House Passes Bill To Give Governor Power Over Tulsa And Oklahoma City-County Health Departments

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 The Oklahoma House narrowly and on a largely urban-rural split passed a bill in the week to offer the governor power over the Tulsa and Oklahoma city-county health departments.

House Bill 2504 inserts the state health commissioner, who is appointed by the governor, into the method of picking new directors for the state’s two independent health departments. The measure also requires local directors to align priorities with the health commissioner’s, lets the health commissioner invite an area director’s removal, and bans the local health departments from implementing regulations more stringent than the state’s.


House legislator Jon Echols (R-Oklahoma City) told the bill’s author, Rep. Chris Kannady (R-Oklahoma City), constituents have told him they don’t want the changes the bill would make. 

"We’re giving the governor veto-proof authority. It looks like a huge power grab by the governor — and that I know that’s not your intent, I’m not saying you’re doing that — what do I tell them? I mean, why are they paying their extra land tax money if the state’s getting to take hold of it?" Echols said.

Kannady said a 2018 report from Gov. Mary Fallin’s Joint Commission on Public Health involves "joint governance." While that phrase is within the report, it doesn't recommend any of the proposals in Kannady’s bill, even saying at one point, "Efforts to enhance health outcomes must specialize in increasing efficiency, encouraging autonomous decision-making at the local level to develop community-specific partnerships and governance structures that best meet the requirements ."

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Facing intense questioning from Tulsa Democrats about how the legislation was developed, Kannady also claimed he’d been in touch with Mayors G.T. Bynum and David Holt, also to some extent person from the Tulsa Health Department. Kannady said Bynum and Holt had talked to local media outlets about the bill.

"You will see the 2 mayors are neutral. 'We didn’t necessarily invite this, but we’re comfortable with the language.' So, there has got to be — proves there was some communication in Tulsa," Kannady said. "But I can’t ask every single person who wants input on this bill."

A Bynum spokesperson said he never discussed the legislation with Kannady and is against the proposal, "an unnecessary intervention into the work of the Tulsa Health Department."

A THD spokesperson said they were unaware of the bill until it had been introduced and directed KWGS to an article by Tulsa Health Department Board of Health Chair Dr. Ann Paul during which she described it as "a blatant plan to overstep and centralize power, placing control within the hands of political appointees with allegiances which will potentially undermine the health and safety of Tulsa County residents."

Gov. Kevin Stitt on Thursday indicated the local departments’ actions during the pandemic are a problem, saying things changed after his order designating the state health department because the lead within the response expired.

"They, I’m sure, did the simplest that they might do, but … there wasn’t a coordinated approach once you had two health departments quite doing their own thing," Stitt said after a press conference about Oklahoma's COVID-19 response.

State Health Commissioner Dr. Lance Frye said something similar.

"When you've got different chains of command, it really just makes things harder," Frye said.

During debate on the bill, Tulsa lawmakers defended THD, saying their actions kept the county's deaths from COVID-19 to a minimum.

"The officials of the Tulsa County Health Department I do know for a fact worked heroically to save lots of lives. Heroically. And this bill seems like retaliation. it's sort of a vote of no confidence. Why can’t we have a collaboration that doesn’t involve changing the way directors are named?" said Rep. John Waldron (D-Tulsa).

HB2504 passed 54–41. Few representatives of the Tulsa and Oklahoma City metro areas voted for the measure.

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