(The Center Square) – Oklahoma Attorney General Gentner Drummond said changes are needed to the state’s emergency response after it took two days to declare a state of emergency in the aftermath of weekend storms.
Gov. Kevin Stitt is attending the Paris Air Show and Lt. Gov. Matt Pinnell is also out of the state. The governor authorized Senate Pro Tem Greg Treat to declare a state of emergency on Tuesday.
Drummond said Tulsa residents were hard hit by the storms and have “been suffering a great deal.”
“While I understand there are many measures the governor can employ in times like these when out of the state, an emergency declaration can only be issued by a Governor who is physically within the state of Oklahoma,” Drummond said. “However, there is no requirement for the governor to notify the lieutenant governor when traveling out of the state. There is similarly not a requirement for the lieutenant governor to notify the president pro tempore of the Senate, or on down the line of succession. We have seen the unnecessary delay and confusion this creates, all at the expense of Oklahomans struggling to cope with emergency circumstances.”
A change in state law would prevent a similar situation in the future, Drummond said.
The attorney general also warned residents of consumer fraud. The Emergency Price Stabilization Act, which bans companies from charging more than 10% above normal prices for goods and services during a state of emergency is in effect, he said.
The counties affected by Sunday’s storms are Choctaw, Creek, Delaware, Harper, Mayes, Pawnee, Payne, Rogers, Tulsa and Wagoner.
This article First appeared in the center square