(The Center Square) - Oklahoma Gov. Kevin Stitt filed a lawsuit in the Oklahoma Supreme Court on Monday against House Speaker Charles McCall and Senate Pro Tem Greg Treat over tribal compacts.

The House of Representatives vetoed 72-16 to override the governor's veto of a tribal compact that outlines the split of tobacco revenues between the state and the tribes. The Senate overrode the veto last week by a vote of 34-7.

Both houses also agreed to override a tribal compact over motor vehicle registration and licensing.

Stitt said the compacts were the same as the ones he offered the tribes, but the Legislature's contained wording he said would "turn Eastern Oklahoma into a reservation."

In his lawsuit, Stitt said the legislative decisions "fly in the fact of the core notions of our constructional structure." He is asking the court to void the vetoes.

"This unprecedented action is about raw legislative power, which must be checked for our state's governmental framework to continue as designed," Stitt said in the lawsuit. "Whatever the Legislature's powers are in the contexts at issue, they assuredly do not include any authority to negotiate, amend and extend compacts rightly entered by prior governors."

Treat said Stitt's actions "have led to chaos and confusion, bringing us further from any kind of meaningful resolution."

"He has never accepted or appreciated our efforts and has turned his back on all four million Oklahomans, the legislative process and Oklahoma's tribal partners, costing the state millions in legal fees," Treat said in a statement. "This zero-sum game he is playing is a losing strategy and I hope Oklahomans and my fellow lawmakers are paying careful attention."

The lawsuit lists Trevor S. Pemberton, the governor's general counsel, and Grayson P. Walker, deputy general counsel, as the attorneys.

(The Center Square) – Business activity was steady in July in Midwest and Mountain states and expectations rose for increased economic activity, according to a report from the Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City.

“Firms expect revenues to grow and employment activity to moderate in the future,” Chad Wilkerson, senior vice president at the bank, said in a statement announcing the release of the July services report.

The report was published two days after the Federal Reserve increased its federal funds rate to 5.25% to 5.5%, the highest in 22 years. The Fed didn’t raise its rates in June, ending a period of 10 monthly rate increases, to return the nation's inflation rate to its target of approximately 2%. Inflation increased 3% for the 12 months ending in June, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. It was the smallest 12-month increase since the period beginning March 2021.

The Kansas City Fed’s monthly survey provides several indicators of business activity, including sales, revenue, employment, capital spending and changes in prices of selling prices and input materials. A wide variety of industries are represented in the survey, including retail and wholesale trade, automobile dealers, transportation, information, tech and professional services, real estate, education, restaurants, health services and tourism.

“The year-over-year composite index was unchanged at -11, as revenues, employment and inventories continued to decrease,” the report stated.

However, the July composite index dropped 13 points from June, but only four points compared to May. The index is a weighted average of revenue, sales, employment and inventory indexes.

“Tourism revenues increased substantially, while wholesale and real estate activity declined significantly,” the report stated. “Growth in restaurants and retail cooled in July. All month-over-month indexes increased from previous readings, except for part-time/temporary employment and input prices.”

Economists asked businesses to predict if they would see an increase, decrease or no change in general revenue/sales. This month’s report showed 31% expected increases in general revenue/sales compared to 29% in June; 31% expect a decrease in the July report compared to 37% in June.

Economists asked businesses special questions about profit margins. Since the beginning of the year, 62% of firms reported profit margins decreased either significantly or slightly; 20% reported no change and 18% reported a slight or significant profit increase.

Businesses also were asked about supply chains. When looking back at the last 12 months, 64% of businesses said supply chains were much better or slightly better; 22% reported no change, 8% stated they were slightly worse, none reported they were much worse and 6% reported no supply chain issues during the last year.

The Kansas City Fed serves the 10th Federal Reserve District, which covers the western third of Missouri, all of Kansas, Colorado, Nebraska, Oklahoma, Wyoming and the northern part of New Mexico.

(The Center Square) - Twenty-seven attorneys general filed a brief supporting a New Jersey company over who has the authority to interpret federal statutes when there is a question.

The 1984 Chevron U.S.A., Inc. v. Natural Resources Defense Council, Inc. gives that power to federal agencies. The attorneys general said in their brief that authority has been "abused and manipulated."

“Rogue government agencies abuse their power on a regular basis to burden businesses with unreasonable, often-outrageous demands,” said Oklahoma Attorney General Gentner Drummond in a news release. “The Biden Administration seems to have no limit on the amount of costly regulation it is willing to wield against American job creators."

