Oklahoma House of Representatives
Mike W. Ray, Media Division Director
January 16, 2004
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contact: State Rep. John Trebilcock
Capitol: (405) 557-7362
Broken Arrow: (918) 594-0441

Contact: State Rep. Forrest Claunch
Capitol: (405) 557-7395
Midwest City: (405) 733-7054

OKLAHOMA CITY -- Two Republicans in the state House of Representatives have filed unrelated measures that would circumscribe political activities of Oklahoma legislators.

House Bill 1871 proposes a requirement that any state lawmaker who seeks election to some other political office would be compelled to resign from the Legislature prior to or at the time of filing for the other office, if election to that office would require the legislator to resign from his/her House or Senate seat.

If HB 1871 is approved, the referendum would be submitted to a statewide vote of the people.

The author of the proposal is Rep. Forrest Claunch, R-Midwest City.

"This is not a partisan issue," he said. "I just don't see how anyone can adequately represent their constituents while out campaigning for another office."

Claunch recalled that two House members, one Democrat and one Republican, retained their posts while running for vacated Senate seats last year; a Republican state Senator kept his office while campaigning for the Oklahoma Corporation Commission in 2002; the incumbent chief executive officer of Oklahoma, Brad Henry, a Democrat, held onto his state Senate seat while campaigning for Governor; a Republican state House member remained in the Legislature while waging a successful
campaign for election to a vacant U.S. Congress seat in 2001; and the Democratic state Insurance Commissioner, who was re-elected in 2002 to a four-year term, has announced his candidacy for the U.S. Senate.

The other GOP measure, House Bill 1888, would prohibit any former state lawmaker from lobbying the Legislature for two years after that person's last day in office in the state House or Senate. The author of that proposal is Rep. John Trebilcock, R-Broken Arrow.

"People in Broken Arrow have asked me about the 'revolving door' at the State Capitol: legislators leaving to become lobbyists and vice versa," Trebilcock said. "We have a lot of legislators who, at the end of the session this year, will be voting on bills that could affect potential clients of theirs if they become lobbyists after term limits
go into effect. We need to remove the temptation, or the appearance of impropriety."

HB 1888 would become effective this Nov. 1. The prohibition would have a significant immediate effect: constitutional term limits will claim 41 of the 149 state lawmakers this fall (28 in the House of the Representatives and 13 in the Senate), and at least one other lawmaker has announced his retirement after this session of the Legislature.

Trebilcock is a first-term legislator who was a high-school government and history teacher for five years. "I taught government the way it is, but also the way it should be," he said.

HBs 1871 and 1888 both will be assigned to committees after the Second Regular Session of the 49th Legislature convenes Feb. 2.

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