Magna Carta News
Saturday, September 20, 2003
Oklahoma House of Representatives
Mike W. Ray, Media Division Director
September 19, 2003
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Greg Sawyer
Fiscal Director, Oklahoma House of Representatives
State Capitol: (405) 557-7470 or (800) 522-8502
OKLAHOMA CITY -- A comprehensive report on funds the Oklahoma
Legislature disbursed earlier this year is now available.
The 259-page spiral-bound report on "Fiscal Year 2004 Legislative
Appropriations" was compiled by the Fiscal Division of the Oklahoma
House of Representatives.
This year the Legislature appropriated $5.1 billion, which amounted
to a 7.7 percent, $425.5 million, reduction from last year, House
Speaker Larry E. Adair said. In fact, it was the lowest appropriation in
four years, the Stilwell Democrat noted. State lawmakers appropriated
$5.53 billion for FY 2003, $5.61 billion for FY 2002, and $5.35 billion
for FY 2001, ledgers reflect.
The appropriations report has been prepared each year by the House
Fiscal Division since 1985, records show.
"It is the final report to the 101 members of the House of
Representatives, and to other interested parties, on legislative
appropriations," said House Fiscal Director Greg Sawyer. The document
"is a reference guide to the major decisions that affected
appropriations made during the 2003 legislative session."
The report details specific information about factors that were
considered during development of each agency's appropriation, Adair
said. It also contains a 10-year history of appropriations for each
agency, Sawyer related. In addition, the report presents several charts
and figures on revenues, supplemental appropriations, the constitutional
"rainy day" fund, and several other features of the appropriation
process.
Several copies of the report were sent to the state Department of
Libraries for distribution to various public libraries across the state.
Individuals who want a copy of the report should contact Sawyer.
His mailing address is Room 109, State Capitol, 2300 N. Lincoln
Boulevard, Oklahoma City 73105. His e-mail address is
Of the $5,106.6 billion the Legislature appropriated this year:
-- A little over 56 percent was earmarked for public schools, state
colleges and universities, and career technology centers, along with
OETA, the State Arts Council and the Physician Manpower Training
Commission.
-- Health and social services received 13.8 percent of the
appropriated funds. Those included the Health Care Authority, the State
Health Department, the Department of Mental Health and Substance Abuse
Services, the University Hospitals Authority, the Department of Veterans
Affairs, and the J.D. McCarty Center for Children with Developmental
Disabilities.
-- Judiciary and public safety received 11.2 percent of the
appropriations. That included state trial and appellate courts, the
Indigent Defense System, the Workers' Compensation Court, the Attorney
General, the Corrections Department and the Pardon and Parole Board, the
Department of Public Safety, the Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation,
the Bureau of Narcotics and Dangerous Drugs Control, the Alcoholic
Beverage Laws Enforcement Commission, the State Fire Marshal, the
Council on Law Enforcement Education and Training, the Board of
Medicolegal Investigations and the Council on Judicial Complaints.
-- Human services, 9.9 percent. Those appropriations included the
state welfare department, the Office of Juvenile Affairs, the Commission
on Children and Youth, the Department of Rehabilitation Services, Office
of Handicapped Concerns, the Human Rights Commission and the Indian
Affairs Commission.
-- General government, 6.5 percent. That included the Legislature,
the Governor and Lieutenant Governor, the Transportation Department and
the Space Industry Authority, the Tax Commission and the State
Treasurer, the State Election Board and the State Ethics Commission, the
State Auditor and Inspector, the State Military Department and several
other agencies.
-- Natural resources, 2.1 percent. Those agencies included the
Department of Tourism and Recreation, the Department of Agriculture,
Food and Forestry, the Commerce Department, the State Historical
Society, the Oklahoma Water Resources Board and the Scenic Rivers
Commission, the state Conservation Commission, the Department of
Environmental Quality, the Corporation Commission, the Labor Department,
the Insurance Department, the Horse Racing Commission, the Department of
Mines, the Commission on Consumer Credit and the Securities Commission.
-- Miscellaneous, 0.1 percent. That included the State Emergency
Fund, which received $3.7 million, and the Rural Economic Action Plan,
which was scaled down from $19.4 million last year to $8.2 million
because of the dramatic decline in state tax revenues.
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