Loper Bright Enterprises sued the Department of Commerce in 2020 over a regulation that required fisheries to have a monitor on herring fishing boats that reports on compliance with federal regulations. The fisheries would pay $700 a day for this monitor.

A lower court deferred to the federal agency. The fisheries took their case to the U.S. Supreme Court.

West Virginia Attorney General Patrick Morrisey, the lead author on the brief, called the Chevron deference a "misguided doctrine."

"Congress’s words matter, not agencies’ policy preferences," Morrisey said. "And agencies shouldn’t be permitted to take advantage of statutory silence or ambiguity to extend their powers beyond what Congress intended For too long, though, the Chevron doctrine has empowered agencies to do just that. This needs to stop."

Attorneys general from Alabama, Alaska, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Idaho, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, New Hampshire, North Dakota, Ohio, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Virginia and Wyoming joined with Drummond and Morrisey in the brief.

Others, including Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp, also filed briefs supporting the fisheries.

“Chevron has fundamentally altered Americans’ relationship with the federal government and has enabled agencies to regulate every facet of daily life,” Kemp said.

After narrowly passing through a Democratically controlled Congress along party lines, President Joe Biden signed the Inflation Reduction Act into law on Aug. 16, 2022. The law allocates $500 billion in new spending. While it may marginally reduce inflation over the long term, its largest impact will likely be on the U.S. energy grid, as most of the money in it is slated for clean energy initiatives.

Through a range of federal subsidies, including rebates, loans, and tax credits, the IRA provides incentives to households, businesses, and state and local governments to invest in clean energy while moving away from fossil fuels. With nearly $370 billion in clean energy funding, the act marks the most significant action the U.S. has ever taken toward addressing climate change.

Not only could the IRA result in a 40% to 50% reduction in America's greenhouse gas emissions, as Democrats in Washington have argued, but it could also be a boon for the job market -- particularly in hard-hit sectors, like manufacturing. According to the independent, nonprofit clean energy advocacy group, Rocky Mountain Institute, the IRA could create over 1.3 million new jobs in 2030 alone.

Based on data from the Rocky Mountain Institute, Biden's Inflation Reduction Act could create as many as 13,914 jobs in Oklahoma in 2030 -- or one job for every 288 people, the 25th most among the 48 contiguous states.

As of 2022, 56,979 Oklahoma residents were unemployed, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Based on these most recent annual unemployment figures, the number of potential new jobs the IRA could bring in 2030 would reduce joblessness by 24.4% in the state.

All data on the number of potential new jobs created by the IRA in 2030 is from the Rocky Mountain Institute's report, The Economic Tides Just Turned for States. Alaska and Hawaii were not included in this analysis.

RankStateNum. of state residents per job created by the IRA in 2030Potential new jobs created by the IRA in 2030New jobs in 2030 as pct. of 2022 unemployed pop. (%)1Utah251.313,42333.22Idaho253.97,45729.53Texas257.5116,28020.44North Dakota257.73,10635.65Nevada260.012,25114.66Colorado260.422,74223.47Washington261.030,27318.08Florida261.184,59227.09Arizona268.427,20919.710South Carolina271.919,18724.911Oregon272.115,87317.512Georgia272.240,11225.213Delaware273.13,69216.514Montana275.14,01126.815North Carolina275.438,56820.516South Dakota277.13,25233.117Tennessee277.125,34822.318Virginia280.231,25524.619Minnesota281.120,58824.920Nebraska281.77,06028.421Massachusetts281.825,29018.022Maryland282.922,11721.523California285.7140,00517.324New Jersey287.232,68918.625Oklahoma287.613,91424.426Alabama288.917,55729.627Iowa290.211,09223.628Indiana290.523,56823.129New Hampshire290.54,78424.730Rhode Island291.83,79220.831New York291.869,79017.032Kentucky293.215,48219.433Wisconsin293.920,19622.434Arkansas295.110,27122.635Kansas296.19,97824.936New Mexico296.67,17918.837Missouri296.820,84827.138Vermont296.82,17824.139Louisiana296.915,77120.740Maine297.64,60123.141Pennsylvania298.243,80115.542Wyoming298.31,94318.743Ohio298.539,70217.244Michigan299.633,76116.645Connecticut303.411,90414.846Illinois307.241,69414.147Mississippi307.49,62819.648West Virginia318.95,58718.2

With each passing year, the effects of climate change become seemingly more obvious. According to NASA, June 2023 was the hottest June on record for the planet. In the United States, this summer has been marred by severe flooding in Vermont, record breaking heat waves in Arizona and Florida, and intermittent air quality alerts across much of the country resulting from thousands of wildfires in Canada. Experts have linked each of these events to man-made climate change.

