OKLAHOMA CITY — Oklahoma House lawmakers passed a bill that critics say is a first step in the legislature using TSET money at their discretion, and against the way voters intended.
TSET, or Tobacco Settlement Endowment Trust, has one of the biggest bank accounts in the state, valued at roughly $1 billion. It’s the trust behind all of those anti-smoking commercials.
For two decades, Oklahoma has been one of the majority of states getting annual money from the historic tobacco settlement.
WATCH: House passes last-minute bill in power-grabbing effort over TSET money
Through a state question, voters set up TSET to be used for anti-tobacco programs. It was also designed so that the legislature did not have access to the majority of the money.
However, House Bill 2783 would amend the Oklahoma Constitution from TSET board members serving a seven-year term to “serve at the pleasure of their appointing authorities,” meaning they could be stripped of the title at any time.
Representative Meloyde Blancett, who voted against the bill, calls it a retaliatory move because the TSET board did not sign off on funding a new pediatric heart hospital that lawmakers wanted.
“Shenanigans,” Rep. Blancett called it during the hearing on May 20. “I will say, to put undue pressure on the board just because they didn’t do what we wanted.”
Representative Erick Harris, who presented the bill, called the potential changes good policy.
“They have a large amount of money they have in their possession and they are not going before the voters,” he explained. “The ones appointing them are the ones that go before voters.”
Other lawmakers questioned whether the bill would be legal.
“I am concerned about this becoming a lawsuit immediately upon becoming law,” said Representative Melissa Provenzano.
“I would not be running a bill that I thought, in any way, would be running afoul of the Constitution whatsoever,” said Harris, who reminded lawmakers that he is an attorney.
Blancett says most states have already diverted their tobacco settlement money because voters didn’t put it in a protected trust, like Oklahoma did.
“We still have ours because we were so fiscally prudent to how those monies were used,” she said.
2 News talked with Blancett after the vote, who said it is not whether the TSET board wants to fund the hospital, it is whether they have the ability. She said they were not given time to find out before the bill was introduced.
“It is unclear whether the Board of Directors can actually make a decision to spend TSET proceeds on a capital expenditure like that,” she said.
The bill passed 60 to 30 and now heads back to the Senate.
Here is a list of things the statute allows TSET to fund: Tobacco Settlement Endowment Trust Fund
E. Earnings from the trust fund, including but not limited to interest, dividends, and realized capital gains from investments of the trust fund shall be expended as provided in subsection F of this section for the following purposes:
1. Clinical and basic research and treatment efforts in Oklahoma for the purpose of enhancing efforts to prevent and combat cancer and other tobacco-related diseases;
2. Cost-effective tobacco prevention and cessation programs;
3. Programs other than those specified in paragraph 1 of this subsection designed to maintain or improve the health of Oklahomans or to enhance the provision of health care services to Oklahomans, with particular emphasis on such programs for children;
4. Programs and services for the benefit of the children of Oklahoma, with particular emphasis on common and higher education, before- and after-school and pre-school programs, substance abuse prevention and treatment programs and other programs and services designed to improve the health and quality of life of children;
5. Programs designed to enhance the health and well-being of senior adults; and
6. Authorized administrative expenses of the Office of the State Treasurer and the Board of Directors.
Here is a look at the history of TSET.
Stay in touch with us anytime, anywhere --
- Download our free app for Apple, Android and Kindle devices.
- Sign up for daily newsletters emailed to you
- Like us on Facebook
- Follow us on Instagram
- Watch LIVE 24/7 on YouTube
