State Budget Debate Begins

OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) – Despite a projected $170 million decline in revenue available for the Legislature to spend next year, House Speaker T.W. Shannon is calling for both an income tax cut and a permanent and generous oil and gas drilling tax incentive.

Shannon says any increases in state spending next year should be offset with cuts somewhere else and that government needs to "live within our means."

Shannon surprised many Republican leaders when he announced last week his plan to make permanent a tax incentive set to expire next year that drops the rate for horizontal drilling from 7 percent to 1 percent.

Governor Mary Fallin’s Finance Secretary Preston Doerflinger says Shannon’s 1 percent proposal is a "non-starter" for the governor, who supports a rate between 1 percent and 7 percent.