Legislature overrides five Stitt vetoes in final days of session

Correction: This story originally misidentified one of the veto override votes as successful. The story has been corrected.

The Oklahoma Legislature took up seven veto overrides in the final days of the session that ended Thursday, with five of them successful.

On Wednesday, the House and Senate reversed Stitt on Senate Bill 102, by Sen. Jessica Garvin, R-Duncan, a somewhat controversial measure that hikes benefits from the Oklahoma Police Pension and Retirement System while also raising employee and employer contributions.

The bill was sold as a "recruitment tool" for law enforcement agencies and backed by the Fraternal Order of Police, but skeptics say it mainly benefits officers nearing retirement. Stitt, in his veto message, said it will damage the fund's long-term viability.

Two overridden measures deal with health insurance.

House Bill 1712, by Rep. T.J. Marti, R-Broken Arrow, prohibits insurers from refusing to cover durable medical equipment prescribed by a medical care provider.

HB 1979, by Rep. Kyle Hilbert, R-Bristow, restricts the conditions placed on vision care providers by insurers, especially prepaid plans.

The vetoes and subsequent overrides fit into a longstanding disagreement between Gov. Kevin Stitt and the Legislature, especially the House, over preferred provider insurance models.

In both veto messages, Stitt said the measures weakened provider networks and would likely lead to higher costs. Some lawmakers think the networks wield too much leverage and squeeze providers.

Also enacted over the governor's vetoes were SB 1438, by Sen. Dave Rader, R-Tulsa, which allows a 1.25% "recovery fee" for heavy equipment, and HB 2687, by Rep. John George, R-Newalla, which adds new certified law officers hired by the Attorney General's Office or the Military Department to the state police pension fund.

The Senate voted to override SB 1210, by Sen. Brenda Stanley, R-Midwest City, which would have allowed county assessors to use photos taken from fixed wing aircraft for appraisal purposes, but the attempt came up short in the House.

Likewise, the Senate voted to override the veto of Democrat-authored legislation, SB 1751, by Sen. Jo Anna Dossett, D-Tulsa, but the motion failed to muster the required two-thirds vote in the House. SB 1751 would have required guardians of incapacitated adults to receive training specific to the condition of the person for whom they are caring.

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