Pop Culture Museum Plan Clears Oklahoma Senate On Second Try

Tuesday, May 19th 2015, 12:08 pm

By: News On 6

Pop Culture Museum Plan Clears Oklahoma Senate On Second Try

A $25 million bond proposal to build a museum of popular culture in Tulsa has cleared the Oklahoma Senate, one day after the same bill failed when a senator said he mistakenly pressed the wrong button.

The state Senate voted 28-18 on Tuesday for the bill by Senate President Pro Tem Brian Bingman of Sapulpa.

The proposal failed by one vote Monday after Senator Bryce Marlatt of Woodward said he mistakenly pressed his "no" button just before the gavel fell to declare the vote. Marlatt voted for the bill on Tuesday.

5/18/2015 Related Story: Popular Culture Museum Plan Fails In Oklahoma Senate, Accidentally

The bill would fund construction of a 75,000-square-foot museum, nicknamed OKPOP, and a parking garage in the Brady Arts District of Tulsa.“We were thrilled to hear SB 839 passed the Senate earlier today. We applaud our state senators for recognizing the importance of the OKPOP Museum in preserving and maintaining Oklahoma's history. We are one step closer in achieving the end goal and we urge members of the House to follow in the Senate's footsteps and vote yes to OKPOP,” said Mike Neal, President and CEO of the Tulsa Regional Chamber.

Private investors have already committed $15-million to the project. A number of A-list artists have pledged their collections to the museum including Leon Russell.

News On 6 even donated more than 30,000 news archive tapes.

"It's the collective effort of hundreds of thousands of our employees from 1953 to today," said David Griffin, Griffin Communications owner.

The bill now heads to the House, where there is considerable opposition from members of the Republican majority.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.