OKLAHOMA CITY -
Governor Mary Fallin has vetoed a storm-related bill that lawmakers say could have saved lives. The bill would have protected owners of mobile home parks who allowed residents to take shelter in their offices during severe weather.
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The bill received bi-partisan support in both the House and Senate, but not at the governor's desk. The issue has both sides sounding off. The governor vetoed the bill just two days before a tornado killed two girls and their father at a mobile home park in Woodward.
"Both the little girls passed away and a little boy [was flown] to Oklahoma City," the owner of the mobile home park said.
For years, lawmakers have grappled with how to better protect people living in mobile homes. State Rep. Eric Proctor of Tulsa says his bill would help by encouraging mobile home park owners to open up their offices as a form of shelter.
"Right now, many mobile home park owners are afraid to open up their office because of fear of liability … fear of a lawsuit," Proctor said.
The bill, which would have protected owners from lawsuits, was passed in the House unanimously and passed the Senate 40 to 1, but the governor vetoed it.
"The problem that our office and the governor had with that bill was that in some cases it actually encouraged … people to send occupants of these mobile homes into unsafe environments," governor spokesperson Alex Weintz said.
Governor Fallin's office says the governor shares the goals of the bill's authors, but feels there needs to be accountability on part of mobile home owners to ensure buildings used as shelters are safe. Proctor argues that most any office would be safer than a mobile home.
"It can possibly save a life in the future, and that's what we're trying to do," Proctor said.
The governor fears owners would use the bill to falsely advertise an office as a tornado shelter. Proctor says he will fight to override the veto, but the Speaker of the House has tabled an effort to do so.
The governor vetoed the bill just two days before a tornado killed two girls and their father at a mobile home park in Woodward.
