Capitol
Considerations by Senator Micheal Bergstrom
A
whirlwind of a week
This
past week brought a whirlwind of events that are critical to
Oklahoma’s future.
Monday,
April 20 marked a historic day in our nation when the price of oil
plunged nearly 300 percent to minus $37 a barrel. This is the first
time in history that oil futures dropped below zero. This is also a
severe blow to Oklahoma’s tax revenue and an important industry in
our state. The reasons for this are a steep drop in demand for oil as
folks avoid traveling, exacerbated by the oil production feud between
Saudi Arabia and Russia. Simply put, too much supply and too little
demand for oil.
The
Board of Equalization also met on Monday and officially declared a
revenue failure for the 2020 budget. The legislature had previously
passed legislation that allows money from our state’s savings
account to backfill this year’s budget gap since it is a Senate
priority to ensure no core services are cut during the COVID-19
pandemic.
Next year’s budget is a
different problem.
The state will receive an
estimated $2.2 billion in CARES Act funds from the federal government
to provide relief from the virus. The vast majority of these
monies—approximately $1.5 billion—will go to the general
Coronavirus Relief Fund. The state will receive 55 percent of this
$1.5 billion, and the remaining 45 percent will go to Oklahoma
County, Tulsa County and the City of Oklahoma City. About $340
million of our state’s CARES Act funds will be allocated to
education, with common education receiving a little more than $160
million, higher education receiving about a $144 million, and $40
million has been given to the discretion of the executive branch to
spend in support of education. Other miscellaneous groups will
receive the remaining funding, like childcare and development
centers, community health centers and congregate and home-delivered
meals programs.
Oklahoma received $767 million of
the $2.2 billion in funding on Friday, April 17. We are still waiting
for clarification on how exactly the funds can be used and if they
could be used in the 2021 budget. The latest prediction from the
Board of Equalization is that we could have a little more than a
billion dollars less to spend in 2021 than we had in 2020. This
situation is very fluid, but I’m hopeful some of these Coronavirus
Relief Fund dollars could go to help stabilize the 2021 budget.
The governor unveiled his plan to
get Oklahomans back to work and re-open our economy on Wednesday. As
of Friday, April 24, personal care businesses like hair and nail
salons, barbershops, spas and pet groomers could re-open for
appointments only. Social distancing and Centers for Disease Control
recommendations should still apply.
On
May 1, dining, entertainment, movie theaters, sports venues, gyms,
tattoo parlors and places of worship can also re-open, as long as
they follow the same social distancing and CDC guidelines. If
hospital and incident rates remain at a manageable level for 14 days,
Governor Stitt will implement phase two of the three phase re-opening
plan. More detailed information can be found at www.okcommerce.gov.
The legislature is still working
while taking the proper precautions to keep everyone safe. I was at
the Capitol this past week participating in committee meetings to
confirm executive nominations to numerous boards and commissions
across the state. Most folks joined the meetings virtually, but there
were a few of us that came in-person. We are also working with
leadership to determine which bills are essential to complete action
on this legislative session. As always, writing and passing the
budget is of the utmost importance.
If
I can help you during this time, please reach out to my office. You
can email me at Micheal.Bergstrom@oksenate.gov
or call 405-521-5561.
-30-
MAKE
IT COUNT OKLAHOMA!
An undercount in the census of just 2 percent can cost the state $1.8
billion in lost federal money over the next 10 years. Fill out your
census form, Oklahoma. Learn more at: www.2020census.gov.
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