OKLAHOMA CITY — Echoing their brethren in the state Senate, the Oklahoma House of Representatives overrode Governor Kevin Stitt’s veto of tribal compact legislation last week.
The Republican-controlled House voted 72-16 to override the veto of Senate Bill 26X. That bill extended the tribal compact on tobacco product sales until December of 2024. The vote came about a week after the Oklahoma Senate took a similar vote.
During the final hours of this year’s legislative session, Stitt vetoed several pieces of legislation including bills that address tribal compacts and a measure that allowed students to wear Native American regalia during high school and college graduation ceremonies.
The summer override the second act of a long-running political drama between Stitt and the Legislature. Stitt was quick to respond to the veto.
In short, he took his case to court.
Following the House’s veto override, the governor held a press conference and announced that his office had filed a lawsuit against the Legislature. The lawsuit asks the Oklahoma Supreme Court to assume original jurisdiction in the case and overturn the Legislature’s action.
The Legislature, the governor’s lawsuit said, had overstepped its authority.
Legislative leaders said there was no strength to the governor’s argument. House Speaker Charles McCall (R-Atoka) issued a media statement which said the governor’s lawsuit was a waste of taxpayer dollars and an attempt to undermine legitimate compact negotiations with tribal nations.
“A plain reading of the decisions in Treat I and II shows that his legal questions have already been answered by the court and the governor simply fails or refuses to accept the answer and recognize the law,” McCall said. “This is further evidenced by the litigation currently filed in the District of Columbia. Rather than accept the Oklahoma Supreme Court’s decision, and work with the Legislature and our state’s tribal partners on a way forward, Gov. Stitt has spent tens of thousands of taxpayer dollars on D.C. attorneys in an attempt to give up Oklahoma sovereignty to the Biden administration in hopes that they will agree with him and undermine Oklahoma law.”
McCall said the governor’s claim that the special session of the Legislature was unconstitutional was bogus. The Legislature’s ability to call a special session, and the particular special session call itself, are well within the Legislature’s constitutional authority, the Speaker said.
“Both the House and Senate followed the law and the Governor simply does not agree with the result. But the legislators, those closest to all 4 million Oklahomans, know that the citizens are counting on them to find solutions rather than to simply fearmonger and cost the state tens of millions of tax dollars that go to important core services like education,” McCall said. “Rather than simply allowing compacts to lapse and wasting time, and more importantly taxpayer dollars, on frivolous lawsuits, the governor should focus on ways to work with all parties, including our tribal partners, to find solutions that make sense for our entire state.”
Echoing McCall, House Democratic Leader Cindy Munson (D-Oklahoma City) said the governor was trying to fix something that wasn’t broken.
“The 38 federally recognized tribes in Oklahoma are sovereign nations and are important partners in developing and growing our state’s economy. The tribes send millions of dollars of revenue to the state and the compacts have worked very well over the years,” Munson said. “Simply put, if it’s not broken, don’t fix it, especially if it will involve long, expensive legal battles in court that may result in less revenue for the state of Oklahoma.”
Munson said extending the compact and sharing sales tax on tobacco products allows the state to continue receiving revenues it relies on for the state budget.
“Continuing these compacts allows for continued revenue sources for the state to help address and maintain roads, bridges, schools, and other infrastructure,” she said. “Without the continuation of such compacts, there would be a negative effect on the state budget due to loss of revenue.”
For their part, tribal leaders, praised the overrides.
Gary Batton, Chief of the Choctaw Nation, thanked lawmakers for “their willingness to collaborate and their endurance in correcting Governor Stitt’s errors.
“They have the right to override the veto. They’re not expanding their authority. They’re only allowing to extend this compact another year. They have every legal authority to do that,” Batton said.
The principal chief of the Muscogee (Creek) Nation, David Hill, thanked lawmakers for the vote in a posting on social media.
“We applaud today’s vote to override the veto of SB 26X,” he wrote. “The issues that our shared communities face can no longer wait to be addressed while we waste time and taxpayer money on pointless legal battles. The message should be clear now, it’s time to work together.”