Oklahoma lawmakers unite to fund tornado recovery efforts in devastated areas

Publish date: 2024-05-22

OKLAHOMA CITY (KOKH) — Although Oklahoma lawmakers are fighting about just about everything when it comes to the budget, there is one thing they agree on, funding for tornado victims.

For state Senate Majority Leader Greg McCortney, R-District 13, the money hits close to home.

“The damage in Sulphur is really hard to wrap your head around. To see an entire downtown area disappear, but even worse for me is there’s a neighborhood that doesn’t exist anymore," he told KOKH.

His district was in the path of an EF-3 tornado (in which winds can reach speeds between 136 and 165 mph), and now he and the rest of the legislature are looking for a path forward for the victims.

We have to get back on our feet as fast as we can, and this is the state’s way of making sure that happens," he said.

The state's immediate solution is to help local governments cover the cost of temporary shelters, repairs, and other relief efforts.

“It’s $45 million split up, but the main purpose of this whole thing is that we have to match the money that the federal government is going to give," McCortney explained.

The legislature is hoping to take advantage of every FEMA dollar they can get, as members are still in the process of negotiating the state versus federal money match.

We’re hoping we can negotiate a better deal, but it’s at least at worst 75% federal, 25% state funds," he said.

It's the one allocation that's turned lawmakers to the same page. The funding bills passed the House on Tuesday and the Senate on Thursday.

“It should flow almost immediately now. Things don’t move this fast in the Capitol usually," Sen. McCortney said.

Gov. Stitt signed two relief bills into law Friday, both House Bill 2912 and 2913. HB 2912 creates the revolving fund for repairs and temporary housing while House Bill 2913 appropriates $45 million into the fund.

Friday also saw the senior class of Sulphur High School graduate with all the pomp and circumstance seniors were looking for, a sign of resilience following the devastation of the tornado.

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