Tulsa Mayor Vetoes Spray Paint Ordinance

Tulsa Mayor G.T. Bynum has vetoes an ordinance recently passed by the City Council.

In a vote of five to two, councilors approved the ordinance that would have prohibited the sale of spray paint to minors.

7/18/2018 Related Story: No Spray Paint Sold To Minors Under New Tulsa City Ordinance

Mayor Bynum sent a memo to city councilors on Monday in which he apologized for not communicating his concerns about the ordinance earlier.

He cited several reasons for vetoing the ordinance.  Mayor Bynum stated in the memo that “at a time when we are working locally to reduce non-violent incarceration and when one in four Tulsa children live in poverty this ordinance has the potential to increase the number of Tulsa youth who are incarcerated.”

The Mayor also said the ordinance “places a significant burden and legal risk on local businesses that is disproportionate to the problem evidenced by City of Tulsa vandalism data.”

Additionally, he says he worries about the burden the ordinance would place on Tulsa police to enforce it and he does “not believe it is fair to Tulsa Police officers to put them in position of having to decide in the field whether or not to enforce the laws that you and I pass.”

Here is Mayor Bynum's full statement: