Projected State Budget Grows By About $277 Million

OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) -- State lawmakers will have nearly $277-million more to spend in the fiscal year that begins July 1st compared to last year.<br/><br/>State finance officials say most of the growth

Tuesday, December 26th 2006, 3:49 pm

By: News On 6

OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) -- State lawmakers will have nearly $277-million more to spend in the fiscal year that begins July 1st compared to last year.

State finance officials say most of the growth is fueled by a nearly $259-million increase in corporate income tax collections. Other increases were seen in collections of cigarette taxes, motor vehicle taxes, sales taxes and use taxes, which are taxes paid on out-of-state items used in the state.

The projected increase in state revenue marks the fourth straight year of revenue growth in Oklahoma.

The projected available revenue still must be certified Wednesday by the State Board of Equalization, which is set to meet at 1 PM.

Governor Brad Henry says the growth in revenue is good news, but warned that much of the budget already is tied to commitments made by lawmakers during the last session, like tax cuts and teacher pay raises.