OKLAHOMA CITY – The House Appropriations and Budget Committee next week will hold public meetings to hear from six state agencies that receive the largest share of state appropriations.

“These meetings allow the public to hear details of budget requests from the state agencies that receive the lion’s share of state appropriations,” said State Rep. Kevin Wallace, R-Wellston, the House Appropriations and Budget Chair. “This also gives our representatives a chance to ask detailed questions in a more relaxed forum than exists once the legislative session gets underway.”

The House is scheduled to hear from the Oklahoma State Department of Education at 9:30 a.m. and the Oklahoma Regents for Higher Education at 1:30 p.m. Jan. 25; the Oklahoma Department of Human Services at 9:30 a.m. and the Oklahoma Health Care Authority at 1:30 p.m. Jan. 26; the Oklahoma Department of Transportation at 9:30 a.m. and Oklahoma Management and Enterprise Services at 1:30 p.m. Jan. 28.

Social distancing will be followed. Visitors and staff should wear masks where social distancing is not possible. Meeting content will be livestreamed on the House Website: https://www.okhouse.gov/Video/Default.aspx.

A full list of meetings can be viewed here: https://www.okhouse.gov/Committees/MeetingNotices.aspx.

The Oklahoma Legislature is constitutionally required to pass a balanced budget each year before the end of its session. Wallace said these public meetings help in that process by giving some of the state’s larger agencies a chance to explain details of their budget requests as well as present performance data from prior year funding.