Oklahoma House Of Representatives

See also: Redistricting in Oklahoma

In Oklahoma, both congressional and state legislative district boundaries are drawn by the Oklahoma State Legislature. These lines may be vetoed by the governor.^[18]

If the legislature is unable to approve a state legislative redistricting plan, a backup commission must draw the lines. The commission comprises the following seven members:^[18]

1. The governor appoints one Republican and one Democrat.
2. The majority leader of the Oklahoma State Senate appoints one Republican and one Democrat.
3. The majority leader of the Oklahoma House of Representatives appoints one Republican and one Democrat.
4. The lieutenant governor serves as the non-voting chair of the commission.

The Oklahoma Constitution requires that state Senate district boundaries take into account "population, compactness, area, political units, historical precedents, economic and political interests, contiguous territory, and other major factors."^[18]

The redistricting committee of the state House adopted redistricting guidelines similar to the senatorial district requirements described above. These guidelines apply to state House and congressional districts, as well. These guidelines may be amended by the state legislature at its discretion.^[18]

2020[edit]

See also: Redistricting in Oklahoma after the 2020 census

Upon completion of the 2020 census, Oklahoma will draft and enact new district maps. The Oklahoma House of Representatives provided this projected timeline for the 2020 redistricting cycle in Oklahoma.^[19] On Sept. 24, Gov. Kevin Stitt (R) called a special session of the legislature to address redistricting that began Nov. 15, 2021.^[20]

The House and Senate Redistricting Committees scheduled town hall meetings about redistricting to take place at the following times and locations:

2010[edit]

See also: Redistricting in Oklahoma after the 2010 census

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, Oklahoma's population increased from 3.45 million to 3.75 million between 2000 and 2010.^[21] The population was densest around Oklahoma City and Tulsa. Growth rates were highest in the suburban and exurban areas surrounding these cities, while rural Oklahoma counties grew at a lower rate or lost population. Of Oklahoma's 77 counties, 23 saw a drop in population between 2000 and 2010.^[22] The state's overall growth rate was 8.7 percent, which was below the national average of 9.7 percent, but not low enough to cost the state a Congressional seat.^[23]

Oklahoma officials received detailed Oklahoma results from the Census in February 2011. The legislature formed steering committees in each chamber to draft the maps before the May 27, 2011 deadline. The House of Representatives completed its work relatively quickly, producing a map that avoided putting any incumbents in a district together by early May.^[24] The Senate did not produce a map until mid-May.^[25][26][27] The House map was passed in its initial vote, while the Senate encountered minority opposition. The opposition eased on the second round of votes, and the Gov. Mary Fallin (R) signed the bills into law on May 20, 2011, seven days before the deadline.^[28][29]

Sessions[edit]

Legislation[edit]

The legislation tracker below displays all legislation that the Oklahoma House of Representatives has approved in its most recent legislative session—this includes legislation that has been sent from the House to the Senate and legislation that has already been approved by both chambers and signed by the governor. The table below includes the bill number, its name, progress, most recent action date, and sponsor. Scroll up and down and side to side to see more. Click the bill number to read the bill text and see its voting history. Click the headings to sort the content. Rearrange the order of the headings by clicking and dragging them. Click the magnifying glass in the bottom left corner to search for specific terms. The legislation tracker is maintained and updated by BillTrack50.

Dates of legislative sessions in Oklahoma by year[edit]

2021[edit]

See also: 2021 Oklahoma legislative session and Dates of 2021 state legislative sessions

In 2021, the legislature was scheduled to convene on February 1, 2021, and adjourn on May 27, 2021.

2020[edit]

See also: 2020 Oklahoma legislative session and Dates of 2020 state legislative sessions

In 2020, the legislature was scheduled to convene on February 3, 2020, and adjourn on May 22, 2020.

