Tag: Native American Cultural and Educational Authority

Oklahoma House speaker unveils $25M plan to complete Native American museum

By Sean Murphy, The Associated Press

OKLAHOMA CITY –  Republican legislative leaders on Monday unveiled plans for two separate $25 million bond issues — one to complete a Native American museum near downtown Oklahoma City and another for a new popular culture museum in Tulsa.

House Speaker Jeff Hickman said the bond proposal to complete the long unfinished American Indian Cultural Center and Museum along the banks of the Oklahoma River would require no new state appropriations. He said the $1.9 million the state currently is spending on the state agency overseeing the project and to maintain the site would be dedicated instead toward bond payments.

The Native American Cultural and Educational Authority would become a non-appropriated state agency after June 30, 2016, and would have to be funded through other sources, like private donations, said Hickman, R-Fairview.

“We obviously, given the budget situation, don’t have cash as an option to complete this, but I think we’ve got a plan that accomplishes it even in light of our current situation,” Hickman said.

Senate President Pro Tem Brian Bingman introduced a bill Monday for a separate bond issue to build the Oklahoma Museum of Popular Culture, or OKPOP, in Tulsa.

It is unclear if either measure will have enough support in the Republican-controlled Legislature, where the idea of a bond issue could be a tough sell in a year where the state is facing a $611 million shortfall.

Under Hickman’s proposal, the 143 acres surrounding the museum would be transferred to Oklahoma City, and revenue from leasing the property to private development would be used to fund museum operations.

The 15-year bond also would be paid off using money from an estimated $40 million in funds from mostly private donors, including contributions from each of the state’s 39 federally recognized Indian tribes.

Under Bingman’s proposal, funds that are being used to retire bond debt for the Oklahoma History Center in the Capitol complex in Oklahoma City will be redirected to pay for the Tulsa museum. Those bonds will be retired in 2018.

“The Oklahoma Historical Society has a record of achievement in building self-sustaining facilities like the Oklahoma History Center and the Route 66 Museum in Clinton,” Bingman, R-Sapulpa, said in a statement. “They have spent years developing a credible business plan for OKPOP, which will be a celebration of Oklahoma culture and a source of pride for our state.”

Oklahoma House panel approves American Indian Cultural Center and Museum funding

The Oklahoma House Joint Committee on Appropriations and Budget voted 13-10 to use tax revenue from Internet and out-of-state purchases to provide $40 million to help complete the American Indian Cultural Center and Museum. The measure still needs approval from the full House and Senate.

By Michael McNutt
Published: May 20, 2013 in newsok.com

Passage of a measure that would provide funding to help complete the American Indian Cultural Center and Museum in downtown Oklahoma City would be the last state assistance sought for construction costs, a state official overseeing the project pledged Monday to a special budget committee.

 “There’ll never be another dime asked from here on the construction of the American Indian Cultural Center,” said Blake Wade, executive director of the Native American Cultural and Educational Authority, which would oversee the museum.

The House Joint Committee on Appropriations and Budget voted 13-10 to use tax revenue from Internet and out-of-state purchases to provide $40 million to help complete the project. The state funds will match $40 million in pledges from individuals, businesses, American Indian tribes and the city of Oklahoma City, Wade said.

The measure, Senate Bill 1132, now goes to the House Calendar Committee, which will determine whether it gets a hearing in the House. The measure must pass the House of Representatives and the Senate. A Senate special budget committee passed the measure Thursday, the first time information about the proposal became public.

Rep. Jason Nelson, a committee member, said legislators and taxpayers could be skeptical about Wade’s assurance. The idea for the center started 19 years ago. The project has benefited from three previous state bond issues totaling $63 million, as well as $14.5 million in federal funding and $4.9 million and 250 acres of land from Oklahoma City.

“It could be a tough sell,” said Nelson, R-Oklahoma City.

Wade, who started work on the project two years ago, said the agency has a new director, and the agency’s governing board is getting new members.

All 39 federally recognized tribes in Oklahoma now are behind the project, he said.

Wade, who led efforts to raise money for the state Capitol dome more than 10 years ago, said he heard similar skepticism about that project.

“No one liked the Capitol dome, but once we got it up and got it on, it is the greatest thing that I think has happened as far as our morale,” he said. “The same will be true of the American Indian Cultural Center … I promise you if you like the dome, you’re going to love the American Indian Cultural Center.”

SB 1132 would provide $40 million to help finish the center, which has been mothballed since last year when lawmakers failed to approve additional bond funds to help complete it. Under the measure, $15 million from use taxes would be diverted from gross revenue in the 2015 fiscal year, which begins July 1, 2014, followed by $15 million in the 2016 fiscal year. A final apportionment of $10 million would be made in the 2017 fiscal year.

Use taxes are paid on out-of-state purchases and online purchases in lieu of sales taxes. Projections for the upcoming fiscal year indicate the use tax will raise about $244 million, said Rep. Tom Newell, R-Seminole, the committee’s vice chairman. Most of the money raised by the tax goes for education and tourism expenses.

Wade said those making the $40 million in pledges will stand behind their offer if the state provides a matching amount. He told committee members the donors see SB 1132 as a commitment from the state, even though it will be more than a year before state money actually is available for the project.

House Democratic leadership issued a statement that pay raises for correctional officers, state troopers and state employees should come before the American Indian Cultural Center and Museum and the Oklahoma Museum of Popular Culture, which is planned in Tulsa. Rep. Joe Dorman, D-Rush Springs, was the only Democrat on the committee to vote for the measure.