Lawmakers Hope To Come Closer To An Agreement On State Budget Friday

Lawmakers are spending hours each day negotiating line-by-line, getting closer to a final agreement on the state budget.
Lawmakers wrapped up negotiations around 3 p.m. Thursday with plans to come back in at 9 a.m. Friday
They say there are still a few big ticket items they're disagreeing on and wanted to have some time to meet behind the scenes.
Two of the main things that lawmakers are still not finding common ground on are workforce or funding for the Department of Commerce, and pay raises for law enforcement across the state.
The state House is proposing putting additional funds into the sheriff and police payroll something the legislature has never done in the past.
As a counteroffer the Senate has offered to put additional funds into an existing program to pay for law enforcement equipment and operations but the House worries that wouldn't fix the problem of low salaries.
Both chambers agreed to go over the other's proposal Thursday night hoping to come closer to a final agreement on Friday.
And a reminder - lawmakers in both chambers are updating their negotiated numbers and highlighting where they're still disagreeing on the budget transparency portal on the state House website: www.okhouse.gov/