Oklahoma’s most famous roller coaster isn’t at Frontier City or the State Fairgrounds.

Instead, it’s the sharp climbs and deep drops in energy prices, particularly the cost of a barrel of oil or a unit of natural gas.

The speaker of the Oklahoma House of Representatives would like to have the Legislature spend some of its time this session discussing whether Oklahoma should keep buying tickets on the energy production thrill ride.

HOUSE BILL 3032

House Bill 3032, introduced by Rep. Chris Benge, R-Tulsa, would create an energy stabilization fund. He said the goal of the fund would be to set aside some of the money the state collects from energy production during times when the costs of those commodities are high.

That money would then go into what Benge called a “mini-Rainy Day Fund” that could be tapped when revenue from Oklahoma’s gross production taxes on oil and natural gas decreases.

Under Benge’s proposal, Oklahoma could have banked some of the windfall energy revenue it enjoyed when oil sold for more than $140 a barrel and natural gas prices went to nearly $11 per thousand cubic feet during the summer of 2008. When oil prices fell to less than $31 a barrel in December 2008 and natural gas sold for less than $3 per thousand cubic feet in September 2009, that reserve could have been used to offset the resulting revenue drops in Oklahoma’s production tax collections.

Benge said although Oklahoma’s revenue comes from a “diversified” pool of sources, such as income, sales and motor vehicle taxes, the state’s economy continues to remain focused on energy prices.

“I think that we’ve been reminded that we still are dependent on energy, and especially as we’ve seen the growth in natural gas, it has caused our economy to be even more energy-focused, oil- and gas-focused,” he said.

DEVIL IS IN THE DETAILS

A past governor (David Boren), the current governor, and would-be governors Jari Askins, Randy Brogdon and Mary Fallin, all have said they support the theory of setting aside energy revenue in good times to help smooth out the bad.

However, the support also was unanimously couched with reservations against endorsing a plan without seeing specifics. One example of such a reservation came in an e-mail from Boren.

“While a careful study will have to be made into the legal and constitutional issues raised by this proposal, I feel that the speaker’s proposal definitely merits consideration,” Boren stated.

Benge said he introduced his bill because the issue was timely and he wanted to have discussion on the issue. As of now, however, the bill is less than a page long, introduced in shell form to ensure its timeliness for the current legislative session.

He also said he wasn’t aware of any legal or constitutional issues of his idea.

The potential fund’s details and political viability is scheduled to be taken up at a 5:30 p.m. Wednesday meeting of the House Appropriations and Budget Committee, according to the House’s Web site.