Oklahoma lawmakers overview turnpike company once more

Oklahoma Legislature

The Oklahoma Turnpike Authority continues to face scrutiny amid an ongoing bond-financed enlargement program and calls to reform the toll highway company.

The 15-year ACCESS Oklahoma (Advancing and Connecting Communities and Economies Safely Statewide) program, which was formally launched by Gov. Kevin Stitt in February 2022, goals to widen present toll roads and construct new ones at a projected price that has risen to $8.2 billion from an preliminary $5 billion.  A toll fee improve to handle escalating prices took impact in January.

About $1.61 billion of income bonds have been offered to this point for this system, which has been focused by unsuccessful litigation introduced by property homeowners within the path of recent toll roads, whereas laws lately that sought to reform OTA’s practices, together with a cap on excellent debt and legislative approval for toll hikes, failed.

Republican State Rep. Danny Sterling, who has launched a number of reform payments, mentioned transparency was a spotlight of the newest in-depth examination of OTA by lawmakers final month, pointing to the potential for larger legislative oversight. 

“We additionally know that the OTA has been given a lot latitude legislatively up to now and it could be time for us as legislators to revisit that, to verify we’ve not gone too far in a single course once more,” he mentioned as a so-called interim research commenced on Nov. 6.

OTA Govt Director Joe Echelle instructed lawmakers turnpikes are an economical method to construct highways.

“We’re user-fee-funded, which has helped us in Oklahoma as a state keep very low motor gas taxes all through our historical past, as a result of we have been in a position to leverage a user-fee-funded system within the turnpike,” he mentioned. 

Officers with Oklahomans for Accountable Transportation, which is battling towards the ACCESS program, raised issues about OTA’s eminent area and bond practices, in addition to its funds. 

Amy Cerato, the group’s president, instructed The Bond Purchaser reforms will likely be sought within the Republican-controlled legislature subsequent 12 months, together with imposing a debt ceiling and ending OTA’s potential to pool income from your complete system to again bonds. 

“If the super-majority committee chairs would get out of our manner and let our payments be heard, our payments would go virtually unanimously by each homes,” she mentioned in an e-mail. “They’re widespread sense, citizen-protective payments, however the committee chairs are an enormous downside.” 

The group additionally desires to see an investigative state audit of OTA accomplished forward of additional debt issuance.

In March 2023, Oklahoma Republican Legal professional Basic Gentner Drummond cited monetary and contracting issues when he ordered the State Auditor and Inspector’s Workplace to provide the audit, which has but to floor.

OTA, which operates 12 turnpikes totaling 630 centerline miles, offered an preliminary $500 million of second senior income bonds for the ACCESS program in October 2023 after acquiring validation for the debt from the Oklahoma Supreme Courtroom. One other $1.11 billion of bonds had been issued in January 2025. The offers had been rated Aa3 by Moody’s Scores and AA-minus by Fitch Scores and S&P World Scores — all with secure outlooks.   

One other spherical of bond financing is probably going by the top of 2026, in accordance with an OTA spokeswoman. 

The legislature’s interim research additionally lined an October report by the Legislative Workplace of Fiscal Transparency on the price of the state’s toll roads. Govt Director Regina Birchum pointed to 2 key findings.

“The primary (is) that the turnpike system has develop into the state’s major technique for developing new main roadways,” she mentioned. “After which second, whereas altering Oklahoma’s turnpike mannequin is feasible, it could take many years to totally notice.”

The report examined the opportunity of ending tolls, noting a $3 billion payoff for present OTA bonds.

“If the legislature sought to instantly make the state’s turnpikes toll-free, it must fulfill this bond debt plus take up the annual $260 million in asset preservation and upkeep prices for the roads,” the report mentioned, including OTA expects to subject one other $6.6 billion of bonds over the subsequent 13 years.

Different alternate options had been to cap OTA’s bond indebtedness at $8.2 billion, enable OTA to proceed to gather tolls as soon as all bonds are retired to cowl upkeep prices, or enable the periodic switch of turnpikes to ODOT till all are toll free. The latter choice “would require issuing new bonds with payoff triggers and imposing a moratorium on new turnpike initiatives,” in accordance with the report.

It additionally beneficial lawmakers decide whether or not approved however unbuilt turnpike routes “nonetheless match state priorities,” whereas including sundown provisions for newly authorised turnpikes.

An OTA assertion on the report pointed to turnpike advantages, together with out-of-state autos accounting for about 50% of toll collections.

“Oklahoma has an amazing story to share about its sustainable, user-fee-based strategy to assemble and keep turnpike infrastructure that helps and connects seamlessly with the tax-funded state freeway system,” it mentioned.

The company, nonetheless, continues to face litigation. 

Oral arguments had been held final month in class-action litigation filed in July towards the OTA and Oklahoma Division of Transportation in Rogers County District Courtroom, claiming tolls had been “unlawfully” being charged on a portion of the Will Rogers Turnpike.  

“On March 13, 2025, the extra entry level and interchange with State Freeway 20 on the Will Rogers Turnpike at Flint Highway opened to public use with no free four-lane highway parallel to the turnpike, no lease of the turnpike with concomitant elimination of tolls, and no compliance with Part 2004(А),” the lawsuit acknowledged. 

The 2 transportation businesses responded in August with a movement to dismiss the lawsuit, contending OTA’s tolling authority is lawful and that the part of legislation cited would impair contracts with OTA’s bondholders. 

OTA can be in search of to dismiss a lawsuit filed in U.S. District Courtroom in Could by Cherokee nation members, claiming an exemption for paying tolls in Oklahoma based mostly on a 2020 U.S. Supreme Courtroom ruling that affirmed about 42% of the state as tribal reservation land for legal legislation functions.

A ruling is pending in Oklahoma County District Courtroom on the constitutionality of a 2023 state legislation that altered OTA’s governance construction by stripping the governor of sole potential to nominate the company’s six-member board and giving two appointments every to the Home speaker and Senate president professional tempore.

The legislation took impact Nov. 1, 2023, after the legislature overrode Gov. Stitt’s veto of Home Invoice 2263. Stitt contended the measure would “codify legislative superiority and management over the operation of an government department company.”

Oral arguments in the case filed by the OTA towards legislative leaders had been held in July.

Stitt prevailed in a dispute with Drummond, who issued an opinion in February 2024 that Tim Gatz couldn’t concurrently function Oklahoma’s transportation secretary in addition to government director of the workplace of transportation and the OTA. Gatz resigned from his OTA function within the wake of the opinion and Echelle was appointed his substitute final 12 months. 

The State Supreme Courtroom on Nov. 12 reversed a decrease courtroom ruling that upheld Drummond’s opinion.