 5 general election, meaning there could be no vote until the next general election in 2004. Even then there is no assurance a tax hike would be approved, he said.

``There are even educators who oppose a tax increase,'' he said.

Adair said he isn't willing to call his members off the campaign trail and have them come to the Capitol with little chance of solving the problem.

Adair said some agencies apparently want lawmakers to take funds away from other agencies and give it to them.

But he said lawmakers spent a lot of time during the regular session making a decision about where to cut agency budgets in order to make up for a $350 million revenue shortfall. He said he doesn't think a better decision can be made in special session.

Adair said lawmakers tried to spare education and veterans' programs from reductions as much as possible, although they too had to take some cuts of about 1.5 percent.

Other agencies and programs had their budgets reduced by an average of 5 percent, and some were cut more than 10 percent.

Other states are dealing with similar budget woes.

The Republican-controlled Kansas Legislature had to raise taxes this year in order to meet the state's budget problems, and the Missouri Legislature has had to reduce budget by about $1 billion.

Texas has contemplated up to $5 billion in cuts, as well as an increase in taxes.