For months, Oklahoma was overtaken by fears that drastic cuts were coming to state agencies, in order to plug the state’s massive budget gap.
But this week, as OklahomaWatch reports, lawmakers finally came to an agreement on a budget that raises enough to avoid those staggering cuts. Here are some of the winners and losers in the deal.
Medicaid took a hit once again, with provider reimbursements being cut for the third time since 2010. Meanwhile, “devastating” cuts to state mental health services will remain in place, despite the efforts of some lawmakers to reverse them.
The state’s teachers will also have to keep on waiting for those pay raises that never quite seem to come through, despite plenty of talk. And higher education will also receive yet another funding reduction.
Meanwhile, with new funding increases, the departments of corrections and public safety came out as winners.
