Mary Fallin is Oklahoma’s Governor and Chief Economic Influencer

Background

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Gov. Mary Fallin

Oklahoma’s Governor is the head of state and the elected representative with the single biggest role in shaping economic and budget policy.

Mary Fallin is Oklahoma’s 27th Governor. She entered office in January 2011 and her first term ends January 2015.

Fallin served as Lt. Governor from 1995-2007 and represented Oklahoma’s 5th District in the U.S. House of Representatives from 2007-2011.

The Governor prepares the state budget, which must be approved by the legislature. The governor has line-item veto powers, which can only be overridden by a super-majority vote in the legislature.

Many of the Governor’s appointees directly influence state economic, financial and budgetary issues.

In 2011, Gov. Fallin was face with a roughly $400 million deficit. Her $6.3 billion FY 2012 state budget included 3 percent cuts to Education, Health, Human Services and Public Safety and up to 5 percent in cuts to other agencies.

Gov. Fallin is a proponent of reducing or eliminating the personal income tax and has pledged efforts to restructure and reform the state tax system.

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February 7, 2012

Four Things You Should Know About Gov. Fallin’s Income Tax Reduction Plan

Gov. Fallin giving her second State of the State address at the state Capitol.

In yesterday’s State of the State address, Gov. Mary Fallin detailed her “bold” plan for reducing — and ultimately eliminating — the state’s individual income tax. The official language of The Oklahoma Tax Reduction and Simplification Act will be included in a bill filed by House Speaker Kris Steele, R-Shawnee. Fallin’s proposal would simplify the [...]

February 6, 2012

State of the State Address: Live-Blog

Gov. Mary Fallin’s State of the State address is the ceremonial kick-off to the 2012 legislative session, which starts today. Fallin is expected to focus on jobs and the economy, and will unveil details of her “bold and history-making” plan to reduce Oklahoma’s individual income tax.

February 2, 2012

Gov. Fallin Has a ‘Bold’ Income Tax Reduction Plan

The plan will be unveiled at Monday’s State of the State address, which opens this year’s legislative session. Fallin told reporters at an Associated Press-sponsored legislative forum that the revenue neutral plan would simplify the state’s tax code and bring tax cuts for most Oklahomans. The governor said it was “a bold and history-making tax [...]

January 11, 2012

Gov. Fallin’s Bowl Game Trip Passes $6,600 to Taxpayers

The Lost Ogle, the popular satirical social blog known for lampooning Oklahoma politicians and media personalities, was interested in why the governor was on the stage during the Fiesta Bowl trophy ceremony. StateImpact Oklahoma and its Twitter followers were interested how much, if any, taxpayer money was spent on the trip. Fallin’s double bowl game [...]

December 21, 2011

Income Tax Reduction With a Flat State Budget Still Possible, Republican Lawmakers Say

If things go well, next year’s state budget is likely to be flat, and Republican lawmakers are still eying cuts to the state income tax. Eliminating the personal income tax — the state’s largest single source of revenue — might not be possible with a looming $150 million budget hole, but lawmakers will likely work [...]

December 20, 2011

Next Year’s Best-Case Budget Scenario is ‘Flat’

Republicanconference / Flickr The revenue estimates have been officially certified by the Board of Equalization: Gov. Mary Fallin has $6.5 billion to budget for FY 2013. Oklahoma has about $120 million more than it did last year, but lawmakers are still staring into a $150 million budget hole. Last year, lawmakers patched a $500 million [...]

How Oklahoma’s New Budget Hole Formed and What Might Fill It

Oklahoma’s revenues are up, and Office of State Finance officials expect lawmakers will have more state funds to appropriate next year. The latest estimate is that Oklahoma will have about $6.5 billion available for appropriation next fiscal year, and that the state revenue collections will be about $400 million more than they were a year [...]

December 14, 2011

Flat Budget Won’t Budge Despite Oil Tax ‘Bonanza’

The AP with the synopsis: State finance officials said a boom in Oklahoma’s oil patch is helping to boost general revenue collections more than 20 percent over the same time last year.

December 8, 2011

Gov. Mary Fallin’s Income Tax Goal: ‘Around 3 Percent’

Gov. Mary Fallin on Wednesday reiterated her support for reducing Oklahoma’s personal income tax. Fallin and several lawmakers spoke to about 300 people at the State Chamber’s Public Affairs Forum and Governor’s Economic Roundtable. The Oklahoman’s Don Mecoy said “business-friendly” was the buzzword du jour: Fallin said further reductions in the state income tax would [...]

December 6, 2011

Gov. Fallin is Planning to Attack the Income Tax

Gov. Mary Fallin is hard at work on a plan to reduce Oklahoma’s personal income tax. Oklahoman reporter Michael McNutt writes that Fallin’s plan, which relies heavily on a report from a task force she assembled earlier this year, will be in place before the start of the next legislative session in February. Members of [...]