Oklahoma governor vetoes budget bill with shortfall

OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) — Republican Oklahoma Gov. Mary Fallin vetoed legislation Friday that would have raided cash reserves and cut deeper into agency funding to balance the state budget, setting up a showdown with her own party in the Legislature.

"I vetoed most of the budget bill, but kept intact parts temporarily preserving key health & human services funding," she said in a posting to her official Twitter account.

The veto came hours after the state Senate gave final approval in a 29-14 vote, thwarting Fallin's efforts to persuade GOP House members to increase taxes to keep government running. She had warned that raiding cash reserves and cutting deeper into agency funding to balance the budget would set the state "up for failure."

The House and Senate ended an eight-week special session Friday that convened to plug a $215 million budget hole. Fallin could call another special session to try again for a fix.

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