Oklahoma lawmakers override OETA veto

Oklahoma lawmakers took steps to override several vetoes on Thursday, including one regarding OETA.

OKLAHOMA CITY (KFOR) – Oklahoma lawmakers took steps to override several vetoes on Thursday, including one regarding OETA.

The Oklahoma Educational Television Authority's contract to be the state’s broadcaster is currently set to expire July 1, 2023.

House Bill 2820 would allow the OETA to continue to operate until July 1, 2026.

“The Authority is hereby constituted an instrumentality of the state, and the exercise by the Authority of the powers conferred by this article for the planning, construction, operation, and maintenance of educational television facilities shall be deemed and held to be an essential function of the state,” the measure states.

The measure passed 79-0 in the Oklahoma House, and 41-7 in the Oklahoma Senate.

After arriving on the governor’s desk in April, Gov. Kevin Stitt vetoed the bill.

“The OETA oversees the provision of educational television systems and services provided by and through various educational and cultural agencies. Although the OETA may have played a principal role in the provision of educational television services at one time, today the OETA’s long-term, strategic value is at best unclear, if not outright imagined,” Stitt wrote in the veto.

During a news conference in April, Stitt spoke more about the decision.

“That to me is an outdated system. It may have had its place in 1957. Why are we spending taxpayer dollars to prop up the OETA? It makes no sense to me,” he said.

Now, lawmakers at the Oklahoma Capitol are taking steps to override that veto.

On Thursday, the Oklahoma House of Representatives voted 73-23 to override the OETA veto.

Later in the day, the Oklahoma Senate also voted to override the veto.

Last year, Stitt also vetoed a measure that worked to fund infrastructure improvements through the OETA.

Under House Bill 1009XX, the state would send $8.1 million to OETA to replace transmitters for the WARN network. It helps transmit emergency signals to Oklahomans in the event of a weather emergency or Amber Alert.

“Spending over $8 million of taxpayer dollars on upgrades without a clear, long-term strategic plan for these funds is not responsible spending,” Stitt said in a statement in October.