Gov. Stitt Addresses Emergency Declaration Confusion After France Trip

For the first time, Gov. Kevin Stitt spoke about the conundrum that led to a delayed state of emergency declaration. Senate President Pro Tempore Greg Treat gave the order on Tuesday, less than an hour after finding out he was acting governor due to both Stitt and Lt. Gov. Matt Pinnell being out of town. 

“About thirty-five thousand Oklahomans are still without power,” said Stitt at a news conference on Friday. “We’re trying to get that restored.”  

When the damage is bad enough, communities rely on the Oklahoma government to step in and help.   

“On Tuesday we declared a state of emergency, and that allows us to start accessing some federal funds and do some paperwork,” Stitt said. 

However, Stitt was at the Paris air show in France last Friday after storms ripped through Tulsa and northeast Oklahoma.  

“Again, I’m governor,” Stitt said. “You know, when I’m out of town, I’m governor when I’m in town.”  

According to the state constitution, Stitt cannot sign an emergency declaration when he’s out of the state.  

“It just always happens. The governor goes out of town, and something happens,” Stitt said. 

The power fell on Lt. Gov. Pinnell, who was at a conference in Georgia. Treat signed the declaration on Tuesday after he found out he was acting governor. Century-year-old language in the constitution caused confusion in the process.

“These things are written in 1907 when there [weren’t] cellphones,” Stitt said. “There wasn’t the communication there is today. The governor would go for a month['s] journey to D.C. on horseback and so, they had to have somebody in the state.”  

Pinnell said the process needs an update. 

“It’s 2023,” Pinnell said. "We can communicate a whole lot differently than we could in 1953. The governor should be able to sign an emergency declaration if he or she is across that invisible line.”   

Technology is much better than it was in 1907, but state leaders say it doesn’t matter when the law of the land remains the same.

“I believe that is going to change," Pinnell said. 

The governor said there are ten more counties that may qualify for a disaster declaration.