Despite the increasingly destructive effects of climate change, the United States continues to pump billions of metric tons of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere every year. From 2020 to 2021, America's energy-related carbon emissions jumped by 6.9%, or nearly 317 million metric tons.

Encouragingly, this most recent increase in carbon emissions may have been an anomaly. In 2020, America's carbon footprint was reduced by the COVD-19 pandemic, as shelter-in-place policies reduced demand for energy and the burning of fossil fuels. By 2021, however, rising demand for consumer goods, increased use of coal in the face of rising natural gas prices, and vaccinations that allowed many to return to a more normal way of life resulted in a spike in carbon emissions.

Between 2020 and 2021, the most recent years of available data, carbon emissions in Oklahoma increased by 4.1%. Over that period, energy related carbon dioxide pollution went from 84.4 million metric tons to 87.8 million metric tons.

Adjusting for population, carbon emissions in Oklahoma totaled about 22.0 metric tons per person in 2021, the 12th highest per capita output among states.

All data on state-level energy-related carbon dioxide emissions in 2020 and 2021 is from the U.S. Energy Information Administration, a division of the Department of Energy.

RankState1-yr change in energy related carbon emissions (%)Energy related carbon emissions in 2020 (million metric tons)Energy related carbon emissions in 2021 (million metric tons)Enery related carbon emissions per capita in 2021 (metric tons)1Hawaii16.214.917.312.02West Virginia14.976.988.449.53Arkansas13.354.762.020.54Iowa11.465.773.122.95Tennessee11.283.392.713.36Pennsylvania10.5193.3213.516.47Alabama10.198.4108.421.58Kentucky10.0101.2111.324.79Maryland9.348.152.68.510South Carolina9.163.669.313.411Florida9.0207.7226.310.412Nevada8.936.239.412.513New York8.8143.4156.07.914Montana8.526.328.525.815North Carolina8.4106.6115.610.916Connecticut8.333.836.610.117Rhode Island8.39.810.69.718Illinois8.3170.2184.214.519Utah8.157.462.118.620Alaska8.036.038.953.021Michigan8.0136.9147.814.722Washington7.968.473.89.523Indiana7.7154.4166.424.424Missouri7.6108.7117.019.025Massachusetts7.352.356.18.026Colorado6.879.985.414.727Maine6.713.514.410.528New Hampshire6.712.513.39.629California6.7303.8324.08.330Georgia6.5116.6124.111.531New Jersey6.383.889.19.632Wisconsin6.287.092.515.733Texas6.2624.7663.522.434Minnesota6.178.483.214.635Idaho6.019.420.510.836Ohio4.5185.7194.016.537North Dakota4.254.356.572.738Oklahoma4.184.487.822.039Delaware3.912.513.012.940Arizona3.680.283.011.441Kansas3.457.859.820.342Louisiana2.9183.3188.640.843Vermont2.85.45.68.644Oregon2.737.538.59.145Nebraska1.546.547.224.046New Mexico1.545.245.921.747South Dakota1.415.015.216.948Mississippi-0.263.263.121.449Virginia-0.298.298.011.350Wyoming-1.955.654.694.3

(The Center Square) – U.S. Senators Ben Ray Luján, D-N.M., and Markwayne Mullin, R-Okla., teamed up to reintroduce the bipartisan Indian Programs Advance Appropriations Act (IPAAA) this week.

The bill will "provide advance appropriations and avoid lapses in funding for the Indian Health Service (IHS), Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA), and the Bureau of Indian Education (BIE), which fund critical public services for Tribal Nations, including hospitals, schools, law enforcement, child welfare programs, among other services," according to a news release from Luján's office.

Advance appropriations funds programs for the current fiscal year, plus one year in advance. Moving Tribal program funding to this status will help alleviate their cash flow issues caused by delayed payments, according to the release.

Other federal programs, like Veterans Affairs, receive advance appropriations.

IHS received advance appropriations for the first time ever last year. However, the law does not require it to continue receiving such appropriations, nor does it for the other aforementioned services for American Indian tribes.

"As a member of the Senate Committees on the Budget and Indian Affairs, I'm committed to ensuring our country's funding reflects our trust responsibility to Tribal Nations and New Mexico values. That means common-sense reform that provides Tribal Nations with timely, sufficient, sustainable, and predictable funding," Luján said in the release. "This bipartisan legislation responsibly funds critical programs that protect the health, safety, and education of Tribal communities served by these agencies. I'm proud to lead the reintroduction of this legislation, and I look forward to building support for this much-needed bill."

Mullin said the bill would help the United States uphold its treaties with tribes.

