Agreement reached on state budget With two weeks left before a government shutdown, Oklahoma's two legislative leaders -Speaker Todd Hiett and Senate President Pro Tem Mike Morgan - announced a budget agreement yesterday. Democrats said last week that they will "take as long as it takes" to get an agreement that was devoid of election year politics, even if it meant allowing the government to shut down. Oklahoma Political News Service believes Mr. Morgan received an overnight revelation and remembered that Newt Gingrich shut down the federal government in 1996 to disastrous results for his party. Besides the raise in the standard deduction over four years, the agreement reached seems to be the same agreement that has been in the offering for weeks. OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) (excerpt) Legislative leaders reach agreement today on a state budget that includes phased-in reductions in the state income and estate taxes, phased-in increases in the standard deduction, a state employee pay raise and spending increases for colleges and universities. The plan would reduce the top income tax rate from 6-point-2-5 percent to 5-point-2-5 percent over four years, repeal the estate tax over three years and raise the standard deduction for low- and moderate-income taxpayers to the federal level over four years. It would also pump 210 (m) million dollars into state colleges and universities, give all public school teachers a 3-thousand-dollar annual raise, appropriate 270 (m) million dollars more to state highways and bridges and 85 (m) million dollars more for county roads and bridges. State workers also would see a pay increase of 5 percent beginning October 1st. Posted at 6/16/2006 09:27:00 AM