Common Sense Prevails: Stitt Vetoes Overridden – Again

By identical, bipartisan 34-7 votes, the state Senate this week put Gov. Kevin Stitt in his place again with two key overrides that extend for one year the state’s current tobacco and vehicle licensure compacts with Oklahoma tribes.

By doing so, both bodies of the Legislature have now said, in reality, “Gov. Stitt, you are isolated, you are wrong, and you are quickly becoming irrelevant in the course of business emanating from The People's Building.”

Debate against the Senate doing its job came from three of the wackier members of the higher body – Sens. Warren Hamilton, Nathan Dahm and Shane Jett. Their arguments were couched in Bible verses, wrapped in their professed love for the 39 Native American Tribes that call Oklahoma home, and wrongly interpreted current statutes related to who can negotiate with whom in the compacting process.

Dahm, who in a second job is the Republican state party chair, argued only the governor can negotiate with tribes, ignoring either through ignorance or purposeful slight the fact that the Legislature put to a statewide vote in 2004 the entire subject of compacting for casino wagering, which passed, and has also stood the test of time as a legal process to settle the question back nearly 20 years ago.

The Legislature did that – not the governor.

I should know. I authored the legislation, SB 565.

Additionally, nothing in these two overrides preclude the governor from starting to act like an adult, sitting down with tribal leaders, and resolving these two business opportunities that provide important services to all Oklahomans and, importantly, garner needed revenue for both sides.

Direct beneficiaries of the tobacco money, split 50/50, include the Stephenson Cancer Center, Level I trauma centers in both Oklahoma City and Tulsa, as well as programs and initiatives to help smokers cope with difficulties that arise due to their habit.

We're talking about tens of millions of dollars here – so this is not a matter of little import.

Senate President Pro Tem Greg Treat, R-OKC, deserves special kudos for staying the course and keeping the vast majority of his caucus, plus every Democrat in attendance, together in this many months process.

Great economic and political pressure was brought to bear on those who stood with the tribes, but they did not let the fear-mongering of the three loose cannons I identified above derail the overrides.

Seated in the gallery as debate commenced were many tribal governors and chiefs, including Bill Anoatubby of the Chickasaws, which underscores the importance of these votes. I hope Gov. Stitt will now take the opportunity to negotiate in good faith further extensions of compacts or even new ones, but based on his track record, I'll not get my hopes too high. At every turn, over the last five years, Stitt has treated our tribal friends with contempt, arrogance, and dismissiveness, much to the detriment of all Oklahoma citizens.

As I have said many, many times, the only winners in these "Snit Fits by Stitt" are the multitude of law firms scattered across the nation who have been paid millions trying to win the impossible – that is, convince a court, any court, that the governor's position has merit and is backed by any existing statute, compact, treaty, tradition, federal law or even historical precedent.

There are none, dating from the time of the signing of the Treaty of Dancing Rabbit Creek in 1832 to today. Therefore, the sooner Stitt quits embarrassing himself, our state and all four million citizens who live here, the better.

Illustration: Marlin Lavanhar; Instagram: @marlincartoons