Title: IN THE MATTER OF THE APPLIC. OF THE OKLA. CAPITOL IMPROVEMENT AUTHORITY FOR APPROVAL OF $5.5 MILLION

State: oklahoma

Issuer: Oklahoma Supreme Court

Document:

IN THE MATTER OF THE APPLIC. OF THE OKLA. CAPITOL IMPROVEMENT AUTHORITY FOR APPROVAL OF $5.5 MILLION  IN THE MATTER OF THE APPLIC. OF THE OKLA. CAPITOL IMPROVEMENT AUTHORITY FOR APPROVAL OF $5.5 MILLION 2003 OK 85 80 P.3d 131 Case Number: 97935 Decided: 10/14/2003 THE SUPREME COURT OF THE STATE OF OKLAHOMA IN THE MATTER OF THE APPLICATION OF THE OKLAHOMA CAPITOL IMPROVEMENT AUTHORITY FOR APPROVAL OF $5.5 MILLION OKLAHOMA CAPITOL IMPROVEMENT AUTHORITY STATE FACILITIES REVENUE BONDS, SERIES 2002B. ORIGINAL PROCEEDING TO DETERMINE VALIDITY OF PROPOSED STATE FACILITIES REVENUE BONDS ¶0 The Oklahoma Capitol Improvement Authority resolved to issue state facilities revenue bonds in the amount of $5.5 million, pursuant to amendments to APPLICATION FOR APPROVAL OF $5.5 MILLION OKLAHOMA CAPITOL IMPROVEMENT AUTHORITY STATE FACILITIES REVENUE BONDS, SERIES 2002B DENIED. W.A. Drew Edmondson, Attorney General for the State of Oklahoma. Lynn C. Rogers, Assistant Attorney General, Gary M. Bush, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, and Douglas F. Price, Stillwater, Oklahoma, for applicant. Richard James, Stroud, Oklahoma for protestant John Cassidy, Jr. Protestant Jerry R. Fent, pro se, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. Protestant Edwin Kessler, pro se, Norman, Oklahoma. BOUDREAU, Justice ¶1 In ¶2 Pursuant to the authority granted it in the 2000 amendments to § 301, the OCIA resolved to issue state facilities revenue bonds in the amount of $5.5 million to pay a portion of the cost of the Oklahoma State Capitol Dome project. The resolution is premised on the OCIA's finding that in the 2000 amendments to § 301, the Legislature "determined to provide a portion of the funding of the completion of the Oklahoma State Capitol Dome (the 'Project') for the Oklahoma Capitol Complex and Centennial Commission and the Department of Central Services (the 'Agencies') and to that end, has directed the Oklahoma Capitol Improvement Authority to issue revenue bonds for such purposes". ¶3 Pursuant to ¶4 In a separate application filed in this Court on the same day this application was filed, the OCIA sought approval of a proposed bond issue in the amount of the entire second half of the obligations authorized in the 2000 amendments to § 301. Our opinion in that proceeding, Application of the Oklahoma Capitol Improvement Authority, No. 97,936, found that the 2000 amendments to § 301 do not specify the purposes for which the proposed bond proceeds may be used and concluded that the 2000 amendments to § 301 do not satisfy the purpose-of-borrowing requirement in Okla. Const., art. 10, § 16. We withheld approval of the $175 Million state facilities revenue bond proposal. Application of the Oklahoma Capitol Improvement Authority, ¶5 As we recognized in Application of the Oklahoma Capitol Improvement Authority, supra. at ¶22, the 2000 amendments to § 301 do not describe a single project to be funded by the borrowing of money. The statute merely identifies agencies and lists amounts of borrowed money to be allocated to the agencies. Here, § 301(A)(16)(d) identifies the Centennial Commission and allocates $5,470,101.00 of borrowed money to the Commission. The statute does not, however, designate the Capitol Dome project or any other project as the purpose for authorizing the borrowing of nearly $5.5 million. Because the statute does not specify a project for which the borrowed money is to be expended, our opinion in Application of the Oklahoma Capitol Improvement Authority, supra. controls the dispositive issue. Accordingly, the proposed bonds are not properly authorized as required by Okla. Const., art. 10, § 16. APPLICATION FOR APPROVAL OF $5.5 MILLION OKLAHOMA CAPITOL IMPROVEMENT AUTHORITY STATE FACILITIES REVENUE BONDS, SERIES 2002B DENIED. WATT, C.J., OPALA, V.C.J., and HODGES, LAVENDER, HARGRAVE, BOUDREAU and WINCHESTER, JJ., concur. SUMMERS, J., dissents. KAUGER, J., not participating. FOOT