After two Cabinet secretaries resign over AG opinion, Gov. Stitt files suit and Senate approves exemption bill

The Oklahoma Senate, reacting to a recent opinion by Attorney General Gentner Drummond, passed legislation Thursday that would keep two of Gov. Kevin Stitt's Cabinet secretaries from losing their jobs.

Senate Bill 1196 would exempt Secretary of Agriculture Blayne Arthur from the dual role prohibition of the Oklahoma Constitution. Arthur serves as the governor's Cabinet secretary for agriculture and at the same time is the CEO of the state Department of Agriculture, Food and Forestry. The bill also applies to Susan Winchester, Stitt's Cabinet secretary for licensing and regulation. Winchester is president of the Regents of the Regional Universities System of Oklahoma.

The bill, written by House Majority Leader Jon Echols, R-Oklahoma City, and Sen. Brent Howard, R-Altus, was carried over from the 2023 session. It was amended in the House of Representatives and passed on a 94-1 vote. The bill cleared the Senate on Thursday 41-0 and moves to the governor's desk for signature.

Gov. Kevin Stitt files lawsuit over attorney general opinion impacting cabinet members

On the same day the bill passed, Stitt's office announced it had filed a lawsuit seeking clarification about the attorney general's ruling.

“Since I took office, I’ve worked to find ways to run government efficiently and save the taxpayers money. I have the best people in Oklahoma running my state agencies, and it only makes sense to have them be my advisers,” Stitt said in a media statement announcing the lawsuit. “The most recent AG Opinion concerning Tim Gatz is flat wrong, and in order to continue working to make Oklahoma a top 10 state, a court will need to fix the mess the opinion created.”

More: Lt. Gov second to resign from cabinet over AG opinion; Stitt warns of shockwaves through government

The lawsuit filed by the governor and the named Cabinet secretaries and agency heads, "highlights that the Attorney General badly misapplied Oklahoma’s dual office holding laws," the governor's statement said. The lawsuit was filed in the District Court of Oklahoma County.

Late Thursday afternoon Drummond's spokesman, Phil Bacharach, issued a short media statement responding to the governor: “The Attorney General stands behind his legally binding opinion and welcomes the opportunity to respond to the lawsuit in a future filing,” the statement said.

Still, lawmakers said the bill allows the commissioner of agriculture "as well as any person who is a member of a governing board or body of an institution of higher education" to be appointed as a secretary in the Cabinet of the governor.

House staff: 'Bill is an attempt to reach a policy objective ... to ensure an incredible public servant does not lose her position.'

The measure and the governor's lawsuit follows a controversial opinion issued last week by Drummond. That opinion said Gatz, Stitt's transportation secretary, director of the Oklahoma Turnpike Authority and the head of the Oklahoma Department of Transportation, could not serve in all three roles. Gatz promptly resigned. The ruling also forced Lt. Gov. Matt Pinnell to resign as the governor's Cabinet secretary for Workforce Development.

Stitt pushed back on Drummond's ruling, calling it politically motivated.

"Unfortunately they (Gatz and Pinnell) have been caught up in some political games up to this point," the governor said last Friday. "It's just super disappointing. I know it's disappointing for Oklahomans that we have these type of political games happening instead of doing the business of making Oklahoma a top 10 in everything we do."

Stitt said precedent was on his side.

"That's why this is such a head scratcher," the governor said. "Why are you (Drummond) weaponizing your office and coming after a great public servant like Tim Gatz?"

An analysis of the bill indicated it was written to protect Arthur.

"The current Secretary of Agriculture is a well-respected and talented public servant who is almost universally respected both in the Agriculture community and in the political world," the bill's author, Jon Echols, wrote. "The intent is not to take a position as to Attorney General Opinion 2024-5. It is not an expression one way or another as to its applicability to other cabinet secretaries or as to its analysis."

Instead, Echols wrote, the bill "is not an attempt by the legislature to wade into areas it should not. It is not an attempt to legislatively affirm or overrule any decision by the honorable attorney general or of the honorable executive. It is an attempt to reach a policy objective. And that objective is to ensure an incredible public servant does not lose her position."

Thursday, during debate on the measure, Howard, the bill's author, told Sen. Carri Hicks, an Oklahoma City Democrat, that he didn’t think many of the dual positions drew two salaries. He said as he understood it, members of the Board of Regents are not paid and Cabinet secretary positions are not paid or the people who’ve held those positions in the past do not get paid.

Hicks countered that it was important for lawmakers "to be mindful of changing state law, knowing that the governor will change at some point, knowing that these individuals who serve in these current roles will change at some point."

“I have admiration and deep respect for the individuals that understand are being addressed in this particular bill, but I want us to to think bigger and beyond just the current time," Hicks said.

Howard said he wanted the highest executive offices to be held by people who are the most knowledgeable and the most willing to help all constituents across the state. He said the exemption would help that effort.

“… Right now we're in the situation we're in where we're going to lose one of those great advisers if we don't take some action,” he said, “and so I do encourage a yes vote on this, just so we have those people in those high positions whispering in the ear of all executives as to what is needed at the level of our constituency.”

Speaking to reporters Thursday, Senate Pro Tempore Greg Treat, R-Oklahoma City, said the state already had several exemptions that allowed dual office holding. Treat said Howard's bill was the only exemption measure the Senate was considering at present.

"I've not been privy to any discussions on my side or in negotiations with the House that we're looking at further modifications," he said. "I'm not saying we won't, but right now this is the only one we're considering."

This article originally appeared on Oklahoman: Gov. Kevin Stitt files suit on AG opinion on Cabinet secretaries