Lawmakers At Impasse With Governor In Budget Talks

Tuesday, May 8th 2007, 6:45 pm

By: News On 6

OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) _ Legislative leaders said Tuesday budget talks with Gov. Brad Henry are at an impasse less than three weeks before lawmakers must adjourn, raising the likelihood of a special session to finish work on the state budget.

A spokesman for Henry responded that it is too early for lawmakers ``to push the panic button on the budget.'' The Legislature must adjourn its regular session on May 25.

``Despite the latest claims of an impasse, negotiations are ongoing and progress is being made,'' said Paul Sund, Henry's communications director. ``The governor believes that cooler heads will ultimately prevail and lawmakers will finish their work in a timely manner without the need for a special session.''

A special session would mark the second time in as many years that a budget would not be in place before the Legislature ended its four-month regular session. Lawmakers met in special session for three days in June 2006 to approve a $7.1 billion budget and the largest tax cut in state history, totaling $623.7 million when fully implemented.

State agencies will run out of money if a new budget is not in place when the 2007 fiscal year ends on June 30.

In a joint statement, House Speaker Lance Cargill and Senate co-President Pro Tem Glenn Coffee said Henry is using a tax-cut measure that lawmakers sent to the governor's desk on Monday as a negotiating tool as he stresses his budget priorities, including teacher pay raises.

Among other things, the tax-cut measure would accelerate three years of income tax cuts into two, provide a tax credit for stay-at-home parents and create a sales tax holiday for back-to-school items.

``It's clear he's not serious about working with the Legislature,'' said Cargill, R-Harrah. ``We're open to discussing all options and budget priorities, but we are not interested in writing blank checks.

``And we are not going to stand by while the governor attempts to kill needed tax relief for working families. If we're forced into a special session, Governor Henry will be to blame,'' Cargill said.

Negotiations toward a budget for the 2008 fiscal year, which begins July 1, have been largely stalled since March, when Henry vetoed a $6.9 billion budget plan that was negotiated by the House and Senate without the Democratic governor's input.

That budget plan included a $600 annual pay raise for state teachers, about half of the $1,100 raise Henry proposed in his executive budget. Raising the salaries of Oklahoma's 46,500 certified teachers by $600 would cost about $32 million a year, according to the Oklahoma Education Association.

Cargill and Coffee said Henry has yet to submit an alternative budget proposal. But Sund indicated that Henry submitted an alternative balanced budget to legislative leaders several weeks ago.

Coffee, R-Oklahoma City, said budget negotiations have broken down because Henry refuses to compromise.

``His 'my-way-or-the-highway' approach is putting the state on a path toward a government shutdown,'' Coffee said. ``The governor's behavior is bewildering and, quite frankly, a little childish. The talk at the Capitol is Governor Henry's behavior would qualify him for his own proposed kindergarten-for-three-year-olds program.''

Sund accused Cargill and Coffee of posturing and dragging their feet.

``Governor Henry will continue to work in good faith with leaders of all parties to draft a bipartisan budget that addresses the needs of all Oklahomans,'' Sund said.

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