{"id":728495,"date":"2023-05-26T09:48:56","date_gmt":"2023-05-26T14:48:56","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/oklahomawatch.org\/?p=728495"},"modified":"2023-05-26T09:50:01","modified_gmt":"2023-05-26T14:50:01","slug":"oklahoma-lawmakers-override-governor-vetoes-on-public-television-tribal-regalia","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/oklahomawatch.org\/2023\/05\/26\/oklahoma-lawmakers-override-governor-vetoes-on-public-television-tribal-regalia\/","title":{"rendered":"Oklahoma Lawmakers Override Governor Vetoes on Public Television, Tribal Regalia"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Oklahoma lawmakers overrode vetoes of several bills Thursday, including one to preserve the charter for the state\u2019s public television station and another to allow students to wear tribal regalia at graduation. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

But they failed to override Gov. Kevin Stitt\u2019s veto of a bill that would change how attorney fees are awarded in civil suits regarding free speech rights. The override of House Bill 1236<\/a> failed by a vote of 36-61 in the House. Several groups, including the Oklahoma Press Association<\/a>, Freedom of Information Oklahoma<\/a> and the Oklahoma Council of Public Affairs, supported Stitt\u2019s veto of the bill<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The veto override attempts were in response to Stitt\u2019s record number of vetoes in this year\u2019s legislative session. Stitt has vetoed 46 bills this year, more than twice the number of vetoes he\u2019s issued annually since his first legislative session in 2019.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\t\n\t\t

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Twenty of Stitt\u2019s vetoes came on a single day in April<\/a>, when the Republican-controlled House and the Senate were in the middle of a dispute over education funding. The chambers eventually resolved their differences with the help of a mediator<\/a>, but the bills remained vetoed. Among that group of vetoes was one that updated protections of athletes signing name, image and likeness deals and one allowing students to wear tribal regalia at school graduations. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The April vetoes were almost all Senate bills. Senate President Pro Tempore Greg Treat, R-Oklahoma City, acknowledged the governor\u2019s veto power, but said Thursday he remained unhappy about it. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI\u2019ve said publicly, and I\u2019ve said privately to him that I thought it was beneath the dignity of his office,\u201d Treat told reporters. \u201cI haven\u2019t wavered on that opinion. It doesn’t mean that I can’t work with him or have good relations with him. We\u2019ve moved on. We have a role to play, and he has a role to play. We exercised our ability to override today.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Stitt\u2019s veto message<\/a> for the OETA authorization mentioned he thought the idea of public television was outdated and no longer needed. His office later singled out several children\u2019s TV shows and news segments<\/a> that it said were \u201cindoctrinating\u201d children. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Many in the House clapped and cheered when the chamber overrode the OETA veto on Thursday morning by a vote of 73-23. The Senate later voted 38-6 to override the veto. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

In all, the House and Senate successfully overrode 13 bills on Thursday. Five were House bills and eight were Senate bills. Veto override votes need two-thirds of each chamber to become law. They were:\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n