Attorney General says cabinet appointment violated state law
Tim Gatz
By Mindy Ragan Wood
Southwest Ledger
OKLAHOMA CITY – Oklahoma Transportation Secretary Tim Gatz resigned two positions after a top legal opinion declared he violated the state’s dual office holding law.
Oklahoma Attorney General Genter Drummond says Gatz cannot hold his cabinet post and executive director of both the Oklahoma Turnpike Authority and Oklahoma Department of Transportation. Drummond also affirmed that a law to restrict the number of gubernatorial appointments to OTA is constitutional.
Hours after Drummond released the opinion, Gatz resigned his cabinet position and from OTA. He will continue as executive director for ODOT, according to a statement from OTA.
Since 2016, Gatz has been the director of both agencies but was appointed transportation secretary by Gov. Kevin Stitt in 2019.
Drummond's opinion noted the law states no one can hold more than one office simultaneously. Although there are dual officeholder exceptions in the law, none apply to Gatz's positions.
Sen. Mary Boren (D-Norman) requested the legal opinion after she said numerous constituents raised the issue. Hundreds of residents filed two lawsuits against OTA after it announced the ACCESS plan, a $5 billion statewide turnpike system expansion, including two new toll roads through Norman.
“I’m encouraged that the Attorney General took the time to explain so thoroughly how Mr. Gatz is currently breaking the law by holding more than one office,” Boren wrote in a statement.
Gov. Stitt had not announced a transportation secretary replacement Thursday.
In response to a request from Sen. John Haste (R-Broken Arrow), Drummond also included his answer to the constitutionality of House Bill 2263.
The bill, which took effect in November, limited the governor’s power to appoint only two people to the OTA board from all six members. The Senate Pro Tem and House speaker appoint two each.
In his opinion, Drummond affirmed the law as constitutional.
OTA officials alleged the bill is unconstitutional because granting most of the board’s appointments to lawmakers violates separation of powers between the state legislature and the executive branch. The agency filed a lawsuit to challenge the law earlier this year.
The bill was one of several filed to reign in the power of the OTA after criticism from Norman area residents scrutinized the agency’s practices. Those residents filed two lawsuits after OTA's announced plans in 2022. They accused the agency of violating the Open Meeting Act and the state’s bond law, but both were settled in the agency’s favor following Oklahoma Supreme Court rulings early last year.