OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) — Native American tribes in Oklahoma will get to keep their existing agreements on how they share money from tobacco sales with the state.
The Oklahoma House voted on Monday to override Gov. Kevin Stitt’s veto of a bill that extends agreements on selling tobacco for another year. In a bipartisan vote during a special session, the Republican-controlled House met the two-thirds vote needed to override. The Senate overrode the governor’s veto last week.
As a result, any tribe with an existing agreement on tobacco sales can opt to extend the terms of that agreement until Dec. 31, 2024. Leaders from several of the state’s most powerful tribes were in the gallery for Monday’s vote.
The override is the latest development in an ongoing dispute between the Republican governor and several Oklahoma-based tribes. Stitt, himself a citizen of the Cherokee Nation, has said he wants to adjust the compact language to make sure tribes don’t expand where they sell tobacco as a result of a landmark 2020 U.S. Supreme Court decision that determined the Muscogee (Creek) Nation’s historical reservation still existed.
Since that decision, lower courts have determined the reservations of several other Native American tribes, including the Cherokee, Chickasaw, Choctaw and Seminole, are still intact.
The current tobacco compacts, which allow the state and tribes to evenly split the tax revenue on the sale of tobacco on tribal land, generate tens of millions of dollars each year in revenue for both the state and tribes.
Senate President Pro Tempore Greg Treat said last week he wants to give the governor more time to renegotiate the terms of the deal and has been openly critical of Stitt’s disputes with the tribes. Treat, a Republican, also said he would consider changing state law to give the Legislature a greater role in compact negotiations if the governor doesn’t negotiate in good faith.
2024-12-24 08:56101 view
2024-12-24 08:382516 view
2024-12-24 08:081816 view
2024-12-24 07:572700 view
2024-12-24 07:062206 view
2024-12-24 06:58100 view
LOS ANGELES (AP) — Let the office debates begin — John Krasinski is People magazine’s Sexiest Man Al
Of all the U.S. industries threatened by climate change, agriculture—and the broader food system it
The Obama administration gave the Standing Rock Sioux tribe a partial victory on Monday, by declinin