State Treasurer Ken Miller reports that in 2017, state revenue increased in comparison to the same months in 2016, 11 of 12 months.

A year ago, the state was facing a huge and terrifying decrease in state revenue, caused by a faltering economy and bad fiscal choices by the Oklahoma Legislature. Every major revenue stream in the state was declining.

In 2017, that finally reversed. State tax collections were $667.6 million over 2016 levels, a growth of 6.2 percent. If that trend were to continue — and that’s the way it’s supposed to work if the economy grows and the Legislature doesn’t screw it up — it would certainly be good news for Oklahoma.

It seems that the sucking hole of state finance might finally have stopped growing, but it would be wrong — and foolish — to say the crisis has passed for three reasons:

• The state might yet face a budget hole next year, although it might be smaller than previous years’ challenges. The Legislature’s choice to cover last year’s budget hole with one-time funding will quickly consume growth revenue.

• The state still hasn’t balanced its current year’s budget, which is constitutionally questionable and will consume more money early in the upcoming legislative session.

• The state hasn’t started to recover from years of budget cuts to critical core programs: public schools, higher education, health and mental health.

Treasurer Miller’s fiscal report is good news. It’s certainly better than the alternative, continued collapse. But it doesn’t remove the necessity for the Legislature to find new, sustainable revenue that will allow the state to grow out of the deep pit it remains in.