Democrats call for budget rewrite after opinions

OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) – The Democratic leader in the Oklahoma House says this year’s state-appropriated budget needs to be rewritten in light of recent opinions from the attorney general that the Legislature’s decision to tap certain state accounts violated of the Oklahoma Constitution.

State Representative Scott Inman said Friday he believes a lawsuit will be filed in state court challenging the $7.1 billion budget bill approved by the Republican-controlled Legislature and signed into law by Governor Mary Fallin. The omnibus bill appropriates money for the operation of the current fiscal year, which began July 1st.

In separate opinions released last week by Republican Attorney General Scott Pruitt, he wrote the Legislature’s decision to tap money from two separate funds violated a constitutional prohibition on using taxes levied for one purpose for something else.