FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE November 6, 2017
Governor Mary Fallin Signs Measure Sending $23 Million to Mental Health Department
OKLAHOMA CITY – Governor Mary Fallin today signed House Bill 1081X, which
appropriates $23.3 million to the Oklahoma Department of Mental Health and
Substance Abuse Services. The measure, which passed overwhelmingly in both the
House of Representatives and the Senate, takes the money from the state’s
Constitutional Reserve Fund, commonly called the Rainy Day Fund.
The Mental Health Department lost $75 million for this fiscal year when the Oklahoma
Supreme Court ruled a proposed cigarette smoking cessation fee was
unconstitutional. The fee was estimated to bring in $215 million for the fiscal
year that ends June 30.
“This measure will help avoid devastating mental health and substance abuse
services cuts,” said Fallin. “This is a first step in closing the budget hole.
I encourage lawmakers to continue working to come up with a funding solution.”
In addition to providing money for the Mental Health Department, the
proposed smoking cessation fee would have generated about $70 million to the
Oklahoma Health Care Authority and about $69 million to the Department of Human
Services.
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Governor Mary Fallin on Monday signs House Bill 1081X, which sends $23 million from the state's Constitutional Reserve Fund to the Department of Mental Health and Substance Abuse Services. The Mental Health Department lost $70 million for this fiscal year when a proposed cigarette smoking cessation fee was ruled unconstitutional.
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