Lawmakers Question Long-Term State Contracts

A pair of state lawmakers have asked the Office of the Attorney General to issue an opinion on the constitutionality of certain provisions of the Oklahoma Quality Jobs Act.

State Senator Randy Brogdon (R-Owasso) and State Rep. Mike Reynolds (R-Oklahoma City) have asked if the Department of Commerce can constitutionally “bind the state of Oklahoma to payments beyond one fiscal year” under the Quality Jobs Act without violating the balanced budget requirement of the state Constitution.

The Quality Jobs Act provides tax incentives to certain businesses for multiple years based on the alleged creation of new employment in Oklahoma.

The Oklahoma Supreme Court has previously ruled the state is not legally required to repay bond debt under the provisions of the Oklahoma Constitution and that those bills are merely moral obligations.

The two lawmakers have also asked if businesses “have an enforceable right to continued payment of the Quality Jobs Program incentive” even if the statutes creating that incentive are later repealed.

If the businesses do have an enforceable right, Brogdon and Reynolds asked how those companies would be able to enforce a civil judgment on the State of Oklahoma.