Latest news with #R-Faxon
Yahoo
23-05-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
Oklahoma lawmakers pushing to restructure TSET board in act of ‘retaliation,' Dem says
Budget chairs Rep. Trey Caldwell, R-Faxon, left, and Sen. Chuck Hall, R-Perry, right, speak with Sen. Adam Pugh, R-Edmond, on the Senate floor May 22, 2025 while lawmakers debate restructuring the TSET board. (Photo by Emma Murphy/Oklahoma Voice) OKLAHOMA CITY — Republicans are moving forward with legislation to restructure a voter-approved state board that oversees a multi-billion dollar trust after it didn't immediately allocate $50 million to pay for a new University of Oklahoma hospital, Democrat lawmakers said. Democrats said efforts to strip the Tobacco Settlement Endowment Trust of its independence follow a dustup between the agency, which oversees a $2 billion public trust, and Republican legislative leaders who became frustrated after the board did not promptly hand over funding to pay for OU's new pediatric heart hospital. House Bill 2783, which heads to Gov. Kevin Stitt's desk, would allow the TSET board of directors to be removed 'at the pleasure' of their appointing authority and would limit them to no more than a seven year term. Currently the seven board members, who decide how to spend the proceeds of Oklahoma's settlement with the tobacco industry, are appointed to a blanket, staggered seven year term. While debating the bill in the House on Tuesday, Rep. Meloyde Blancett, D-Tulsa, said the legislation was filed because Republican leadership wasn't happy that TSET hadn't funded the heart hospital. 'What we are doing here is we are using legislative power to extract retaliation,' she said. Blancett said the legislation places 'undue pressure' on the board and is 'antithetical' to how the TSET board was set up when voters added it to the state constitution. The seven board members are appointed by the governor, treasurer, state superintendent, attorney general, state auditor and the leaders of the House and Senate. Appointees are required to have experience in health care or programs benefitting children or seniors. No more than four appointees may come from one political party and at least one appointee must come from each congressional district, with no more than two from the same district. The bill would not alter who has appointing authority or the other qualification requirements. Senate President Pro Tem Lonnie Paxton, R-Tuttle, who voted for the measure, said Thursday TSET is in the process of awarding $150 million in grants, and lawmakers requested a third of that be awarded to help pay for OU's hospital. He said there's been 'some frustration' with how the TSET board responded to the request. While he said he's satisfied with the current condition of TSET, Paxton said sometimes they need to listen to legislative funding needs. 'One of the things I get concerned about with some of these agencies is that when you separate them too far from the legislative branch, that sometimes they kind of become their own kingdom where they don't listen to the elected people,' he said. The Legislature is moving forward with funding $200 million without the grant. SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX TSET, established by voters in 2000, oversees the proceeds from Oklahoma's portion of a multi-state settlement with the tobacco industry. The funds are used to invest in better health outcomes for Oklahomans. Thomas Larson, a spokesperson for TSET, said legislators asked the trust to consider funding for the heart center at OU Health. 'We have a process and will be evaluating all proposals,' he said in an email. 'We've had wide interest in this grant opportunity, with nearly 300 people attending a webinar about the grant. We will be considering this with all other requests.' In a second statement, Larson said the application from OU Health for the heart hospital is still pending. He said the grant application period closes June 16 and the funding won't be awarded until November, so no proposals have been awarded or denied. Sen. Mary Boren, D-Norman, said these changes to the TSET board would prevent it from being free of 'political manipulation.' She said she's concerned that the TSET board is being rearranged because somebody in political power didn't like their denial of a grant request. Rep. Trey Caldwell, R-Faxon, the House budget chair, denied that the bill was being run in retaliation for the OU heart hospital funding and said conversations on making changes to the TSET board have been happening for a 'long time.' 'I think the main reason is we just want them to be more accountable to the electorate, the people,' he said. 'And we're trying to make sure they're held accountable to the voters and the state of Oklahoma. We're not changing the makeup of the board.' Senate Minority Leader Julia Kirt, D-Oklahoma City, said voters in 2020 made it clear they don't want lawmakers to have greater access to TSET funds when nearly 59% voted against using the trust to pay for Medicaid expansion. 'They understand that TSET is an asset they don't want us making rash decisions about,' she said. 'This bill, I don't want it to come across as a simple change, because it will drastically change the independence of this board. … You could have special projects from any of those appointing authorities come forward, and they could get strong armed into making things happen. I'm deeply concerned about what this is going to do.' But Sen. David Bullard, R-Durant, said while TSET is a great program in Oklahoma, sometimes good things need to be 'tweaked.' 'There's always a need to go in and make changes and tweaks here and there, and accountability in government is never a bad thing,' he said. The bill passed the House 60-30 and the Senate 36-8. Reporter Barbara Hoberock contributed to this report. SUPPORT: YOU MAKE OUR WORK POSSIBLE
Yahoo
01-04-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
House eyes Oklahoma mental health hospital alternative amid soaring price tag
An artist rendering of the Donahue Behavioral Health Campus. (Courtesy image) OKLAHOMA CITY — The construction of a new inpatient mental health hospital is $124 million over budget, and House budget leaders do not want taxpayers to pick up the tab. The Donahue Behavioral Health Campus, located in Oklahoma City, was budgeted for $147 million and broke ground in March 2024. It would serve adults and adolescents with 330 beds when completed, an increase in capacity by 100 beds from the Griffin Memorial Hospital, in Norman, it is intended to replace. But in its budget request to the Legislature for the 2026 fiscal year, the Oklahoma Department of Mental Health and Substance Abuse Services asked for another $124 million to cover overrun costs. The House recommended not fulfilling this request. Rep. Trey Caldwell, R-Faxon, chair of the House Appropriations and Budget Committee, said House leaders believe the Donahue project is too costly and a cheaper alternative must be found. 'The House position is we want to do something transformational when it comes to shortening that waitlist, especially when it comes to mental health issues,' he said. 'The Donahue build-out, as it stands right now, not only has come in over budget, but also had hiccups along the lines of, they forgot to put bathrooms in. … There's a facility out there that I think we can purchase for about 15% of what it would cost to build the Donahue, and we want to get that done.' He said there's no 'firm commitment' from the governor, the Senate or the Mental Health Department on this recommendation, but the House is working to see this plan come to fruition. In December, Oklahoma Watch reported the budget shortfall and that the opening of the hospital could potentially be pushed to 2028, rather than the scheduled 2026 date, due to unexpected costs, changes in the layout and number of bathrooms, and inflation. Kelsey Davis, a spokesperson for the Mental Health Department, said there are no updates from the agency on their next steps or the reason for the cost overrun. The agency is actively working through what the future of the project will look like if the Legislature opts not to provide the extra funding, she said. Lawmakers committed $87 million in pandemic relief funds to the project. Oklahoma City leaders and county commissioners also contributed funding, with additional dollars expected to come from the sale of the Griffin Memorial Hospital land. SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX SUPPORT: YOU MAKE OUR WORK POSSIBLE
