Governor Brad Henry Says Budget Excellent, But State Lawmakers Get "F" For Tardiness

Monday, June 26th 2006, 5:16 pm

By: News On 6

OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) -- Governor Brad Henry says Oklahoma lawmakers finally passed the test by approving an excellent state budget plan at a special session, but that they deserve an "F" grade for tardiness along the way.

Henry says in an interview with The Associated Press that he's extremely disappointed that it took so long to reach an agreement when the basic framework was in place weeks ago.

Henry, a Democrat, floated a compromise budget plan on May 15th. Republican state House Speaker Todd Hiett accepted the Henry compromise, but Senate Democrats rejected it.

What followed was a month of negotiations, mainly through surrogates for Hiett and state Senate President Pro Tem Mike Morgan, as the adjournment deadline for the regular session expired on May 26th.

A firm budget agreement was not announced until exactly a month after Henry disclosed his compromise budget proposal. House and Senate members reconvened in the middle of last week in a special session and finished approving a record $7.1-billion spending plan on Friday.