"If the federal government lapses in annual appropriation funding, Indian Country should not have to suffer the consequences," Mullin said in the release. "In order to uphold our trust and treaty responsibilities to Tribal Nations, it is vital the federal government moves these programs to the advance appropriations process to ensure economic security for Tribal communities. I'm proud to join my colleagues on this important legislation to protect Indian Country from future shutdowns."

U.S. Representatives Betty McCollum, D-Minn., and Tom Cole, R-Okla., introduced a companion bill in the U.S. House.

(The Center Square) - Oklahoma’s credit rating has improved amid economic growth, and there’s a chance its rating could go up again, according to a credit rating agency.

S&P Global Ratings, which uses independent analyses to determine creditworthiness, upgraded its outlook for Oklahoma from stable to positive, giving the state an “AA” long-term issuer credit rating. There are just two other ratings higher than AA.

The rating refers to the general obligation of debt a state has or the issuer credit rating if the state has no outstanding general obligation debt, according to S&P. The credit rating agency looks at government framework, financial management, economy, budgetary performance, and the state’s debt and liability profile to determine the rating.

"The outlook revision reflects our view that there is a one-in-three chance we could raise our rating on Oklahoma over the outlook horizon should the state continue to attract development that grows its economy, while also demonstrating a firm commitment to structurally balanced financial performance and sustaining reserves and liquidity at levels that we believe position the state to more readily respond to volatile swings within future budgets, particularly given that a higher proportion of the state's economy and revenue base are tied to cyclical global energy markets compared to the national average," said Thomas Zemetis, a credit analyst for S&P Global Ratings.

Not only did the state’s outlook improve, but S&P also revised its outlook from stable to positive for the Oklahoma Development Finance Authority’s and the Oklahoma Capitol Improvement Authority’s appropriation-backed debt outstanding.

The ODFA’s nearly $3.9 million master real property lease revenue bonds, series 2023A, issued for the Oklahoma State System of Higher Education, also received an AA long-term rating.

Sale proceeds from the bonds, which are issued by the legislature, are currently being used to finance capital enhanced and construction at state colleges and universities, according to State Treasurer Todd Russ.

He acknowledged the improved rating Tuesday, calling it a positive recognition of Oklahoma’s fiscally conservative practices.

“The recognition of Oklahoma’s improved financial condition is well-earned and can be attributed to state leaders’ commitment to keeping debt levels low, decreasing pension system liabilities and providing reserves for the Rainy Day Fund,” Russ said. “A better credit status should translate into reduced costs for public infrastructure projects.”

Russ invited the credit rating agency to visit Oklahoma earlier this year. S&P said Oklahoma’s efforts to diversify its economy contributed to its improved outlook.

(The Center Square) - Oklahoma Attorney General Gentner Drummond said Tuesday he is taking over the defense over tribal gaming compacts after Gov. Kevin Stitt racked up $600,000 in legal fees with outside counsel.

The lawsuit stems from four tribal compacts signed by the governor in 2020. Oklahoma law states those compacts should have legislative authority, according to Drummond.

The Legislature sued the governor twice and the Oklahoma Supreme Court sided with lawmakers each time. Stitt then sought approval from the Department of Interior. The Cherokee, Chickasaw, Citizen Potawatomi and Choctaw tribes sued.

Three law firms represented the state before the U.S. District Court of the District of Columbia, charging a combined $600,000 in fees, according to Drummond.

Stitt's actions have damaged the state's relationship with tribes, Drummond said in a letter to the governor.

"Instead of working in partnership with tribal leaders to enact compacts that benefit all four million Oklahomans, you insist on costly legal battles that only benefit the elite law firms you hire," Drummond said. "Millions of dollars of state resources have been squandered on these futile efforts.”

Drummond said he did not take this action lightly.

"However, I see no other option because the Governor has inexplicably abrogated his constitutional duties in this case," Drummond said in the motion.

Senate Pro Tem Greg Treat requested Drummond to intervene, saying Stitt's argument that federal law gives him the authority to enter into the "illegal compacts" is at odds with the notion of federalism.

"As a proud supporter and advocate of federalism, I can no longer stand by and watch Oklahoma taxpayer dollars be spent on high-dollar east coast law firms in pursuit of Governor Stitt's personal agenda at the expense of the state's interests," Treat said in a letter to Drummond. "I have taken an oath of office to defend the Constitution of the State of Oklahoma, and that includes making sure that Oklahoma's elected officials do the same."

House Speaker Charles McCall backed Drummond's decision in a letter and urged him to act in the best interest of Oklahomans.

Stitt has not commented on the action.

