OKLAHOMA CITY — In his final round of action on pending legislation, Democratic Gov. Brad Henry on Friday vetoed 22 separate bills, including a measure that would have created an energy stabilization fund to reduce the volatility of state revenue collections.

Henry, who is completing his second and final term in office, said he supported the fund's concept, but that in the last-minute rush of the 2010 legislative session, the bill contained "numerous technical errors."

"The next Legislature should revisit this concept and carefully draft legislation that can be implemented without question or concern," Henry said in his veto message.

State law prevents Henry from running for re-election after two terms.

With much of Oklahoma's budget woes this year attributable to a steep drop in energy prices, the energy stabilization fund was a top priority of House Speaker Chris Benge, a Tulsa Republican. The bill passed the Legislature with bipartisan support.

The idea was to collect gross production taxes on oil and gas above a three-year average and deposit them into a special fund. In years where collections fell below a three-year average, money from the fund would be deposited into the state's general fund to help offset budget shortfalls.

Benge said he was disappointed with the veto and hopes next year's Legislature revamps the bill.

"The fund was intended to give our state the chance to capture gross production revenues in high collection years for use in reduced collection years, which would have helped reduce the effect price volatility has on our state budget," Benge said in a statement.

Among the other bills vetoed by Henry was a proposal to consolidate the Oklahoma State and Education Employees Group Insurance Board and the Oklahoma Employees Benefits Council and make other changes to the state's health insurance plan for state employees. Henry criticized lawmakers for unveiling such a major policy shift in the legislative session's final days.

"For such a sweeping policy change to be enacted into law, it must be thoroughly researched and debated throughout the four-month session with all stakeholders at the table, not unveiled and passed in the hectic and often chaotic final moments before adjournment," Henry said.

Henry vetoed another bill that would have restricted lottery advertisements, and three other measures to transfer money from a special fund at the Oklahoma Bureau of Narcotics to various state agencies.

Henry signed 43 bills into law Friday, including a measure that allows local school districts to roll back several initiatives aimed at improving public education across Oklahoma, such as required professional development for teachers.

The bill also suspends for two years new applications for a state program that offers a $5,000 annual stipend for teachers who attain National Board certification.

"The likelihood of a slow recovery in revenues will require school districts to deploy every possible option to save money," Benge said.

All told, Henry vetoed 40 of the 522 measures sent to his office for consideration this year. Three of those vetoes — all of abortion-related bills — were overridden.

Copyright 2010 The Associated Press.