FOX23 News
By Rick Maranon
May 3, 2021 OKLAHOMA CITY, Okla. — Quick Facts:
A dispute over an exit ramp leading to a McClain County casino in central Oklahoma could change how the state and tribal governments work together on road construction projects, an Oklahoma Department of Transportation commissioner claimed Monday.
ODOT Commissioner T.W. Shannon said the Oklahoma attorney general’s office needs to better clarify the relationship between ODOT and tribal governments, and if the McGirt ruling means that any projects done with state and tribal stakeholders needs to get approval from the governor’s office first.
A resolution formally asking Attorney General Mike Hunter to step in failed by a vote of 7-2, but Shannon said questions still exist.
This issue is just one of many growing issues on the civil side of the law involving taxes and what the state can do on tribal property. Closer to Tulsa, the Oneta Power Plant’s owners are now disputing in a lawsuit that they don’t have to pay property taxes to Wagoner County because they have been deemed to be on tribal lands.
View the full article: Fox23.com