Fallin inks final two pieces of Oklahoma’s 2018 budget plan

OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) – Oklahoma Gov. Mary Fallin has signed the final two bills of the 2018 state budget, finishing up a state funding plan that led to two separate special sessions and ultimately reduced spending for all state agencies.
Fallin on Monday signed one bill to restore $19.8 million in education funding that was determined to have been supplanted with lottery revenue. Another measure provides $31.7 million this year and $110 million next fiscal year to restore lost federal funding for the state’s two medical schools.
The budget for the fiscal year that ends June 30 was thrown out of balance last year when the Oklahoma Supreme Court ruled a cigarette tax was unconstitutional. Lawmakers convened two separate sessions but couldn’t reach a deal on a package of tax increases to increase revenue.