Senate Bill 675 would allow the Oklahoma Turnpike Authority to access the Oklahoma Law Enforcement Telecommunications Systems network — or OLETS, a program of the Department of Public Safety — to help ensure the OTA receives its toll money.
Representatives from tribal nations and organizations, including the Oklahoma Policy Institute, Oklahoma Intertribal Tax Association, Together OK and United Indian Nations of Oklahoma, have opposed the bill, noting it “seeks to circumvent Tribal sovereign control over data.”
Sharon Scott, president of the Oklahoma Intertribal Tax Association and a member of the Seminole Nation, expressed worry during a Native American caucus meeting. She said if the bill becomes law, tribes still trying to make agreements with OTA will lose out on bargaining power…