Senate Appropriations Chair Roger Thompson issues statement following veto override of Senate Bill 1130

OKLAHOMA CITY – Sen. Roger Thompson, chair of the Senate Appropriations Committee, issued the following statement Wednesday after the Senate’s 45-2 vote overriding Senate Bill 1130. The bill would prevent the Oklahoma Health Care Authority (OHCA) from spending $600 million of Federal Medical Assistance Percentage (FMAP) money, instead placing those funds back into the appropriations process for the Legislature to determine how the monies would best be utilized.

“The governor is wrong. As I outlined on the Senate floor today when we had to override another one of the governor’s vetoes, there are basic factual errors in his message where he is being misleading. We are not sweeping the funds, as he claimed, nor are we being imprudent. Furthermore, as mandated by the Oklahoma Constitution, it is the job of the Legislature to appropriate.

“It is because of the fiscally responsible work of this chamber that the state is in the position we are in financially that the governor likes to brag about so much. We are looking out for the care and well-being of Oklahomans.”

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For more information, contact: Sen. Roger Thompson at 405-521-5588 or email Roger.Thompson@oksenate.gov.