Current:Home > BackTribal sovereignty among the top issues facing Oklahoma governor and Legislature-InfoLens
Tribal sovereignty among the top issues facing Oklahoma governor and Legislature
View Date:2024-12-23 15:53:00
OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) — Tribal sovereignty is expected to again be a top issue facing lawmakers and Gov. Kevin Stitt as they return on Monday to begin the 2024 legislative session.
Stitt, a Republican and himself a citizen of the Cherokee Nation, has had a contentious relationship with tribal leaders that began with a dispute during his first year in office over casino revenue and has worsened with conflict over agreements on tobacco sales, motor vehicle tags, taxes and criminal jurisdiction.
The governor, now in his second term, has been a frequent critic of expanded tribal sovereignty and of the landmark 2020 U.S. Supreme Court decision that determined state prosecutors lack criminal jurisdiction over certain crimes committed in Indian Country.
In an interview with The Associated Press last week, Stitt said his role is to represent all 4 million Oklahomans and not allow tribal citizens to have an unfair advantage. He believes that could happen if the Oklahoma Supreme Court rules in favor of a Native American woman who claims she doesn’t have to pay state income taxes because she lives and works on a tribal reservation.
“There’s no way I would be doing my job as governor if I said: ‘Oh, African Americans pay taxes, white people and Asians (pay taxes), but American Indians don’t,’” Stitt said. “It’s like I’m in a twilight zone having to explain this to people.”
Stitt will deliver his State of the State address to the Legislature on Monday and release his proposed spending plan for the fiscal year that begins July 1.
Last year the Legislature convened in special session to override the governor’s veto of a bill to extend agreements on tribal tobacco sales and motor vehicle tags and the issue is expected to surface again in the session beginning Monday.
Many lawmakers hope the relationship between the tribes and Stitt has thawed somewhat following a deal the governor reached last month with the Chickasaw Nation for a 10-year agreement.
“I see it as a very good indication that the state and the tribes will be able to work together,” said Sen. Brent Howard, chairman of the Joint Committee on State-Tribal relations.
Among the other issues lawmakers are expected to tackle is a possible income tax cut, a top priority for Stitt. The House approved a 0.25% reduction in the rate last week, but Senate leaders have said such a move is premature since final revenue numbers haven’t been released.
veryGood! (9)
Related
- Police capture Tennessee murder suspect accused of faking his own death on scenic highway
- Hydrate Your Skin With $140 Worth of First Aid Beauty for Only $63
- Calling it quits: Why some Lahaina businesses won't reopen after the wildfires
- Supreme Court orders makers of gun parts to comply with federal ghost gun rules
- Wisconsin authorities believe kayaker staged his disappearance and fled to Europe
- Anonymous bettor reportedly wins nearly $200,000 after massive NFL parlay
- Uncle of 6-year-old Muslim stabbed to death in alleged hate crime speaks out
- South Africa hopes to ease crippling blackouts as major power station recovers
- Congress is revisiting UFOs: Here's what's happened since last hearing on extraterrestrials
- Real-Life Cinderella Leaves Shoe at Prince Christian of Denmark’s 18th Birthday
Ranking
- Satire publication The Onion acquires Alex Jones' Infowars at auction
- Tyga files for sole custody of his son with Blac Chyna, King Cairo
- Dolly Parton talks new memoir, Broadway musical and being everybody's 'favorite aunt'
- Suspect in Natalee Holloway case expected to enter plea in extortion charge
- Homes of Patrick Mahomes, Travis Kelce burglarized, per reports
- Love Is Blind’s Izzy Zapata Debuts New Girlfriend After Stacy Snyder Breakup
- What’s changed — and what hasn’t — a year after Mississippi capital’s water crisis?
- Guatemala Cabinet minister steps down after criticism for not acting forcefully against protesters
Recommendation
-
Disease could kill most of the ‘ohi‘a forests on Hawaii’s Big Island within 20 years
-
5 Things podcast: 2,000 US troops to prepare to deploy in response to Israel-Hamas war
-
Men charged with kidnapping and torturing man in case of mistaken identity
-
Millie Bobby Brown credits her feminist awakening to a psychic
-
Gigi Hadid and Bradley Cooper Prove They're Going Strong With Twinning Looks on NYC Date
-
After 37 years, DNA points to a neighbor in Florida woman's 1986 murder
-
Prosecutors seek to recharge Alec Baldwin in 'Rust' shooting after 'additional facts' emerge
-
2 foreign tourists and their Ugandan guide killed in attack near Uganda’s popular national park