Oklahoma governor signs bills to limit storm utility costs

OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) — Oklahoma Gov. Kevin Stitt signed a pair of bills Friday to mitigate the skyrocketing storm-related utility costs from a February winter storm.

The bills were among two dozen measures that Stitt signed into law. He also vetoed two measures.

The utility bills authorize the issuance of ratepayer-backed bonds to help offset an estimated $4.5 billion in increased storm-related energy costs. The securitization is designed to lower the monthly costs for ratepayers over an extended period.

One bill he vetoed would have added members to a Rural Broadband Expansion Council that the governor described as "unnecessary." The other vetoed bill would have exempted the Legislature and judiciary from fees and costs of services rendered by state agencies. Stitt said in a veto message the bill didn't comply with his administration's "standards of accountability and transparency."

 

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