OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) — A Republican senator from Oklahoma City has submitted legislation that would cover the remaining costs of building a Native American museum, seven years after construction got underway.
The measure, due for a hearing later Wednesday before the Senate Appropriations Committee, would authorize officials to use $40 million from the state's Unclaimed Property Fund.
The bill sponsored by Sen. Kyle Loveless would complete the American Indian Cultural Center and Museum along the banks of the Oklahoma River.
The sprawling $170 million museum is located at the crossroads of Interstates 35 and 40. A total of $40 million in private donations has been raised to complete the project, but the state Legislature has balked at passing a bill to provide $40 million in matching funds.
Oklahoma's Unclaimed Property Fund currently has about $90 million.