Bill to allow state funding for Office of Liaison for Missing Murdered Indigenous People vetoed on MMIP Awareness Day

OKLAHOMA CITY — A bill to allow state funding for the Office of Liaison for Missing and Murdered Indigenous People (MMIP) was vetoed on MMIP Awareness Day.

The bill was vetoed on Monday, MMIP Awareness Day.

FOX23 told you the Cherokee Nation held their annual Missing or Murdered Indigenous Person (MMIP) awareness event on Friday.

Rep. Ron Stewart, D-Tulsa, released the following statement after his bill, HB 1137, was vetoed by the Governor:

"I am deeply disappointed in the Governor's decision to veto House Bill 1137–especially on Missing and Murdered Indigenous Peoples Awareness Day at the Capitol,” Stewart said. "This bill represented a meaningful step forward in addressing an issue that affects families and communities across Oklahoma."

"I am grateful for the strong bipartisan support HB 1137 received in both the House and Senate, a clear reflection of the Legislature’s shared commitment to justice and accountability for our most vulnerable," Stewart said in the statement.

"While this veto is a setback, it is not the end," Stewart continued. "I will use this moment as motivation to continue working with colleagues from both sides of the aisle to advance legislation that serves the best interests of all Oklahomans, honors the lives impacted, and ensures no community is left behind."

Governor Kevin Stitt released the following statement:

"Pursuant to the authority vested in me by Section 11 of Article VI of the Oklahoma Constitution, I have vetoed Enrolled House Bill 1137," Stitt said. in the statement. "While I support efforts to solve missing persons and homicide cases, I cannot endorse legislation that singles out victims based solely on their race. House Bill 1137 requires the creation of a unit within the Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation (OSBI) that focuses exclusively on missing and murdered Indigenous persons. But every missing person— regardless of race or background—deserves equal attention and urgency."

"Oklahoma already has both the Missing Persons Clearing House and the Cold Case Unit within OSBI, which are tasked with investigating disappearances and unsolved cases across all communities," Stitt continued. "Creating a separate office that prioritizes cases based on race undermines the principle of equal protection under the law and risks sending the message that some lives are more worthy of government attention than others. Justice must be blind to race. Our resources and investigative efforts should be deployed based on the needs of the case, not the identity of the victim. For these reasons, I have vetoed Enrolled House Bill 1137."

Cherokee Nation Principal Chief Chuck Hoskin Jr. released the following statement:

"Governor Stitt’s breathtaking ignorance of the issues facing tribes and existing teamwork to resolve those issues reached an absurd level today with his veto of HB 1137," Hoskin said. "The existing 'Ida’s Law,' a bipartisan reflection of the sort of teamwork needed to address missing and murdered indigenous persons cases, is an effective law that enables tribal law enforcement and OSBI to work better together on MMIP cases. HB 1137, a bipartisan amendment to Ida’s law, was a housekeeping measure designed to strip an unnecessary federal funding requirement."

"Governor Stitt’s veto message, issued on a day we raise awareness across the country on MMIP issues, exposes that he lacks the foggiest idea that Ida’s law is on the books, what it does on a low budget cost high impact basis, or what the simple amendment was designed to do," Hoskin continued. "He also continues to conflate the political status of tribal citizens with 'race,' a tired old subject meant to divide and confuse people. Native Americans are disproportionally victims of violent crime and disproportionally so in cases that go unsolved. Serious leaders across the state and the nation understand that and are taking action. Governor Stitt should do more thinking and less thoughtless reacting when the lives of native people are at stake."

FOX23 is reaching out to the Governor's office and will update with more information as it becomes available.