Gov. Kevin Stitt has vetoed 39 of the more than 250 bills that reached his desk during this year’s legislative session, including a measure aimed at increasing protections for juveniles in state care.
Among the vetoed legislation is Senate Bill 870, which would have made it a felony for staff in state-run or supervised juvenile facilities to fail to report suspected sexual misconduct. The bill also called for annual staff training and increased oversight in these facilities.
The legislation came after last year’s lawsuit which alleged abuse and a widespread cover-up at the Tulsa Juvenile Center.
In his veto message, Stitt said the bill was overly broad.
“Even law enforcement believe this bill is so vague that it could lead to overcriminalization,” he said.
But Sen. Dave Rader, R-Tulsa, who authored the bill, disputed that claim. He said he had not received any negative feedback from law enforcement officials during the legislative process.
“Nobody from law enforcement ever said anything to us about it, being negative towards it,” Rader said. “And the people involved in this type of work — no one said anything negative about it. It's just that right now, what we're doing is not working.”
SB 870 passed unanimously in both the House and Senate before reaching the governor’s desk.
Rader said he plans to advocate for the bill moving forward, but it’s unclear whether lawmakers will attempt to override the veto.
“There’s always a possibility,” he said. “I don’t know how real the possibility is, but I will be talking with Senate leadership to see if there’s a way that we might could consider this override.”
The legislative session ends May 30.
