A new bill would remove the governor's power to appoint the head of the Oklahoma Tourism and Recreation Department.
Senate Bill (SB) 4, filed by Sen. Roger Thompson, R-Okemah, comes in response to the Swadley's scandal Fox 25 has reported on throughout the year.
Thompson says the bill would bring about a much needed change after he saw the state misspend millions of dollars in their contract with Swadley's.
When Thompson saw a loft report outlining the state misspending $16 million in the Swadley Barbecue deal, he said he was very displeased.
"You know if I'm in business and lose my dollars, those are my dollars. But if there's $16 million that were misspent, they're the Oklahomans dollars and they deserve to be protected," Thompson said. "You can't just simply say "Oops we made a mistake" and keep doing what you're doing. You have to fix the problem."
SB 4 would restore authority of appointing back to the OTRD, rescinding the governor’s authority to hire the leader of the OTRD.
"I was here in 2018 and I voted for that legislation, so I said "Let's give it a shot, see if it's going work to my estimation." It did not work, we see that money was spent, that we didn't have the oversight that we should have had and so Senate Bill 4 simply restores the commission with one difference, commissioners can only be removed for cause," said Thompson.
It was Gov. Kevin Stitt who appointed Jerry Winchester as the tourism agency's director in 2019.
Winchester stepped down this year after the state filed a lawsuit to recoup funds from Swadley’s.
"You know, it's not so much about the governor or the director, that was over as far as I'm concerned," Thompson said. "What I'm concerned about is that 16 million dollars is missing and we only had one set of eyes on those."
Thompson says he hasn't talked about this bill with any of his colleagues yet, so he's not sure if it will pass when session begins next year.
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