In his veto message, Gov. Kevin Stitt said the bill would make it more difficult for landlords to obtain an eviction and that state law already provides adequate due process and notice for tenants.
The bill passed the Senate with a vote of 26 to 19, and moved on to the House where it passed with a vote of 51 to 35.
It was a bipartisan effort — the bill was authored by Senate Minority Leader Julia Kirt and co authored by Republican Representative Daniel Pae.
Despite their efforts, Kirt said it did not pass with a wide enough margin to make a veto override possible.
"His veto message made it really clear that he was really more concerned about landlords' timelines than looking at the urgency of the matter," Kirt said. "We have tons of people getting evicted where we probably could mediate and keep people in their places and also get landlords that back rent."
Kirt said the issue of ensuring modern protections for Oklahoma tenants will be a “multi-year discussion.”
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