Stitt Drops Holder Nomination
Gov. Kevin Stitt has nominated someone new to fill an empty seat on the Board that governs OSU and four other public universities.
Stitt made the suggestion after the state Senate refused to confirm his previous nominees.
The governor summoned the state Senate to the Capitol for a special session earlier this month to confirm his nomination of former OSU athletic director Mike Holder for the Oklahoma A&M Board of Regents.
Now, Stitt has withdrawn Holder’s nomination and replaced him with attorney Jennifer Callahan.
Callahan is Stitt’s third choice for the position. Before Holder, the governor recommended rancher Susan Bergen, but the Senate overwhelmingly voted he r down during the last week of the regular legislative session.
When called back to consider Holder, the Senate met briefly but refused to take any action.
Pro Tem Greg Treat said it would take more time and consideration than the Governor wanted to confirm a nominee to the Board.
The Governor is still calling for a special session; it’s just been amended to be about confirming Callahan rather than Holder.
LOFT Report Found Education Department Missed Nearly $1.4 Million In Federal Grants
The Oklahoma Legislative Office of Fiscal Transparency presented its report to lawmakers last week on federal grant funding for the State Department of Education.
Nearly $1.4 million has been left on the table, and State Superintendent Ryan Walters said that’s due to the exodus of staffers from his department.
The LOFT report details two federal grants that expired with money leftover: the Ready2Learn and STOP School Violence Technology and Threat Assessment grants - both from the U.S. Department of Justice and aimed at preventing school violence.
For Ready2Learn, OSDE did not renew contracts for two vendors handling grant projects and closed out the grant with just one of the three grant objectives completed, leaving about $1.2 million on the table. For the other grant, about $200,000 was left unspent.
When lawmakers questioned why the money was left unused, Walters blamed poor record-keeping from employees who left his department.
“They were either removed or left and intentionally did not turn over records. So those were things that we have dealt with, and we have a much better process in place moving forward,” Walters said.
Walters said the department’s new process for grants is now decentralized and involves his entire team.
Oklahoma AG Defends State Immigration Law Against DOJ Challenge
Oklahoma Attorney General Gentner Drummond is reaffirming his push for state-level immigration enforcement in federal court.
Drummond responded to a lawsuit by Department of Justice officials over the new law by calling all of their claims unjustifiable.
In his June 13 court filing in the Western District Court of Oklahoma, Drummond takes aim at each of the federal government’s complaints about House Bill 4156, the state’s new law criminalizing anyone in the country without legal permission.
He claims federal authorities are “not likely” to show the measure is unconstitutional because it complements federal law.
But what Drummond calls complementing, Department of Justice officials are calling overstepping. They say the new law preempts federal authority over matters of immigration and interferes with the United States’ foreign commerce relationships.
The state attorney general dismisses that and every other argument plaintiffs have made, saying Oklahoma is entitled to protect itself under the U.S. Constitution during what he claims is an invasion at the southern border.
Bicyclists Take Historic Journey Through Seven States
Bicyclists following the Trail of Tears recently finished a ride commemorating their ancestors.
Remember the Removal bike ride is a 950 mile trip retracing the northern path of the Trail of Tears through seven states.
Starting in New Echota, Georgia, ten Cherokee Nation citizens and seven Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians biked to Tahlequah in three weeks.
During the trek, the group pedaled over trails and visited areas where their ancestors were forced to walk - many of their family and friends dying in the process.
This was the 40th time Cherokee bicyclists have made the trip.
During the homecoming ceremony, Chief Chuck Hoskin praised the cyclists for continuing their ancestors' legacy, calling them a testament to the strength of the Cherokee people.
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