Opinion ID: 2538420
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: The Protests to the Proposed Bonds

Text: ¶ 6 Cassidy challenged the constitutionality of the 2000 amendments to § 301. He contended that the statutory provisions, allocating the borrowed funds to various state agencies, including $51 million to the Department of Central Services to be expended as directed by the Governor, without specifying the purpose, result in a delegation of legislative power which offends the state constitutional separation of powers doctrine and also violates the appropriations and borrowing provisions in Okla. Const., art. 4, § 1, art. 5, § 55, and art. 10, § 16. ¶ 7 In response to Cassidy, OCIA contended that the authorizing statute requires that the bond proceeds be used for capital projects of the specified agencies and confers discretion on the various agencies in choosing the capital projects. OCIA argued that the Legislature sufficiently set out general standards and policies for the use of the bond proceeds to guide the state agencies in carrying out the delegated power, citing Okla. Const., art. 4, § 1 and Bailey v. State Board of Public Affairs, 1944 OK 301, 194 Okla. 495, 153 P.2d 235. ¶ 8 Cassidy and Fent filed documents showing that Governor Keating and members of the Legislature agreed that the bond proceeds will be allocated as follows: House members will decide how to spend $55 million of the bond proceeds, Senate members will decide how to spend $55 million of the bond proceeds, and the Governor will decide how to spend $51 million of the bond proceeds. The documents listed some 520 possible projects for the bond proceeds. Cassidy asserted that this agreement is not an official legislative act and does not satisfy the purpose-of-borrowing requirement of Okla. Const., art. 10, § 16 nor the separation of powers doctrine of nondelegation. [5] ¶ 9 OCIA also acknowledged the existence of one or more lists prepared by individual legislative members directing a range of uses of the bond proceeds by various state agencies from purchasing equipment for rural firefighters to completing the Capitol dome. OCIA took the position that these wish lists are not a result of any official action of the Legislature and are not binding on the state agencies. OCIA explained that it will, with the assistance of the Office of the Attorney General, ultimately oversee the expenditure of the bond proceeds to assure that each project fulfills a lawful public purpose and does not involve the unconstitutional or unlawful gift or loan of proceeds to any local or private entity.