Speaker of the Oklahoma House of Representatives

The Speaker of the Oklahoma House of Representatives is the presiding officer of the lower house of the Oklahoma Legislature, the Oklahoma House of Representatives. The Speaker exercises administrative and procedural functions in the House, but most importantly remains a representative of his legislative district. The current Speaker is Chris Benge, Republican from Tulsa, Oklahoma.

The office of Speaker was created in 1907 by Oklahoma Constitution, The Speaker is selected by the House of Representative itself, and it its highest ranking officer. While not a constitutional requirement, the speaker is usually a member of the majority party. Most leadership elections follow strict party lines.

History

Following the statehood of Oklahoma in 1907, the first Speaker was elected. Unlike present day Speaker elections, since all candidates had no prior service in the House, there were no prominent former House leaders to select from. Since the Democrats controlled the House, members knew the Speaker was going to be a Democrat. After much deliberation, former Chickasaw representative and Constitutional Convention President William H. Murray was selected. Sworn into office on November 16, 1907, (the same day Oklahoma was admitted to the Union) Murray serve as the Speaker from 1907 to 1909.

In the first 13 years of Oklahoma’s statehood, the Democrats held control of both the House and the Senate. However, following problems faced by Democratic Governor James B. A. Robertson’s administration, in the 1920 mid-term elections, the Republicans won control of the House for the first time in state history. The Republicans selected George B. Schwabe to control the House from 1921 to 1923. Under Speaker Schwabe’s leadership, the Republican House was in constant conflict Democratic Senate. Following a scandal in the Governor’s office, Speaker Schwabe led the charge to impeach many state officials. The House came within one vote of impeaching Governor Robertson.

After the 1922 general election, the Democrats regained control of the House. The Democrats would maintain their control of the House for the next eighty years. Under Democratic leadership, the House would elect to first Speaker to fill a vacancy in the office. Merle Lansden was elected Speaker following the resignation of Speaker Harold Freeman after the 1943 session.

In 1957, B.E. “Bill” Harkey became the first Speaker to serve a second term. After Harkey’s landmark victory, having one Speaker serving multiple terms became the norm in the House. From 1959 through 2005, 11 individuals have served as the Speaker over 23 Legislative sessions. During this 46 year period, all but one Speaker served as two consecutive terms, with five Speakers serving three consecutive terms. Jim Barker from Muskogee, Oklahoma holds the current record of four consecutive terms, serving from 1983 to 1989. His lengthy tenure set the stage for his ouster.

After the 2004 mid-term election, the Republicans gained control of the House for the first time since 1921. The Republicans selected Todd Hiett to serve as the Speaker. Had the Democrats retained majority, Jari Askins may have become the first female Speaker of the House. In 2006, Republican Speaker pro Tempore Susan Winchester (R-Chickasha) was seen by many political observers as in line to become the first female Speaker and yet, was defeated by Rep. Lance Cargill (R-Choctaw), a former Majority leader.

Following the 2006 election, the Republicans retained the majority in the House for the first time in state history. They selected Lance Cargill to succeeded Hiett as the Speaker. Following Cargill's resignation as Speaker in January, 2008, Chris Benge was elected to succeed him.

1929 coalition

In unusual circumstances, party lines can become blurred. In 1929, James C. Nance, then Representative from Walters, was elected Speaker when a coalition of dissident Democrats voting with the Republican caucus ousted Democrat Rep. Allan Street from the Speaker's office.

1989 coalition

In 1989, Speaker Jim Barker was removed from office by a coalition of dissident Democrats led by Rep. Cal Hobson, voting with the Republican caucus. In this event, the Democratic caucus acting alone selected Rep. Steve Lewis as the new Speaker, over Hobson.

The most recent Speaker was Lance Cargill, Republican representative from Harrah, Oklahoma, who resigned in January 2008. Speaker Cargill's resignation came upon revelations of filing income and property taxes late and an ongoing ethics investigation.

In the gubernatorial line of succession, the speaker is third in line behind the Lieutenant Governor of Oklahoma and the President pro tempore of the Oklahoma Senate.

In the House of Representatives, the order of rank is the speaker, the speaker pro tempore, the majority leader, the majority whip, the majority caucus chair, and the Appropriations Committee chair. The minority leader is also an officer, but has little authority, other than to negotiate on behalf of the minority party on matters of legislative policy.

Election

Article Five of the Oklahoma Constitution provides, “The House of Representatives shall, at the beginning of each regular session and at such other times as may be necessary, elect one of its members Speaker.” Unlike the Speaker of the United States House of Representatives, the Speaker is required to be a member of the House. Speakers are elected following each biennial general election, and serve two-year terms.

Following the general election, the party in majority comes together before the Legislature comes into session and elects the Speaker. After the party caucus, the entire House formally votes on the Speaker. Whenever a Speaker resigns or dies, a new Speaker is elected in the same fashion.

As the Constitution allows for the election of a Speaker at “times as may be necessary,” when the House comes in Special or Extraordinary Sessions, a new Speaker may be selected to fulfill the need.

In 1983, Speaker Dan Draper was convicted of a felony, election fraud, his office was declared vacant by the Governor George Nigh, who set the date for a special election. By the time his conviction was overturned on judicial appeal, his office as a Representative and as The Speaker, were already filled by others.

Powers

The Speaker holds a variety of powers as the presiding officer of the House of Representatives. Before any member may speak, he must seek the presiding officer's recognition. The presiding officer may call on members as he pleases, and may therefore control the flow of debate. The presiding officer decides all questions of orders during debate, seats in the camber, calls members to order for violating rules, and approves all claims for supplies and services. He is responsible for maintaining decorum in the House, and enforces the rules. On the floor of the House, the presiding officer is always addressed as "Mister Speaker" (even if the Speaker himself is not the individual presiding).

The Speaker's powers and duties extend beyond presiding in the chamber. In particular, he has great influence over the committee process. The Speaker appoints all members of committees and assigns each committee a room in the Oklahoma State Capitol. Moreover, when a bill is introduced, the Speaker determines which committee shall consider it. The Speaker is also an ex officio voting member on all House committees.

As a member of the House, the Speaker is entitled to participate in debate and to vote. By custom, however, he does so only in exceptional circumstances. Normally, the Speaker votes only when his vote would be decisive, and on matters of great importance (such as constitutional amendments). Even if the Speaker does not vote on the floor, the Speaker still retains the right to vote in committee.

Other duties

Following the general election, the results for the election must be transmitted by the Secretary of State of Oklahoma to the Speaker of the House. The Speaker must then immediately, following the organization of the House, and before proceeding to other business, open and announce the election results in the presence of a majority of each house of the Legislature.

The Legislature may be called into special session by a written call, with specifically set out in the call, with a signed call by two-thirds of the members of the Senate and two-thirds of the members of the House of Representatives. After the number of Senators and Representatives is met, the call is filed with the President Pro Tempore of the Senate and the Speaker of the House of Representatives who must issue a join order for the convening of the special session.

According to Section 16 of Article Six of the Oklahoma Constitution, the Speaker is third in line to succeed to the Governorship in the event of a vacancy in the office. First in line is the Lieutenant Governor of Oklahoma, followed by the President, pro tempore, of the Senate, and then the Speaker. No Speaker had ever had to become the Governor in that manner.

List of Speakers

The complete (as of 2008) list of Speaker is below. Note: All locations are in Oklahoma.

ee also

*Oklahoma House of Representatives
*Oklahoma Senate
*Oklahoma Legislature
*Lieutenant Governor of Oklahoma