Future Not So Certain For Cultural Center
Oklahoma House is partly chilly on funding American Indian museum
BY RANDY ELLIS
A state Senate proposal to use $40 million from the state’s Unclaimed Property Fund to help complete Oklahoma City’s American Indian Cultural Center and Museum is receiving a chilly reception among state House Republicans.
“The initial reaction from the (Republican) caucus so far is they’re not sure this is going to be the year we’re going to be able to address that issue,” said House Speaker Jeff Hickman, R-Fairview. “It’s unfortunate, because it’s a challenging situation and it should have been addressed long ago.”
Hickman said it is a matter of priorities for House Republicans during a tight budget year, when the Legislature has $188 million less to appropriate than it did last year.
“When you have a $188 million hole, I think it’s going to be difficult to explain to our corrections employees how we were able to put $40 million into a museum and yet couldn’t address the crisis there or the issues we have in DHS or other areas of state government,” he said. “The initial reaction from the caucus was not overwhelming in terms of embracing that idea.”