Gov. Stitt: Trump Conviction May Drive Businesses to Oklahoma
Gov. Kevin Stitt says that former President Donald Trump’s felony conviction may deter businesses from New York and other northeastern states. Stitt is encouraging these companies to consider relocating to Oklahoma.
At Stitt’s last weekly press conference of the legislative session, he made sure to address the recent New York court’s felony conviction of Former President Donald Trump
"That was probably the conversation around most of the dinner tables last night and it will certainly be today," Stitt said.
The Governor said Oklahoma companies—and those considering a move to the state—can rest assured his soon-to-come business courts will protect them.
"This is going to have a huge long tail with businesses fleeing New York, when they see what they can do to someone up there in that court system," said Stitt. "It's just unjust, it's unbelievable. I want to make sure that our businesses know they're protected from out-of-control weaponization of district attorneys, attorney general's."
Trump was found guilty of 34 counts of falsifying business records to hide hush money payments to a porn star meant to protect his image during the 2016 election.
Governor Approves $50 Million Bill for Tulsa Levee Repairs
A levee system that nearly failed five years ago is now being repaired following the Governor’s approval. The bill allocates substantial funds for infrastructure along the Arkansas River in Tulsa.
House Bill 2890 puts $50 million of state money toward repairing the Arkansas River levees in Oklahoma’s second largest city.
Rep. Lonnie Sims of Jenks said the funding bill was brought to the Legislature six times before it passed this session.
"There’s a lot of great things we do at the Capitol, but very few times do we get to do something we know for a fact, it’s going to save lives and protect our investment for the future," said Sims.
Gov.Kevin Stitt signed the bill Friday, almost exactly five years after the Arkansas River flooded dozens of homes and tested the strength of the levee system.
The United States Corps of Engineers called the levee system “very high risk” in an assessment after the flood.
Former U.S. Sen. Jim Inhofe helped secure an additional $137 million s in federal funds for the levee project.
Stitt Proposes Unified Tribal Tag Compacts
Gov. Stitt is asking most of Oklahoma’s tribal nations to strike a deal on tribal tag compacts.
The letter says that if tribal leaders can accommodate the governor’s concerns about tag issues, he would sign a one-size-fits-all compact. These concerns range from public safety problems to outstanding toll fines.
The email was not sent to the Cherokee, Chickasaw, or Choctaw tribes who have existing compacts.
Osage Nation officials say they will not respond, while the Citizen Potawatomi Nation says it is reviewing the letter. Other tribal officials did not respond.
However, some of the email addresses the letter was sent to are no longer in service or to tribes who don’t issue their own plates. One of the recipients listed is former Ottawa Tribe Chief Ethel Cook, who died last year. Another recipient was voted out of office in early March.
Sooners Advance to WCWS Semifinals; Cowgirls Eliminated
The Oklahoma Sooners have advanced to the semifinals of the Women’s College World Series in their pursuit of a fourth consecutive national title.
Kelly Maxwell pitched a two-hit shut out, and Tiare Jennings hit a solo homer for O-U’s only run, in a 1 to nothing victory over the UCLA Bruins on Saturday.
The win launched the Sooners into the semifinals, where they will face the Florida Gators this morning at 11 on ESPN.
With a win, OU will advance to the Championship Finals on Wednesday. But a loss would mean the Sooners would have to win a second game this afternoon or be eliminated from the tournament.
Meanwhile, the season is over for the OSU Cowgirls. They were eliminated by Stanford in an 8 to nothing run-rule late Friday night.
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