Review panel on Oklahoma tax incentives fails to meet

(Information in the following story is from: The Journal Record, http://www.journalrecord.com )

OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) – A panel established to review tax incentives provided by Oklahoma’s state government missed a Jan. 1 deadline to list the programs it intends to review.

Lawmakers last year established the eight-member Incentive Evaluation Commission. Appointments are still pending from the governor and Senate president.

The director of Oklahoma’s Office of Management and Enterprise Services is on the panel. A spokesman for the office said that once the last two appointments are made, the commission will meet and hire a private firm, a nonprofit or an academic institution to evaluate the tax incentives.

The panel was set up when Oklahoma faced a $611 million budget shortfall last year. Next year’s shortfall is expected to be at least $900 million.