Oklahoma House sends $7.6 billion spending bill to governor

OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) – The single largest spending bill in state history that infuses hundreds of millions of new dollars into public education and state agencies is heading toward the governor’s desk.
The House voted 63-31 on Friday for the $7.6 billion general appropriations bill, a more than 10 percent increase over last year’s state spending. Most state agencies will see budget increases ranging from 2 percent to 6 percent.
The bill includes nearly $500 million in new spending for public schools, an increase of nearly 20 percent for education that mostly funded teacher pay hikes. Most of the new revenue comes from a package of tax increases on cigarettes, fuel, and energy production.
Democrats argued that the measure doesn’t do enough to restore deep cuts to agency budgets in recent years.