The Oklahoma Supreme Court has declined 8-0 to block Corporate Commissioner Todd Hiett from voting on rate hikes amid allegations of misconduct.
The justices on Monday rejected a disqualification request from three Republican lawmakers.
“The Ethics Commission, and not this Court, is the most appropriate forum for this disqualification request,” Judge Dana Kuehn wrote in a concurring opinion. “The alleged behavior falls under the ethics rules.”
Rep. Tom Gann, of Inola; Rep. Kevin West, of Moore; and Rep. Rick West of Heavener asked the Supreme Court to ban Hiett from voting on matters involving companies with direct knowledge of his “alleged criminal conduct.”
“We knew this was a legal gamble,” they said in a press release on Monday.
The three members of Oklahoma’s Corporation Commission regulate oil and gas drilling, public utilities, cotton gins and key aspects of the transportation industry. Their decisions affect how much Oklahomans pay for gas and electricity for their homes.
Lawmakers went to the Supreme Court in September after The Oklahoman reported on eyewitness accounts of Hiett’s drunken behavior. No criminal charges have been filed.
The lawmakers said they also complained about Hiett to the Ethics Commission.
Two Kansas Corporation Commission employees reported that Hiett groped a man at a conference in Minnesota on June 9 while he was drunk. The man was identified at the time only as a representative of a company “before” the Oklahoma Corporation Commission.
Hiett, a Republican, has admitted to abusing alcohol that night but says he has no memory of the incident and must have been joking. He also said he is receiving outpatient treatment.
Two Oklahoma Corporation Commission employees said Hiett was driving drunk after leaving a party at Broadway 10 Bar & Chophouse in Oklahoma City on June 21, 2023. One of the employees also said that the married commissioner had insulted her during the party and later apologized.
Hiett did not directly discuss the party’s stories. It was filed by a new law firm that now represents utilities before the Corporation Commission.
Outgoing Corporate Commissioner Bob Anthony has reported that he has been told of other incidents involving Hiett in Florida, California, Texas and Washington, DC. “Some even predate the pandemic,” Anthony, also a Republican, wrote in a filing with the Corporation Commission.
In Monday’s press release, the lawmakers pointed out that Judge Douglas Combs wrote in a unanimous opinion that they can still appeal rate increases once they become final “as a violation of their right to due process before a fair and impartial judge.” ”
“Consequently, our pursuit of justice on behalf of Oklahoma utility ratepayers does not end here,” they said.
This article originally appeared on Oklahoman: Corporation Commissioner Todd Hiett survives disqualification effort
