A trio of state lawmakers are asking the Oklahoma Supreme Court to disqualify Corporation Commissioner Todd Hiett from judicial cases at the commission.
Reps. Tom Gann, R-Inola, Kevin West, R-Moore and Rick West, R-Heavener, filed a petition to the high court late last week.
The petition focuses on cases pending at the Oklahoma Corporation Commission for three utility companies — Oklahoma Natural Gas (ONG), Oklahoma Gas and Electric Company (OG&E) and Public Service Company of Oklahoma (PSO).
The petition said the cases were tainted, utility companies had leverage over Hiett in their cases before him at the commission, and Hiett violated ethics rules and the Code of Judicial Conduct.
Hiett has been accused of drunken sexual misconduct and has remained on the commission despite calls for him to step down. The Oklahoman first reported accusations that Hiett groped a man while drunk at a Minnesota conference in June. Later, the paper reported allegations of a separate incident that he drove drunk after an event in Oklahoma City in 2023.
Hiett has said he does not remember what happened and started treatment for his problems with alcohol. Attorneys outside the commission have been hired to investigate the allegations independently.
Gann said the petition concerns being a state ratepayer and how the commission is voting for rate increases.
“And as a ratepayer, I’m extremely concerned when there’s a conflict of interest like we see,” Gann said.
Hiett did not respond to a request for comment. But he told the nonprofit news outlet Oklahoma Voice that it would be unsuitable to comment because the lawmakers’ case is pending.
The lawmakers have filed complaints about Hiett’s continued role in the commission's cases and asked for an opinion from the Oklahoma Attorney General’s Office, according to the petition.
Last month, Hiett voted to approve a $31 million rate increase for Oklahoma Natural Gas. At the time, fellow commissioner Bob Anthony said he did not think the proceeding followed state ethics laws.
