The Senate overrode Gov. Kevin Stitt's veto of tribal state tobacco and vehicle registration compacts.
Oklahoma’s compacts with tribal nations on tobacco and vehicle registration tax collections will extend until the end of 2024.
That comes after a 34-7 vote by the senate to override Governor Kevin Stitt’s vetoes of two bills.
The vote ends a high stakes showdown between the legislature and the Governor, who in recent weeks has been urging senators to vote against it or not show up for the vote.
This is the second time the Senate took up the vote to override Stitt's veto. Last month, Senate Pro Tem Greg Treat came one vote short.
He says, he knew it was going to be close but in the end, he knew he had the votes
"I don't know what the governor's next move will be. I hope that he turns the page from bitterness to build on that, to actually demonstrate leadership and a willingness to treat our tribal nations with respect and in a mutually beneficial way," Treat said.
The governor says he wants to negotiate new compacts with the tribes in order to determine where tribal nations can and cannot sell tobacco – which tribal leaders see as an attempt to define what constitutes Indian land.
he House has already approved overriding Stitt’s veto of the vehicle tax sharing agreement, so that goes into effect immediately. House members are expected to reconvene later this month to also approve the tobacco tax sharing agreement.
A former pastor threatens Oklahoma County District Attorney Vicky Behenna with legal action for pursuing charges against two conservative activists. The men were arrested for allegedly blocking entry to a state school board meeting last month.
Defendants Edwards Moore Jr. and Leonard Scott III were arrested last week for the incident, and Moore was also charged with assault and battery for allegedly grabbing and pulling back a teacher trying to get to the meeting room and pushing a public safety officer.
Retired Enid pastor Wade Burleson defended the men at an Oklahoma Conservative Political Action Committee event, vowing retaliatory litigation from lawyer and previous Oklahoma gubernatorial candidate Gary Richardson.
"You better watch out. ...We will not let these two men go down by your intentional prosecution. … And you liberal leftist teachers who were there saying these two guys assaulted you, I saw it with my own eyes. And I promise you, 12 peers, a jury, will listen to what we have to say, who saw it, and there will be a price to pay," Burleson said.
Burleson also sits on a religious advisory council for the state department of education. The council recently recommended mandating the Ten Commandments be posted in schools and that schools teach a Western Civilization course.
The Oklahoma Water Resources Board is funding two dam rehabilitation projects in Southwestern Oklahoma with federal pandemic relief money.
Expanding soils have damaged the 60-year-old dam at Lake Ellsworth near Lawton. The aging dam captures drinking water for several surrounding communities. But Lawton officials say it poses a risk to more than 5,000 people who live downstream.
Now, the city has received nearly $12 million to rehabilitate the dam. Most of that comes from federal pandemic relief funds via the American Rescue Plan Act — or ARPA. A FEMA grant program and local matching funds will complete the $26 million needed to rehabilitate the dam.
Just southeast of Lawton, the City of Comanche has also received $1 million in ARPA funds from the Water Board for dam improvements. The ARPA funds approved last week will be used in part to seal cracks in the dam at Comanche Lake. That structure was completed in 1960 and has been classified as a high-hazard dam, meaning failure likely results in deaths downstream.
If you happen to come across a dead butterfly or moth over the next few months, the U.S. Geological Survey wants it for a scientific study.
As butterfly and moth populations decline worldwide, USGS scientists are asking Oklahomans and people in five other states to mail in dead bugs.
The researchers are looking into how environmental contaminants such as pesticides and antibiotics might be contributing to shrinking butterfly and moth populations.
Scientists are focusing on testing the insects from agricultural areas like Oklahoma, Kansas, Nebraska, Texas, Alabama and Georgia.
Researchers say the samples residents turn in could help give scientists now – and 20 years from now – access to research insects and help them answer questions about contaminants and the environment.
Any butterflies or moths that people turn in must be larger than 2 inches and already dead when collected. Submissions can be made through Nov.1.
_________________
For additional news throughout the day visit our website, KGOU.org and follow us on social media.
We also invite you to subscribe to the KGOU PM NewsBrief.