Oil and gas tax hike on Oklahoma lawmakers’ weekend agenda

Oil and gas tax hike on Oklahoma lawmakers’ weekend agenda
OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) – Oklahoma lawmakers plan to meet this weekend to try to come up with a fix for a $215 million hole in the state budget.
A key issue is a proposal to increase the production tax on oil and gas wells. Democrats have called for the increase since the regular legislative session in the spring. Now in a special session, the Republican-dominated Senate this week indicated it would be willing to double the current rate from 2 percent to 4 percent.
The Senate adopted a resolution Thursday asking the House to push through a package of tax hikes, including the production tax.
Both houses met briefly Friday before going into committee meetings. The House and Senate will return to work Saturday at the state Capitol.