During a Friday press conference on a scandal involving the state tourism department, Gov. Kevin Stitt said Oklahoma does business with more than 4,600 vendors.
Some of those contracts could be complicated by a proposed law modeled after a Texas precedent. House Bill 3144 would stop Oklahoma from contracting with companies that have policies designed to curtail mass shootings.The bill specifically bans "discrimination" against firearm and ammunition manufacturers.
It’s similar to a new Texas law that, according to Bloomberg, has especially complicated the trillion-dollar bond market, also mentioned by Stitt Friday when he spoke about a $50 million bond approved by the legislature for state parks.
Author of HB 3144, Sen. Casey Murdock (R-Felt), said last week during session the law aims to cut big financial institutions like Citibank, JP Morgan, and Goldman Sachsout of Oklahoma business.
“These basically woke New York City banks have policies that state if a gun manufacturer manufactures high capacity magazines, they will not loan them money,” said Murdock.
Murdock also cited a policy against selling children under 21 long rifles.
Critics of the bill like Sen. Julia Kirt (D-Oklahoma City) pushed back that it would raise costs as banks use resources to deal with compliance.
“If we exclude some of the largest issuers of bonds, we’re going to increase costs. Compliance costs more and more, and these entities that do the financing will choose not work with us,” said Kirt.
In an e-mail exchange Monday, Stitt’s office didn’t indicate if the governor would sign the bill but said it would keep Public Radio Tulsa updated.
