While Governor Kevin Stitt is signing a lot of legislation which makes it to his desk, he did use his veto pen three times on Monday. He vetoed Senate Bill 566, Senate Bill 44 and House Bill 1968.
SB 566 would have allowed private commercial hunting guides to operate on lands managed or owned by the Oklahoma Department of Wildlife Conservation. Stitt noted in his veto message that the bill would violated the Oklahoma Constitution’s prohibition of allowing private companies to use Wildlife Conservation lands for monetary gain. He also said the bill might put the Department at odds with land owners who have allowed the Department to manage part of their lands for public hunting and fishing.
SB 44 was vetoed because it would keep Oklahoma from having the same metric when it comes to “instructional expenditures.” The bill defines it to mean expenditures for instruction and instructional staff support services, including those that directly relate to providing instruction. Changing the definition, according to the veto message, would not align Oklahoma’s definition with the federal definition making it impossible to compare our state with others.
HB 1968 would have changed the way municipalities would deal with police and firefighter unions. Stitt vetoed the bill because it “would insert state government into contract disputes between firefighter and police officer unions (“unions”) and municipalities. These disputes are best resolved through arbitration, as current provided in statute. The insertion of state government in these disputes is improper and not in the best interest of Oklahomans.”
