Rep. George Faught Supports Veto-Override Special Session

Rep. George Faught Supports Veto-Override Special Session 

Petition for Special Session would give chance to stop US 69 Bypass

MUSKOGEE, OK –  State Rep. George Faught (R-Muskogee) today announced his support of a legislative petition authored by State Sen. Nathan Dahm (R-Broken Arrow) that calls for a special session devoted to overriding vetoes issued by Gov. Mary Fallin.

Article V, Section 27A of the Oklahoma Constitution allows for the legislature to call themselves into special session and set the guidelines for it without the Governor’s input. Dahm’s petition would allow for the special session to take up overrides of Gov. Fallin’s vetoes from this current legislative term (2017-2018) and allow for the legislature to re-author and pass any legislation that Fallin has vetoed during her term, going back all the way to the 2011 legislative session.

“This would give us the opportunity to fix all the mistakes Mary Fallin has made and messed us up over the last eight years,” Sen. Dahm said in his announcement of the petition.

One measure important to the Muskogee area that would be eligible to be heard in a veto-override special session would be SB86, the bill that would stop the proposed U.S. 69 Bypass of Muskogee. SB86 required ODOT to perform an economic impact study before any planned bypass around a community is placed on the Transportation 8 year Plan, and required ODOT to present the study to the municipality and get them to approve it before beginning a bypass construction project. Authored by State Sen. Kim David (R-Porter) and Rep. George Faught and co-authored by other area legislators, SB86 passed the House by a vote of 62 to 27 and the Senate by a vote of 32 to 11.

“A veto override special session would give Muskogee another chance at stopping the U.S. 69 Bypass, and give input and protections to communities in the U.S. 69 corridor and across the state from future bypass projects,” said Rep. George Faught.

Another bill that could be brought up for a veto override is HB1552, an important government transparency and accountability measure authored by Rep. George Faught. HB1552 would have brought much-needed reforms to the state’s regulatory process. It would reform the administrative rules process by restoring legislative control over government regulations, thus strengthening transparency and accountability and reining in unelected bureaucrats. HB1552 passed the House by a vote of 71 to 23 and the Senate by a vote of 43 to 0.

“Gov. Fallin has failed Oklahoma citizens by vetoing legislation that is important to the Muskogee area and the state as a whole. This veto-override special session would give us a chance to correct those problems, advance Oklahoma in a positive direction, and protect citizens from government overreach,” said Rep. Faught.

Other potential measures that could be voted on would be overrides of pro-life, pro-gun, and government reform bills vetoed by Gov. Fallin.

“Citizens can go to OKLegislature.gov to find out who their legislator is and how to contact them. I urge Muskogee area residents to call their legislators and ask them to sign Sen. Dahm’s veto-override special session petition, and give us another chance at stopping the U.S. 69 bypass, as well as pass other important policy measures that would affect Oklahoma citizens and businesses,” said Rep. Faught.

Rep. George Faught (R-Muskogee) represents House District 14, which covers portions of eastern Muskogee and western Cherokee counties, including the communities of Muskogee, Fort Gibson, Braggs, and Webbers Falls. He chairs the General Government Oversight and Accountability committee.

Gov. Fallin vetoes bill that would block US 69 bypass of Muskogee

Governor Mary Fallin vetoed a measure today designed to block construction of the proposed U.S. 69 bypass of Muskogee and allow local municipalities to have input on construction of bypasses that would affect their cities. SB 86, authored by State Sen. Kim David (R-Porter) and State Rep. George Faught (R-Muskogee), and co-authored by Sen. Dewayne Pemberton (R-Muskogee), Rep. Avery Frix (R-Muskogee) and Rep. Kevin McDugle (R-Broken Arrow), was widely supported by communities up and down the U.S. 69 corridor, Muskogee and Wagoner in particular.

Fallin's veto message reads as follows:

This is to advise you that on this date, pursuant to the authority vested in me by Section 11 of Article VI of the Oklahoma Constitution to approve or object to legislation presented to me, I have VETOED Senate Bill 86.

I am vetoeing SB 86 because this bill transfers the decision making on state transportation projects from the state Department of Transportation (ODOT) to local municipalities.

Since the state began the ROADS program in 2005, it has been the practice of state leaders to allow the engineers and professionals at ODOT to make transportation project decisions based on sound data and not by political interference. The results of this practice have led to tremendous improvement in the condition of our transportation system evidenced by a reduction in structurally deficient bridges from 1,168 to 185. About 5,000 miles of pavement of the state's 13,250-mile system have been reconstructed or resurfaced. Additionally, 325 cable median barriers have been installed reducing horrific crossover accidents.

However, it is important to hear and consider the concerns expressed by the community of Muskogee, and to that end, I am asking ODOT to consider all options in improving the U.S. 69 that has raised the concern of area citizens. Considering the opposition voiced by the community, it would be prudent to provide plenty of opportunity for input and to give consideration to the effects on municipal revenue collections and the overall economic impact on the community.