Senate to Consider $10 Million for Centennial Projects

In addition to $11 million in funding for the Department of Corrections, Senate President Pro Tempore Mike Morgan and Majority Leader Ted Fisher announced today that they will ask Senators to approve a $10 million appropriation for the Oklahoma Centennial Commission when the Senate convenes in Special Session Tuesday and Wednesday.

“Throughout the summer, our first priority has been to address the public safety crisis created by staffing shortages in the Department of Corrections. Having secured bi-partisan support for our DOC plan in the Senate, we can now turn our attention to funding projects and events in celebration of our state’s centennial,” said Morgan, D-Stillwater.

“We view this funding as the first step in meeting the state’s obligation to provide full support for Oklahoma’s centennial celebration,” Morgan said.

The $10 million centennial funding plan includes $2 million in funding for projects in Oklahoma City; $2 million for Tulsa projects; $2 million for statewide projects and celebrations; and $4 million for a series of other projects across rural Oklahoma.

“This proposal will allow plans for a world class celebration of our state’s centennial to proceed all across Oklahoma. Many of the marquee events and projects are located in Oklahoma City and Tulsa, but the Centennial belongs to all Oklahomans and that’s why we have set aside funds that help pay for festivities and projects in cities like Lawton and Ardmore; and smaller towns like Harrah and Duncan,” said Fisher, D-Sapulpa.

The $10 million appropriation will be matched by $34 million in non-state funds – much of it obtained in grants and private donations by community leaders throughout the state.

Among the Oklahoma City projects to be funded in the legislation are the Land Run Monument along the canal between Bricktown and the Oklahoma River; and the Lyric Theater Plaza.

In Tulsa, the funds will pay for the Tulsa Historical Society project and the Oklahoma Botanical Garden.

“Our state’s centennial should be something for Oklahomans of all ages to remember for rest of their lives. This plan is a $10 million investment in the spirit of our great state,” Fisher said.