OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) — The Oklahoma Supreme Court has set oral arguments in a state senator's constitutional challenge to $25 million in state bonds to repair a dam owned by the city of Tulsa.
Senator Patrick Anderson of Enid filed a lawsuit in August to stop issuance of the bonds. Anderson claims they are an unconstitutional gift that will create debt for the state.
The bonds were approved by the Legislature in 2009 and were to be matched with $50 million in federal dollar for a series of low-water dams along the Arkansas River. But the federal funds never materialized. In January, efforts began to issue the bonds for a new purpose, without the Legislature's approval.
Anderson says that is unconstitutional because it is not what the Legislature intended.
Oral arguments are set November
8th.