The Tobacco Settlement Endowment Trust (TSET) was created in 2000 as part of the Master Settlement Agreement (MSA) to fund tobacco-cessation efforts throughout Oklahoma. Currently, these MSA payments are distributed as follows: 75 percent to TSET, 18.75 percent to the Oklahoma Legislature to spend as it sees fit, and 6.25 percent to the Attorney General’s office. 

In 2025, the total MSA payment reached $58.9 million, with approximately $44 million deposited into TSET. The funds given to TSET are invested, and TSET is only allowed to spend the earnings of those investments.

Between 2015 and 2025, TSET received $584 million in MSA deposits, and the fund’s total balance more than doubled—climbing from $997 million to $2.09 billion. According to the FY-25 audit report, TSET operated with a total budget of $85 million, of which $81 million was directed to programs. That growth has come with relatively little accountability. TSET is governed by a seven-member board of directors who are not elected by Oklahomans but rather appointed by various government officials.

As the fund has ballooned, so too has the board’s interpretation of its mandate. One example is the Free the Night campaign, which promoted smoke-free areas in bars and nightclubs at a cost of $1.05 million. Another $781,500 was awarded to the Oklahoma City Boathouse Foundation. Last year, TSET provided more than $22 million in grants and contracts to various higher-education institutions. 

These expenditures raise broader concerns about mission creep within an unelected body managing a multi-billion-dollar public trust. HJR 1077 and HB 4003 would eliminate the board of directors and limit the majority of TSET funds to paying for OHLAP scholarships and depositing any remaining money into an education revolving fund. This would allow much more oversight and control by the voter-elected Legislature and ensure more accountability for these taxpayer dollars.