Latest news with #TSET
Yahoo
7 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
TSET board plans to sue to stop a new Oklahoma law restructuring its membership
Members of the Oklahoma Legislature listen as Gov. Kevin Stitt gives his State of the State Address in the House chamber of the state Capitol on Feb. 3, 2025. (Photo by Kyle Phillips/For Oklahoma Voice) OKLAHOMA CITY – A constitutionally created board charged with overseeing billions of taxpayer dollars plans to sue to block a new law that allows state leaders to alter its makeup at any time. The Tobacco Settlement Endowment Trust voted 5-0 Thursday to file a lawsuit challenging House Bill 2783. The measure, which became law Thursday without Gov. Kevin Stitt's signature, requires the board appointees to serve at the will of the appointing entity and limits that service to seven years. The board members currently serve seven-year staggered terms. The seven members are appointed by the governor, treasurer, state superintendent, attorney general, state auditor and the leaders of the House and Senate and must have experience in health care or programs benefitting children or seniors. Some Democrats believe the measure is legislative retaliation and an attempt to strip the board of its independence after TSET declined to immediately provide $50 million for a University of Oklahoma children's pediatric heart hospital in Oklahoma City. 'What we are doing here is we are using legislative power to extract retaliation,' said Rep. Meloyde Blancett, D-Tulsa, debating against the measure earlier this month. Lawmakers put $200 million toward the project. 'These changes in statute appear to conflict with the Oklahoma Constitution, and the board needs clarity on this issue in order to protect the integrity of the TSET trust and ensure that any changes are consistent with the will of the voters who created TSET,' said Thomas Larson, the agency's spokesperson. Oklahoma voters created TSET, an endowment trust, in 2000 after 46 states sued tobacco companies. The tobacco companies paid states damages for illnesses caused by smoking. TSET's Board of Investors invests the funds. The earnings, which have grown to about $2 billion, are used to support efforts to improve health. SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX SUPPORT: YOU MAKE OUR WORK POSSIBLE
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
21-02-2025
- General
- Yahoo
Duncan's Quality of Life forums spark grant submissions
Through the 'Destination Duncan: A Quality-of-Life Plan' and community forums, several grant applications continue to be processed to provide for the needs of Duncan residents. During a routine Duncan City Council meeting Feb. 11, Community Development Director Nate Schacht said he's been working on several community grants. He then presented updates to the council about them. In early January, Schacht said he applied for a small grant with Keep Oklahoma Beautiful. He said the grant would be for resources for the upcoming volunteer day to clean up community parks. Schacht said the annual park cleanup day is scheduled for Saturday, April 19. For a second grant, Schacht said he submitted one through TSET for a planning grant. He said he asked for about $25,000 and they would use the money to offset the costs for a master plan for Abe Raizen Park. Schacht said there have been improvements made at the park. He said the land acquired in 2022, for 45 additional acres, will be good for additional ball fields, pickle ball courts and other park amenities or to hire an outside consultant for guidance. For a third grant, Schacht said said he anticipates submitting to AARP for a community challenge grant. He said this would be geared toward residents 50 and older. If they receive the grant, Schacht said they would like to purchase a number of personal portable generators. He said they would work with DRH Health to identify residents who rely on electricity for oxygen machines, refrigerator for medicines, insulin and more. Schacht said they would also like to help produce about 50 backpacks for seniors which contain emergency supplies, like solar phone chargers, a multitool, a first aid kit and other necessities. To make this work, Schacht said they would host several public meetings throughout the community to help educate on awareness of the natural occurrences in the region. He said seniors would be able to sign up to receive one of the backpacks. In a final update, Schacht said if there's enough time they would look to submit a Southwest Oklahoma Regional Transportation Planning Organization (SORTPO) planning grant. He said the grant is up to $25,000.
