Opinion ID: 2538420
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 3

Heading: The State Attorney General's Position

Text: ¶ 10 The OCIA, a state entity, [6] is represented in this proceeding by the Attorney General of the State of Oklahoma. Additionally, the Attorney General is ex officio Bond Commissioner of the State of Oklahoma, Okla. Const., art. 10, § 29, and tentatively approved the proposed bonds. However, because the protestants attack the constitutional validity of the statute authorizing issuance of the proposed bonds, this Court directed the Attorney General as Chief Law Enforcer to indicate whether his legal position with respect to the constitutional issues is reflected in the briefs filed by the Assistant Attorney General as attorney of record for the OCIA. [7] ¶ 11 The Attorney General took the position that the authorizing statute is not only presumed constitutional but is constitutional under this Court's pronouncement in Fent v. Oklahoma Capitol Improvement Authority, 1999 OK 64, 984 P.2d 200, which approved bonds issued under Section 301 of Title 73, which in part provided funding for unspecified projects in designating $45,000,000 for `Capitol projects at institutions of higher education which are part of the Oklahoma State System of Higher Education.' ¶ 12 Cassidy replied to the Attorney General's position contending that a lump sum allocation of borrowed money to the Oklahoma State Regents for Higher Education for capital improvements sufficiently specifies the purpose for the borrowing. He referred to Okla. Const., art. 13-A, § 3, which requires the Legislature to appropriate funds to the Board of Regents in consolidated form without reference to a particular institution and requires the Board of Regents to allocate the appropriated funds to each institution.