Oklahoma's AG Calling for Action in Response to LOFT Report
Oklahoma Attorney General Genter Drummond issued an opinion on the recent report from the Legislative Office of Fiscal Transparency. The LOFT report found shortcomings in state purchasing oversight.
Drummond released a formal opinion on Thursday affirming the LOFT report that found the Office of Management and Enterprise Services has not provided accountability for more than $3 billion in state expenditures from various agencies during the 2022 fiscal year.
Additionally, Drummond found OMES has not followed its statutory duty to verify the legitimacy of exemption claims.
This follows financial discrepancies between the Oklahoma Tourism and Recreation Department and former state parks restaurant vendor Swadley’s Barbeque that led to a termination of the contract and the resignation of the head of tourism last year.
Drummond has urged state legislators to consider the recommendations given by LOFT earlier this month.
Oklahoma COVID-19 Update
The state Health Department reports that 45 more people died of COVID-19 in the last week.
The deaths brought Oklahoma’s Provisional Coronavirus Death Count to 18, 184.
In its weekly update, the Health Department reports there were nearly 1600 new positive tests for the Coronavirus since April 6.
The number of active cases is down to fewer than 2,900.
The agency also reports 138 COVID-19 patients in Oklahoma hospitals... including 22 in intensive care and 12 children.
The Cherokee Nation Plans More Affordable Housing
The Cherokee Nation is set to build new housing for its citizens in Muskogee.
This latest project comes as the area faces a growing shortage of affordable housing.
The new 12-acre area in Muskogee will be called Warrior Addition. Initially it will include only 12 homes but over time will increase to fill the property's 30 lots.
In 2019, Cherokee Nation officials created the Housing, Jobs and Sustainable Communities Act which was a $30 million dollar investment into affordable housing. Today, the total dollar amount is $120 million.
The 12 new Muskogee homes being built are part of the Housing Authority of the Cherokee Nation’s New Construction Homeownership Program for Cherokee families who have applied and were on the waiting list for housing but do not have their own land.
The Cherokee Nation also broke ground in February on a similar project with 24 homes and room to build more on a 23-acre tract of land in Tahlequah.
Bridges in Six Counties Set for Overhaul
Northwestern Oklahoma will receive federal funds to replace seven rural bridges.
The Federal Highway Administration says the bridges are crucial for economic growth.
Located in six different counties, the bridges are in poor or fair condition. They don’t have the clearance or load-bearing capacity they need to support heavy farm vehicles or oilfield equipment.
This federal grant money will cover $11 million of the $15 million needed to completely overhaul the bridges.
On Thursday, the Biden-Harris administration announced the grant for Northwestern Oklahoma as part of a $300 million investment in small bridges across the country.
Late last year, the Oklahoma Department of Transportation received similar infrastructure funds to improve Roosevelt Memorial Bridge, which spans almost 5,000 feet over Lake Texoma between Kingston and Durant.
ODOT has called that 80-year-old bridge QUOTE “functionally obsolete.”
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