(The Center Square) - Attorneys general from nine states said they oppose the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation's proposed special assessments on 113 banks to cover two bank failures.

The FDIC announced earlier this year $15.8 billion split between the banks would cover 95% of the costs of uninsured deposits from Silicon Valley Bank and Signature Bank. The financial agency took over the two banks in March after they failed.

The plan would require the 113 banks, all of which have deposits of more than $50 million, to begin paying the special assessment in quarterly payments starting in January. The FDIC said these are "the types of banking organizations that benefited most from the protection of uninsured depositors."

The attorneys general, led by Oklahoma Attorney General Gentner Drummond, said the plan would burden the banking industry and taxpayers.

"No matter how well intentioned the Federal Government's actions may be, it cannot guarantee that 'no losses will be borne by the taxpayer,'" the attorneys general said in their letter. "The special assessment may not be directly levied against them, but those costs will ultimately be passed on to taxpayers."

The FDIC does not cover deposits over $250,000, which means the bailout will benefit wealthy investors, the attorneys general said.

"Americans living in rural Oklahoma, Idaho, Louisiana, Mississippi, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, and Utah should not be forced to pay the bill for wealthy national and foreign elites and tech investors, who are savvy enough to assume their own risks," the letter said. "Just as Main Street should not bail out Wall Street, Red River Valley should not bail out Silicon Valley."

Drummond said the FDIC's lack of oversight is partly to blame for the bank failures. In a letter sent to the FDIC shortly after the bank failures, Drummond said, "...your focus on 'climate risk' incentivizes risk managers and bank examiners to focus on items other than those that truly present existential risk to institutions and systemic risk." The letter also cited the agency's recent emphasis on diversity, equality and inclusion principles.

"The FDIC's misguided decision to prioritize left-wing political goals distracted it from its statutory mandate and core mission: providing regulatory oversight and protecting both insured deposits and the DIF (Deposit Insurance Fund)."

The comment period for the proposed rule ended Friday. The FDIC will issue a final rule before January, according to the agency.

(The Center Square) - Oklahoma lawmaker overrode Gov. Kevin Stitt’s vetoes on bills extending compact agreements with tribes on tobacco taxes and motor vehicle registration and licensing.

Both bills received 34 votes to override the governor during a special session Monday. Seven legislators voted against it in both cases.

It means the state’s agreement date with tribes for tobacco sales tax compacts will extend until the end of 2024, as will existing agreements with tribes over motor vehicle licensing and registration.

Sen. Nathan Dahm, R-Broken Arrow, said the bill ignores existing statutes that give the governor the authority to negotiate the compacts.

“I’m not here to talk about the merits of the compact, if it should be a one-year, two-year, or five-year extension, or if there should be different terms included in the compact," Dahm said. 'I’m rising in opposition because of the process whereby the legislature is trying to extend the compacts, a process that I believe is illegal, not just statutorily but also constitutionally. We cannot simply ignore statute."

Pro Tem Greg Treat, R-Oklahoma City, disagreed with Dahm, saying it was a "cut and dry issue."

“Those who would purport that we are removing the governor’s authority to negotiate have a misunderstanding of what this actually does," Treat said. "This extends his ability to negotiate by one year to the end of December. The power vested in the governor to negotiate those compacts is statutory. And if this body finds the governor is not negotiating in good faith, I reserve the right as the leader of this body, and you all shall reserve the right to change that law if we so desire and have the support to do so next year.”

Treat said about $57 million in revenue was at stake from the tobacco tax compacts.

Sen. Shane Jett, R-Shawnee, said he was concerned voting to override Stitt in favor of extending the agreements would set a bad precedent.

“It is not going to end well for us because it creates a perverse incentive," Jett said. "If we set the precedent today that instead of negotiating with the chief executive of the state of Oklahoma elected by the people, that they can do an in-run, or anybody can do an in-run around policy, come to us and begin cutting deals – I’m not saying this is happening, but the perverse incentive is there, that we need to avoid the slippery slope of doing shake downs or fundraising based on legislation that we’re passing when it’s not in the interest of the people of Oklahoma.”

Stitt said Monday the Senate used an "illegitimate process."

"Despite real concerns for the future of our state, the Senate has chosen to disregard the Governor's compact in favor of compact language the tribes wanted," Stitt said. "I am trying to protect eastern Oklahoma from turning into a reservation, and I've been working to ensure these compacts are the best deal for all four million Oklahomans."

Previously, Stitt said in one of his veto letters that one of his reasons for vetoing was due to a “clear violation of Oklahoma’s fundamental and statutory law” by circumventing the governor’s authority to negotiate compacts.