Secretary Preston Doerflinger Responds to Rep. Wallace Statement on Reduction of Agency Allocations

-- NEWS RELEASE --

For Immediate Release

PRESTON L. DOERFLINGER
Secretary
Finance, Administration
and Information Technology

MARY FALLIN
Governor

October 13, 2017

Secretary Doerflinger Responds to Representative Wallace's Statement on Reduction of Agency Allocations


Secretary of Finance, Administration and Information Technology Preston Doerflinger issued the following statement in response to a press release issued today by House Appropriations and Budget Chairman Kevin Wallace:

"Representative Wallace's statement shows a lack of understanding of the basic statutory and constitutional obligations of my office and agency. It is my obligation to ensure the state is in compliance with Article 10 Section 23 of the Oklahoma State Constitution which, in part, requires state agencies to submit balanced budgets to OMES. When the Supreme Court overturned SB 845, both the Healthcare Enhancement Fund and the revenue source intended for the fund became null and void and, therefore, the appropriations also became null and void. The letter to the three agencies was to confirm that the allocations from the Healthcare Enhancement Fund would not be distributed in October and it required the agencies to submit a revised FY 18 budget reflecting that fact. 

"The revised budgets submitted by the agencies will be representative of the timing of the program cuts as they were conveyed to Rep. Wallace, and will ensure that the agencies’ FY 18 budgets are in balance for the total of the fiscal year. Rep. Wallace's assertion, 'These cuts are unnecessary at this point,' glaringly displays that he has a flawed understanding of the budgeting process and requirements of the committee for which he is chairperson.

"While the agencies may be able to provide services for a few months to come, every day that we do not act to find a solution to this budget hole is a day we are losing money that could go toward providing services for the vulnerable populations those agencies serve."

Media Contact

Shelley Zumwalt
Director of Public Affairs
405-535-5198 | shelley.zumwalt@omes.ok.gov


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The Office of Management and Enterprise Services provides financial, property, purchasing, human resources and information technology services to all state agencies, and assists the Governor’s Office on budgetary policy matters. Our mission: Supporting our partners through unified business services. For more information, visit OMES.OK.gov.