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Oklahoma Senate approves $510M budget plan

KWTV

The Oklahoma Senate has passed a budget bill that lawmakers say will bring in $510 million dollars’ worth of revenue, reports News 9.

The measure would rescind tax breaks for the wind and oil industries, contributing to the projected income. Some of the money would also be generated by new fuel and cigarette taxes.

However, in the state House of Representatives the plan to increase taxes on cigarettes failed this week. That means the House and Senate are still at odds about how to fix the state’s gaping budget hole of almost $900 million.

There are also indications that the added fuel tax would not find favor with the House of Representatives.

In a statement the Speaker of the House, Charles McCall, said the Senate’s budget proposal “is not a real solution to the budget problem.”

The Senate plan was approved on a vote of 36-9, with all six Democrats voting against it.