The State Treasurer’s Office released its annual Legislative Session Report Card today. OCPA, one of several groups asked to assign a letter grade to the 2017 session, gave the Legislature a C+.

Given that Oklahoma’s total state government spending is at an all-time high, it’s disappointing that many opportunities for cost-saving reforms were not realized during the session. But, in the face of relentless pressure from tax consumers, lawmakers deserve credit for passing a budget that included relatively few tax increases on Oklahoma families and job-creators.

Oklahoma is in a recession compared to 2014, after more than 21,800 energy and manufacturing jobs have been cut, when Oklahomans have lost more than $13 billion in taxable income, and reduced their purchases subject to sales and use tax by $4.1 billion just to survive.

Oklahoma’s budget issues are not due to too few, or too low, taxes. They stem from two clear causes – an extended recession that hit the core oil and gas industry especially hard and the persistent failure of state leaders to truly address the convoluted, wasteful structure of government.

Next year’s legislative session will have many prospects to make cuts and right-size government.

Read the entire report card here.