House rejects plan to cut OETA funding

State/Nation

March 14, 2013

House rejects plan to cut OETA funding

Staff Reports Associated Press Thu Mar 14, 2013, 03:58 PM CDT

OKLAHOMA CITY — The Oklahoma House has rejected a proposal to reduce state funding for the state’s public television network, but the author of the bill says the network still could be phased out of existence this year.

After lengthy debate from members on both sides of the aisle in support of funding for the Oklahoma Educational Television Authority, the House on Thursday voted 57-41 against the bill to reduce its state appropriations.

The bill’s sponsor, Seminole Republican Rep. Tom Newell, is among a growing number of conservatives in the Legislature who argue the network is not a core function of government.

Newell says there’s still a possibility the Legislature could vote down a separate bill that’s needed to keep the network functioning as a state agency.

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