The Oklahoma Supreme Court told legislators and their successors Tuesday not to violate the state constitution again like they did last year with a multimillion dollar funding bill for projects ranging from the Centennial Commission to higher education.
Advertisement
Because the court didn't block the money from being used, the ruling is a hollow victory for Oklahoma City attorney Jerry Fent, who filed the case.
"I'm very happy I won the case for all Oklahoma taxpayers but disappointed this case is also prospective, effective July 1, 2008,” Fent said. "I filed this case in June 2007 before the unconstitutional appropriation was effective. ... The court refused to issue an injunction to halt the unlawful spending of $141 million in taxpayers' money.”
Fent said the funding bill, House Bill 1105, was logrolling — which is lumping popular appropriations with unpopular ones into one bill in an effort to force its passage. He said each appropriation should have had its own bill. HB 1105 originally dealt with the Economic Development Generating Fund's investments and assets; the funding matters to which Fent objected were added later in a rewritten version of the bill.
In its 8-0 opinion, the court said its ruling will apply in future cases like this.
"Rather, the Legislature is hereby notified that in future logrolling challenges, this court will not hesitate to exercise its writ power (to block a bill),” the opinion written by Justice Steven Taylor said.
The opinion by Taylor said the Legislature should have adopted a separate special appropriation bill for each unrelated item in HB 1105.
Included in HB 1105
•$15 million for the Oklahoma Capitol Complex and Centennial Commemoration Commission.
•$10 million for the state emergency fund.
•$6 million for a biodiesel fuel center.
•$2 million for the spaceport authority.
•$250,000 for agriculture lab equipment.
•$1 million for the replacement of Department of Public Safety vehicles.
•$2 million for the schools of the deaf and blind.
•$5 million for private prisons and halfway houses.
•$16.5 million for the University of Oklahoma, Oklahoma State University and two-year colleges.
Thank you for joining our conversations on NewsOK.com. We encourage your discussions but ask that you stay within the bounds of our terms and conditions. Please help us by reporting comments that violate these guidelines. To review our rules of engagement, go to Commenting and posting policy.
Editor's note: It is not our intent to offer comments on crime or fatality stories.
Leave a comment.
Log in below or sign up (it's free).
Only 9 of the 23 appropriations ($57.75M of $139.3M total) of HB1105 are listed in this article. If you want to see where remaining 58.5% of the money was spent, visit the OK Secretary of State website (www.sos.state.ok.us) to read HB 1105 from 2007. Here is a direct link, www.sos.state.ok.us/documents/Legislation/51st/2007/1R/HB/1105.pdf
Concerned, Central Oklahoma - Jan 23, 2008 11:05 AM
"$2 million for the spaceport authority." Should have just built a funeral pire in "Burns" Flat and burned 2 million 1-dollar bills. Would have had the same impact. Nothing like pork barreling the salaries of insignificant and impotent people. The space port only surpases "The String of Pearls" by a few dollars. We all know what happend to that debacle. I believe its under 20 feet of dirt with a large Dell tower sitting on top.
2
Thank you for joining our conversations on NewsOK.com. We encourage your discussions but ask that you stay within the bounds of our terms and conditions. Please help us by reporting comments that violate these guidelines. To review our rules of engagement, go to Commenting and posting policy.
Leave a comment. Log in below or sign up (it's free).Editor's note: It is not our intent to offer comments on crime or fatality stories.