Fallin challenges legislators to find funding sources

If the Oklahoma Legislature wants to continue funding critical services like education, public safety and infrastructure, Gov. Mary Fallin says lawmakers should work with her to come up with permanent ways to fund those priorities.

Fallin will deliver her seventh state of the state speech to members of the House and Senate at noon on Monday. The Republican governor says she will lay out a plan for a “major overhaul of our tax system” designed to close the budget gap and eliminate the need for lawmakers to continue using one-time sources of money to plug deficits.

Facing an estimated $870 million hole in the budget, the governor said she would paint a stark picture of the devastating cuts state programs will be forced to endure without any new sources of revenue.