Gov. Mary Fallin signed two supplemental funding bills Wednesday that will take $78 million dollars from Oklahoma’s constitutionally mandated savings account to help fund public schools and prisons.
Senate Bill 1572 appropriates $51 million to the Oklahoma State Department of Education. The governor’s office said the funding will help pay for faculty and staff health insurance. Fallin said she wants lawmakers to implement an overhaul to the budgeting process and how recurring revenues our allocated – two proposals she outlined in last month’s State of the State address.
“Failure to do so will result in the same problem next year,” Fallin said in a statement. “The Rainy Day Fund option is a one-time fix, but we need to do the tough work to pass a budget this session that contains true, meaningful fiscal reforms the state needs.”
Senate Bill 1571 gives the Department of Corrections $27.5 million, which will go to paying correctional officers, and take into account a spike in the number of inmates. Oklahoma’s prison system is already operating at 122 percent capacity, and relies on three private prisons to help ease that burden.
“This money will go a long way to preventing drastic cuts that would ultimately jeopardize the safety, security and operations of our prison facilities and the citizens of the state,” interim DOC head Joe Allbaugh said.
The Rainy Day Fund will now have a balance of just over $306 million dollars.
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