Legislative Leaders Name House, Senate Members To General Conference Committee on Appropriations

One day after Governor Brad Henry signed the Fiscal Year 2005 General Appropriations bill into law, Senate President Pro Tempore Cal Hobson and House Speaker Larry Adair officially appointed House and Senate members to the committee which will work out the remaining details of the FY 2005 budget.

“The General Appropriations bill created the framework for next year’s budget. Having that completed this early in the session is unique, but the budget process is far from over. There is much heavy lifting that remains to be done. The sub-committees and members of the General Conference will now get to work on ironing out the details,” said Hobson, D-Lexington.

“Currently we have a rough sketch of the budget, now it will be up to the members of the GCCA to fill in the blanks,” Adair, D-Stilwell, said.

For the second straight year, all 101 members of the House of Representatives and 44 of the 47 members of the Senate will make up the GCCA.

“This is an inclusive process that involves both veteran lawmakers and those who are new at the Capitol. It involves Democrats and our colleagues in the minority party. Everyone will have a hand in crafting this budget,” Hobson said.

“The process is only half way to completion, in the coming weeks every member of the House will have a role in creating the final version,” Adair said.

Senate Appropriations Chairman Mike Morgan, D-Stillwater, and Vice Chairman Ben Robinson, D-Muskogee, will lead the committee’s work in the Senate.

House Appropriations and Budget Committee Chairman Billy Mitchell, D-Lindsay, and Vice Chairman Jack Bonny, D-Burns Flat, will head up the committee in the House.