Speaker of the Oklahoma House of Representatives

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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. In unusual circumstances, party lines can become blurred. In 1929, James C. Nance, then Representative from Walters, was elected Speaker with a coalition of dissident Democrats voting with Republicans, after his predecessor was ousted. In 1989, Speaker Jim Barker was removed from office by a coalition of dissident Democrats voting with Republicans. The most recent Speaker was Lance Cargill, Republican Representative from Harrah, Oklahoma, resigned in January of 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, both of whom are the Speaker’s counterparts in the Senate.

In the House of Representatives, the order of rank is The Speaker, Speaker-Pro Tempore,The Majority Leader, The Majority Whip, The Majority Caucus Chair, and the Appropriations Chair. The Minority Leader is also an officer, but has little authority, other than to negotiate on behalf of the minority party regarding legislative policy matters.

Contents 1 History 2 Election 3 Powers 4 Other duties 5 List of Speakers 6 See also

[edit] 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.

[edit] 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. When ever 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.

[edit] 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.

[edit] 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.

[edit] List of Speakers

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

#	Speaker	Party	Hometown	Legislature	Start of service	End of service
1	William H. Murray	Democrat	Tishomingo	1st	1907	1909
2	Ben F. Wilson	Democrat	Cereal	2nd	1909	1911
3	W.A. Durant	Democrat	Durant	3rd	1911	1913
-	W.B. Anthony	Democrat	Barlow	Special	1911	1911
4	J. Harvey Maxey	Democrat	Muskogee	4th	1913	1915
5	A. McCrory	Democrat	Cornish	5th	1915	1917
6	Paul Nesbitt	Democrat	McAlister	6th	1917	1919
7	Tom C. Waldrep	Democrat	Shawnee	7th	1919	1921
8	George B. Schwabe	Republican	Nowata	8th	1921	1923
9	Murray F. Gibbons	Democrat	Purcell	9th	1923	1925
-	W.D. McBee	Democrat	Duncan	Special	1923	1924
10	J.B. Harper	Democrat	Talihina	10th	1925	1927
11	D.A. Stovall	Democrat	Hugo	11th	1927	1929
12	James C. Nance	Democrat	Walters	12th	1929	1931
13	Carlton Weaver	Democrat	Wilburton	13th	1931	1933
14	Tom Anglin	Democrat	Holdenville	14th	1933	1935
15	Leon C. Phillips	Democrat	Okemah	15th	1935	1937
16	J.T. Daniel	Democrat	Waurika	16th	1937	1939
17	Don Welch	Democrat	Madill	17th	1939	1941
18	E. Blumhagen	Democrat	Watonga	18th	1941	1943
19	Harold Freeman	Democrat	Pauls Valley	19th	1943	1943
20	Merle Lansden	Democrat	Beaver	19th	1944	1945
21	Johnson Davis Hill	Democrat	Tulsa	20th	1945	1945
22	H.I. Hinds	Democrat	Tahlequah	20th	1945	1947
23	C.R. Board	Democrat	Boise City	21st	1947	1949
24	Walter Billingsley	Democrat	Wewoka	22nd	1949	1951
25	James M. Bullard	Democrat	Duncan	23rd	1951	1953
26	James C. Nance	Democrat	Purcell	24th	1953	1955
27	B.E. “Bill” Harkey	Democrat	Oklahoma City	25th	1955	1959
				26th
28	Clint G. Livingston	Democrat	Marietta	27th	1959	1961
29	J.D. McCarty	Democrat	Oklahoma City	28th	1961	1967
				29th
				30th
30	Rex Privett	Democrat	Maramec	31st	1967	1973
				32nd
				33rd
31	William P. Willis	Democrat	Tahlequah	34th	1973	1979
				35th
				36th
32	Daniel D. Draper	Democrat	Stillwater	37th	1979	1983
				38th
				39th
33	Jim Barker	Democrat	Muskogee	40th	1983	1989
				41st
				42nd
				43rd
34	Steve Lewis	Democrat	Shawnee	43rd	1989	1991
35	Glen Johnson, Jr.	Democrat	Okemah	44th	1991	1997
				44rd
				45th
36	Lloyd L. Benson	Democrat	Fredrick	46th	1997	2001
				47th
37	Larry Adair	Democrat	Stillwell	48th	2001	2005
				49th
38	Todd Hiett	Republican	Kellyville	50th	2005	2007
39	Lance Cargill	Republican	Oklahoma City	51st	2007	2008
38	Chris Benge	Republican	Tulsa	51st	2008	Present

[edit] See also

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