Attorney General opinion, 2012-23, 12/19/2012

              OFFICE OF ATTORNEY GENERAL
STATE OF OKLAHOMA
ATTORNEY GENERAL OPINION
2012-23
The Honorable Patrick Anderson
State Senator, District 19
2300 N. Lincoln Blvd, Room 417A
Oklahoma City, Oklahoma 73105
Dear Senator Anderson:
December 19,2012
This office has received your request for an Attorney General Opinion in which you ask, in
effect, the following questions:
1. Do 70 0.S.2011, §§ 3206.6 or 3206.6a, which authorize the State
Regents for Higher Education to create a "Master Lease Program,"
violate Article X, Sections 23 or 25 of the Oklahoma Constitution,
which in most circumstances bar the creation of long-term debt
without a vote of the people?
2. Does the Master Lease Program impermissibly delegate legislative
power to the State Regents for Higher Education in violation of the
separation of powers doctrine set out in Article IV, Section 1 of the
Oklahoma Constitution?
3. May the Master Lease Program be used to purchase, construct, or
improve a building that is intended to be used by a state agency that is
neither funded nor controlled by the State Regents for Higher
Education?
4. If the answer to number 3 is yes, who is responsible for the repayment
of the bonded indebtedness?
5. Is there any limit as to the cumulative total amount of indebtedness
that the State Regents for Higher Education may incur under the real
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