TULSA, Okla. (AP) — The Oklahoma Supreme Court has ruled that a proposed $25 million state bond issue for improvements at Tulsa's Zink Lake Dam is an unconstitutional gift to the City of Tulsa.
The state's high court ruled Tuesday that such a gift is specifically prohibited in the Oklahoma Constitution.
The Legislature initially approved the bonds in 2009 with the understanding that matching federal funds would be used to help build a series of low-water dams along the Arkansas River. But the federal funding never materialized and state Sen. Patrick Anderson challenged the bonds after an effort to issue them for a new purpose.
Attorneys for the state and the Tulsa River Parks Authority had argued the project serves a state public purpose and funding should be allowed to go forward.