Oklahoma

April revenue collections set records in Southwest states as a strong economy and inflation boosted income and sales tax collections, although some officials are urging caution.

The high court validated about $800 million of ratepayer-backed bonds to finance the recovery of fuel costs incurred by Oklahoma Gas and Electric Company (OG&E) during the February 2021 storm. 

The Oklahoma Turnpike Authority received state approval on Wednesday for a $200 million revolving line of credit to jumpstart its $5 billion expansion program, but will not be able to spend a portion of the money unless a lawsuit is resolved in its favor.

Opposition to the Oklahoma Turnpike Authority’s $5 billion, bond-financed improvement and expansion project is heating up with a lawsuit seeking to block it filed ahead of a meeting to consider initial financing. 

Oklahoma is poised to follow in the footsteps of Texas by barring banks from municipal bond deals if deemed to be against firearms and fossil fuel industries.

Oklahoma hopes to close on a federal loan this summer for rural highway construction and improvements that would tap into $200 million of borrowing authorized by a 2021 state law.

After dropping dramatically with the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, energy severance tax revenue is soaring along with oil and gas prices.

Despite speakers' objections over the cost of the project or the need for more restorative justice measures instead of incarceration, all three commissioners voted in favor of the referendum.

Bondholders will vote on a Chapter 9 bankruptcy exit plan that would pay full principal and interest on Atoka County Medical Center bonds.

In an election year marked by inflation, lawmakers in about 20 states are considering bills to permanently or temporarily ease the sales tax burden.

Lawmakers in other red states are trying to follow Texas' footsteps with bills to subject banks to a litmus test over their treatment of the firearm industry.

Oklahoma is not alone in struggling to fund repairs for aging dams, a $20 billion problem nationwide according to a 2019 study.

The Turnpike Authority is gearing up bond financing for a $5 billion capital plan, and will pick a team of underwriters and others later this year.

A judge has set a March 23 hearing on the Atoka County Healthcare Authority’s disclosure statement for its plan to end a five-year-long bankruptcy.

Oklahoma joins Texas, Arkansas and Louisiana in allowing utilities to float securitized bonds to recover spending on fuel price spikes during Winter Storm Uri.

With a record $3 billion going to education, Oklahoma is facing stricter accounting in the wake of charter school funding abuses.

The U.S. Supreme Court ruled in McGirt v. Oklahoma that Eastern Oklahoma remains tribal land, and the repercussions continue to play out.

A strong resurgence from last year's pandemic-driven recession is reflected in record revenue for June and the fiscal year in Oklahoma.

Oklahoma's economy has staged a strong rebound a year after the pandemic-induced recession hit the state, said Treasurer Randy McDaniel.

Oklahoma can cut taxes and boost school funding while expanding Medicaid coverage thanks to healthy revenues.