OKLAHOMA CITY (KFOR) – The battle of the 2021 budget came to a head on Wednesday night when the Oklahoma Legislature voted to overrule the governor’s veto.
Governor Kevin Stitt says he’s moved on, but he also thinks time will prove him right that the new budget is not a good deal for Oklahoma.
“I wasn’t going to put my name to a budget that we had zero input,” Stitt said. “I did not think, it wasn’t the right way to plug a billion dollar shortfall by grabbing the road and bridge funds.”
On Thursday, Stitt backed his decision to veto the budget approved by the Legislature only to have the Oklahoma House of Representatives and Oklahoma Senate reverse his decision hours later.
“It’s not a Republican issue, it’s a budgetary issue of what’s good for Oklahoma,” Senate Appropriations Chair Roger Thompson told KFOR. “He has one vision and we had another vision, they just seem to clash.”
Stitt said he wanted Oklahomans to know that he did not have any input on the budget, but Thompson says that’s not his job.
The governor can make suggestions, but it’s up to the House and Senate to decide how the money is spent.
“The Legislature is a co-equal branch of government with the governor,” Thompson said. “We have the keys to the purse strings, we have the heartbeat of the people, we are supposed to be representing them when writing the budget.”
Thompson says he’s proud of the budget, and that the bipartisan support for the budget shows how good of a deal it is for Oklahomans.
Gov. Stitt says he doesn’t see it that way.
“I have shared with Oklahomans my reason for vetoing it, the Legislature disagreed with me,” Stitt said. “They’ve got to answer to Oklahomans for that.”
Stitt says he can see how his relationship with the Legislature has taken a hit but he thinks going forward both sides will be able to work together.
“I think they’re rocky with some of the leadership,” Stitt said. “But with the majority of the folks, I think it’s fine.”
Sen. Thompson agrees that they will be able to work with the governor going forward, and insists that this entire thing was strictly about the budget.
“I like Governor Stitt. I like him as a man, as a person. I disagree on the budget,” Thompson said. “This is not personal between the Legislature and the governor.”
