In the latest update on the case of Oklahoma Gov. Kevin Stitt and the current lawsuits against him over Tribal gaming compacts, it was revealed that the Office of Management and Enterprise Services (OMES) paid over $3.3m in legal fees, according to a report from the Legislative Office of Fiscal Transparency (LOFT).
The legal case began in 2020 when Stitt signed several Tribal gaming compacts which included provisos that the state deemed illegal. Legislative leaders filed a suit against the governor for exceeding authority, with the Oklahoma Supreme Court even being involved and confirming that the compacts were invalid.
Tribal groups such as the Joint Committee on State Tribal Relations have rejected Stitt’s compacts, as have state lawmakers. One notable example was Attorney General Gentner Drummond, who said, “The terms of these proposed compacts depart substantially from the codified Model Tribal Gaming Compact and, further, purport to make other significant departures from existing law.”
Despite this, Stitt has remained steadfast in the belief that his actions were conductedwithin legal parameters, having brought on various legal councils to argue his case and overturn the Supreme Court ruling.
It was reported in June that the Governor’s office had gone to three private law firms for legal assistance in the case for an estimated $600,000. Moreover, from the beginning of the case to June 2023, estimates suggested legal fees had risen above $1.9m.
Now, LOFT has confirmed the amount spent to be $3.3m. LOFT also noted that in 2021 the Legislature appropriated $10m to the State Tribal Litigation Fund, a new fund created for the purpose of defending the state during the legal case.
On the LOFT report, the Director of Communications for Governor Abegail Cave said, “I’d have to look more closely but we’re not sure where the $3.3m number came from.”
