A severe drought beginning in 1932 in western Oklahoma combined with land consolidation and mechanization in eastern Oklahoma drove farmers out of the state and left others in economic distress. Legislatures of the 1930s battled with governors William H. Murray and Ernest W. Marland, targeting Murray's efforts to generate relief for farmers and Marland's proposals to create a state public works program, reform the tax code and create unemployment insurance. Lawmakers did enact an old age pension system funded by a dedicated sales tax. The rejection of providing state matching funds for New Deal projects resulted in fewer projects. A conservative reaction developed in Oklahoma in the late 1930s and rejected further New Deal programs.