OKLAHOMA CITY, Okla. — The Oklahoma State Senate voted to override two of Gov. Kevin Stitt’s vetoes of two tribal compacts involving vehicle registration and tobacco sales on tribal lands.

The vote for both overrides was 34-7 with around half a dozen senators absent, but with bipartisan support, was enough to meet veto override qualifications.

“The tribes insist on good governance,” said State Sen. Mary Boren (D-Norman) when explaining why the tribes don’t want the agreements between them and the State of Oklahoma to expire and be sorted out in court.

The Oklahoma House of Representatives already voted to override one of Stitt’s vetoes, but they must return before July 31 to do a final override vote.

Supporters of the governor said it was not the legislature’s place to be negotiating compacts, and by overriding the veto, the legislative branch was going outside of the bounds of how compacts are negotiated.

“This power belongs solely to the governor,” State Sen. Nathan Dahm (R-Broken Arrow) said before voting against the override.

Other opponents of the override said there are too many unanswered questions about the U.S. Supreme Court’s McGirt decision that re-affirmed Oklahoma’s tribal nation boundaries mostly in the eastern half of the state.

“We are giving the governor the authority to go back to the negotiating table for one more year,” State Sen. Pro Tem Greg Treat (R-Edmond) said.

Treat previously said if the compact vetoes were allowed to stand, Oklahoma would lose around $57 million in annual revenue until a new agreement was reached if a new agreement was reached.

Stitt said in June the tribes were trying to get more money for themselves by insisting all tribal agreements now take into account the McGirt decision when it comes to the land their agreements take effect on. Stitt wants agreements to only be in effect on what is known as “trust land”. Trust land is land that actually belongs to tribal governments and their business ventures.

In the wake of the McGirt decision, tribes have argued they should get a portion of all transactions conducted within their re-established tribal borders.

Before the McGirt decision ever came down, Stitt has said repeatedly he believes the tribes were not sharing enough of the revenue with the state to cover basic services, and it’s a point he reiterated again last month when asking the Senate not to override his vetoes.

“I have to think about what’s best for all 4 million Oklahomans,” he said. “That’s who I’m elected to protect. I don’t even begrudge them for arguing what is better for them.”

After the Senate voted to override his vetoes, Cherokee Nation Principal Chief Chuck Hoskin Jr. released the following statement:

“Today is a great step forward in preserving carefully negotiated compact agreements that have served both Oklahoma and Cherokee Nation well for decades.

The bipartisan supermajority of Senators who voted to extend our tribal-state compacts, overriding the Governor’s veto, also saw this need, and I thank them for their support.

This vote shows once again that the Governor is isolated in his choice of conflict over cooperation with tribes. Cherokee Nation is ready to continue working with any and all good-faith partners in the state who respect our sovereignty.

I urge the Oklahoma House to return swiftly to complete the veto overrides. They can quickly end the troubling uncertainty these vetoes have caused for Oklahoma citizens and businesses.”

Stitt’s office released the following statement:

“Despite real concerns for the future of our state, the Senate has chosen to disregard the Governor’s compact in favor of compact language the tribes wanted. I am trying to protect eastern Oklahoma from becoming a reservation, and I’ve been working to ensure these compacts are the best deal for all four million Oklahomans. Unfortunately, the Senate disagreed and used an illegitimate process to do so.”