Oklahoma Senate Pro Tem and House Speaker respond after governor files lawsuit about vetoes in State

OKLAHOMA CITY, Okla. — Oklahoma Governor Kevin Stitt is asking the Supreme Court of the State of Oklahoma to rule on what lawmakers can and cannot do when it comes to tribes after two of his vetoes were overridden.

On Monday, the Oklahoma House of Representatives completed the process of overriding Stitt’s vetoes of two one-year extensions to tribal compacts surrounding tobacco sales and vehicle registrations on tribal lands.

Stitt says the lawmakers’ vote to override his vetoes was illegal because only the governor can make compacts.

“We need the Supreme Court to let us know who has the authority, we think that it clearly is with the Governor,” Stitt said in a press conference.

The lawsuit was filed against Oklahoma Senate Pro Tem Greg Treat, R-Oklahoma City, and Oklahoma House Speaker Charles McCall, R-Atoka, who both released statements about Stitt’s lawsuit.

“These compacts in particular weren’t new, they weren’t unique in any way, they simply kept the exact same language as before to give him an opportunity to try and do the right thing by working with the tribes to renegotiate the compacts, while ensuring the state didn’t lose millions in revenue. He has once again failed Oklahoma. Today, history is repeating itself with the announcement of this lawsuit. I’m confident his intentions will meet the same fate as we have unfortunately witnessed, and paid for, in the past,” Treat said in a larger statement.

“Today, Gov. Stitt filed the latest in a series of lawsuits that waste taxpayer dollars and attempt to undermine legitimate compact negotiations with our state’s federally recognized tribes. A plain reading of the decisions in Treat I and II shows that his legal questions have already been answered by the court and the governor simply fails or refuses to accept the answer and recognize the law,” McCall said in a larger statement.

To view Treat’s full statement, click here.

To view McCall’s full statement, click here.