Oklahoma revenue exceeds estimate, leads to $282M surplus

OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) — Oklahoma closed the books on the fiscal year that ended June 30 with a $282 million deposit into the state’s Rainy-Day Fund, state finance officials announced on Thursday.

The Office of Management and Enterprise Services released figures that show the state’s general fund collections in Fiscal Year 2021 exceeded both the official estimate and prior-year collections. The $282 million surplus, plus an additional $30 million in unexpected excess corporate income taxes, put the total balance of the state’s Rainy-Day Fund at $370 million.

“It is clear that Oklahoma has performed well in the face of a difficult year,” OMES Director Steven Harpe said in a statement.

A separate Revenue Stabilization Fund has an additional $171 million balance, leaving the state with more than $540 million in total reserves.

OMES reported total General Revenue Fund collections for FY21 totaled $7 billion, which was $282 million, or 4.2%, above the official estimate, and $734.6 million, or 11.7%, above prior-year collections.

The General Revenue fund is the Oklahoma government’s main operating fund and predominant funding source for the annual appropriated state budget.