Government shouldn't fund public broadcasting, Stitt says in his veto message of Senate Bill 4161. The measure would have extended OETA's sunset date to 2031, pending another renewal at that time.
"Though OETA's programming might be worthwhile for the viewer, funding a television station is not a core function of state government," Stitt's veto message reads.
He points to the survival of PBS and NPR after Congress cut funding for the Corporation of Public Broadcasting as proof that public media can survive without being a state budget line item.
As a result of those federal cuts, NPR cut millions of dollars from its annual budget, and hundreds of people were laid off across public media nationwide. OETA lost $1.9 million in annual funding in the federal rescission, comprising 17% of its budget.
Stitt previously signed a state budget that included $2.8 million in appropriations for OETA for the 2027 fiscal year.
In response to Stitt's veto, the nonprofit fundraising group Friends of OETA reminded Oklahomans of its essential functions and public benefits in a statement posted on social media.
"OETA's tower network and digital transmission capabilities constitute a vital public safety resource for our state…OETA is our state's biggest classroom…OETA is a model successful private/public partnership," the post reads. "OETA, as an instrumentality of the State of Oklahoma, cannot operate without that reauthorization from the Legislature."
The TV network also urged lawmakers to override Stitt's veto.
"We respectfully call on the Senate and House to override that veto so that OETA may continue operating and fulfilling its public safety and services missions to the people of our state," the statement reads.
This isn't the first time Stitt has vetoed the sunset extension bill for OETA. He also did so in 2023, saying the public television broadcaster's long-term strategic value was "unclear if not outright imagined" and claiming PBS programming "overly sexualizes" kids.
State lawmakers overwhelming overrode that veto.
Stitt vetoes other bills; lawmakers respond
SB 4161 is among at least 24 bills Stitt has vetoed, including measures that extended sunset dates for the existence of the state optometry licensing board and the Oklahoma Advisory Council on Indian Education.
The House has overridden seven vetoes so far, including the one ending OETA's and other sunsets, and Speaker Kyle Hilbert said it's unclear how many more will come up.
"I mean, you know, it is peculiar because normally when you do veto overrides, both chambers have conversations ahead of time," Hilbert said.
This time, the Senate is adjourned until next week, which leaves some bills and potential overrides in the air.
