Gov. Stitt vetoed 18  of the 176 bills submitted to his office in the shortened legislative session in 2020. The latest vetoes were on House Bill 3228, Senate Bill 1046 and Senate Bill 1595.

HB 3228 would have changed parts of the state’s medical marijuana law.

Stitt said, “The language in the bill makes substantial policy changes to the medical marijuana program that were not fully scrutinized through normal legislative procedures before the bill was received by my office in the middle of the night Saturday.”

SB1046 is the SoonerCare 2.0 funding mechanism. Stitt said he vetoed the bill for his program to expand Medicaid in Oklahoma is because it won’t fully fund it.

“Due to the current COVID-19 pandemic and uncertainty within energy markets and commodity prices, unemployment rates are predicted to be as high as 14%,” Stitt said. “This will not only increase the number of individuals currently enrolled in Medicaid, but will also increase the number of potential enrollees in the expanded population.”

Stitt vetoed SB1595 because it would eliminate an ad valorem manufacturing tax exemption which was part of an incentive package to bring Tesla to Tulsa.

“According to the Oklahoma Tax Commission, the exemptions claimed are estimated to be associated with at least $13.43 billion in qualifying capital investment activities and more than 75,000 jobs in Oklahoma over the past five years,” Stitt said. “Furthermore, this exemption is offered by the majority of states, including all states surrounding Oklahoma.”