A group of Oklahoma state employees lamented this week that the state’s ongoing budget cuts are hurting Oklahoma services and citizens. KFOR reportsthat 20 state employees appeared at the capitol in Oklahoma City on Tuesday to implore state lawmakers to hear them out. They asked legislators to institute revenue-generating measures. They also begged the state to avoid further cuts to services like education, prisons, health care and state parks.
Oklahoma’s budget has a staggering $1.3 billion hole, the result of prolific tax cuts enacted by the Republican legislature. And now, state officials have ordered agencies to reduce their budgets for the current year due to revenue failure.
The executive director of the Oklahoma Public Employees Association said additional cuts to state agency budgets will directly affect programs that serve the most vulnerable Oklahomans. He called for lawmakers to raise the tobacco tax and eliminate unproductive tax credits.