Lawmakers still have no answers on budget shortfall within ODMHSAS

State lawmakers held a select committee hearing reviewing mental health finances, but left the meeting saying they remain frustrated and still have more questions than answers at this point. With less than a month left before legislators must finalize a budget, they are running out of time.

Problem at hand

The Oklahoma Department of Mental Health and Substance Abuse Services came to the legislature with a budget shortfall. Lawmakers say the information and figures they have been given continue to change, with an update late last week that the department may not be able to cover payroll for this week.

ODMHSAS has since said they can cover payroll for this week, but will likely need at least a $23 million supplemental from the legislature to cover payroll from May 21 to July.

“We are, for the first time in a very long time, uncovering the full depth of financial instability that has been hidden under layers of dysfunction,” said Allie Friesen, ODMHSAS Commissioner. ‘We are also extremely concerned about our current financial situation.”

“More questions than answers”

State lawmakers have now held two public hearings, where the commissioner answered questions regarding the budget shortfalls under oath.

The chairs of the House and Senate Select Committees reviewing mental health finances, Rep. Mark Lawson (R-Sapulpa) and Sen. Paul Rosino (R-Oklahoma City), commented on the meeting today with ODMHSAS:

"We remain frustrated that the department still does not have confident answers to budget questions, despite ODMHSAS staff being aware of shortfalls in January. Our confidence is dwindling as we approach the legislative deadline to uphold our constitutional duty to pass a balanced budget.”

ODMHSAS request from the legislature

For the first time, Commissioner Friesen requested assistance from the state legislature today, asking for a supplemental, and asking for the House and Senate finance teams to review the agency's books to ensure the figures are correct.

“This next payroll coming up on Wednesday, we can make that but the agency is not able to do the one after that,” said Michael Rupke with ODMHSAS. "I have zero confidence that our finance team is able to tell me whether or not there are funds to be able to make payroll."

Lawmakers have agreed to finance the supplemental, which would go through an emergency vote.

“The supplemental part matters for payroll because people suffer there, and they're the ones that are providing services to the people of Oklahoma,” said Rosino.

“We're gonna fulfill our obligations to our state employees and to the folks that need mental health services. We just need to know what that number is,” said Lawson.

Lawmakers also agreed to have a meeting between the House and Senate finance teams, and the staff at ODMHSAS, but they made it clear that it will be up to the agency, not the legislature, to come up with a final budget request.

“It's the legislature's job to appropriate dollars but it's not the legislature's job to figure out agency budgets,” said Rosino.

Frustrations and Questions continue

A handful of lawmakers asked for specific numbers and information regarding the budget, and after feeling like they were given no new information, the decision was made to cut the meeting short.

“I'm a little bit angry about today. I thought we were gonna leave with some resolution, and it doesn't seem like we do. It seems like we're still up in the air, and that's why we're saying the House and Senate will come together to take care of what we need to; but after that, we are going to have to drill down these numbers deeper. We are running out of time, the clock is ticking.”

“The problem is, we don't know and they don't know if they're confident in any of the numbers they're truly bringing. So is this really a crisis or is this a lack of accountability that they don't understand what they need?” questioned Rosino.

Time is running out

Lawmakers ended the meeting with the agreement to finance the supplemental, but made it clear that they will not be moving forward with any additional requests for FY'26 until this shortfall is figured out.

In a joint statement, Rosino and Lawson said:

“There are still more questions than answers at this point and the people of Oklahoma require answers and the Legislature will continue to hold the department accountable in order to ensure vital mental health services continue without disruption. The delays have all been exhausted. We are running out of time. Oklahomans demand answers."

Lawmakers must have a balanced budget finalized by sine die on May 30. All state agencies have handed in their requests for FY’26, except for the ODMHSAS.

“Here we are now, less than three weeks away from when we have to have a budget for the people in the state of Oklahoma, and I hope we can bring more confidence than we have today into what that number looks like,” said Rosino.

Both Rosino and Lawson said they will deliver a budget on time for the people of Oklahoma, regardless of the ongoing problems within ODMHSAS.