Effect of coronavirus pandemic[edit]

See also: Changes to state legislative session dates in response to the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, 2020

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Several state legislatures had their sessions impacted as a result of the 2020 coronavirus pandemic. Governor Kevin Stitt (R) called the Oklahoma State Legislature into a special session scheduled to convene on April 6, 2020. The legislature had previously suspended its session, effective March 23, 2020, through April 3, 2020. That suspension was originally scheduled to continue through March 27, 2020. On May 4, 2020, the legislature reconvened its regular session. It adjourned on May 22, 2020.^{[30][31][32][33]}

2019[edit]

See also: 2019 Oklahoma legislative session and Dates of 2019 state legislative sessions

In 2019, the legislature was in session from February 4, 2019, through May 31, 2019.

2018[edit]

See also: 2018 Oklahoma legislative session and Dates of 2018 state legislative sessions

In 2018, the legislature was in session from February 5, 2018, through May 3, 2018. To read about notable events and legislation from this session, click here.

About legislative sessions in Oklahoma[edit]

The Tenth Amendment of the U.S. Constitution declares that any power not already given to the federal government is reserved to the states and the people.^[41] State governments across the country use this authority to hold legislative sessions where a state's elected representatives meet for a period of time to draft and vote on legislation and set state policies on issues such as taxation, education, and government spending. The different types of legislation passed by a legislature may include resolutions, legislatively referred constitutional amendments, and bills that become law.

Article V of the Oklahoma Constitution establishes when the Oklahoma State Legislature, of which the House of Representatives is a part, is to be in session. Section 26 of Article V states that the Legislature is to meet in regular session on the first Monday in February of each year, and it is to adjourn its regular session by the last Friday in May of each year. Additionally, Section 26 also states that the Legislature is to meet for organizational purposes on the first Tuesday following the first Monday in January of each odd-numbered year.

Section 27 of Article V contains the rules for convening special sessions of the Legislature. Section 27 allows a special session to be called by the Governor of Oklahoma or by a written call signed by two-thirds of the members of both legislative houses.

Legislative roles and procedures[edit]

Every state legislature throughout the country features its own internal procedures that it uses to govern itself and how it interacts with other parts of state government. Ballotpedia's coverage of internal state legislative procedures includes veto overrides, the role of the legislature in the state budget, procedures for filling membership vacancies, and procedures for filling membership vacancies.

Veto overrides[edit]

See also: Veto overrides in state legislatures

State legislatures can override governors' vetoes. Depending on the state, this can be done during the regular legislative session, in a special session following the adjournment of the regular session, or during the next legislative session. The rules for legislative overrides of gubernatorial vetoes in Oklahoma are listed below.

How many legislators are required to vote for an override? Two-thirds of members in both chambers.

Are there other special rules?

Authority: Article VI, Section 11 of the Oklahoma Constitution.

Role in state budget[edit]

See also: Oklahoma state budget and finances

Oklahoma on

Check out Ballotpedia articles about policy in your state on:

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The state operates on an annual budget cycle. The sequence of key events in the budget process is as follows:^[43]

1. Budget instructions are sent to state agencies in August.
2. State agencies submit their budget requests to the governor by October 1.
3. Agency hearings are held from November through January.
4. The governor submits his or her proposed budget to the state legislature in February.
5. The legislature typically adopts a budget in May. A simple majority is required to pass a budget. The new fiscal year begins July 1.

Oklahoma is one of 44 states in which the governor has line item veto authority.^[43]

The governor is constitutionally required to submit a balanced budget proposal. Likewise, the legislature is required to pass a balanced budget.^[43]

Committees[edit]

See also: List of committees in Oklahoma state government

Every state legislature and state legislative chamber in the country contains several legislative committees. These committees are responsible for studying, amending, and voting on legislation before it reaches the floor of a chamber for a full vote. The different types of committees include standing committees, select or special, and joint.

• Standing committees are generally permanent committees, the names of which sometimes change from session to session.
• Select or special committees are temporary committees formed to deal with specific issues such as recent legislation, major public policy or proposals, or investigations.
• Joint committees are committees that feature members of both chambers of a legislature.

Ballotpedia covers standing and joint committees. The Oklahoma House of Representatives has 30 standing committees:

Constitutional amendments[edit]

In every state but Delaware, voter approval is required to enact a constitutional amendment. In each state, the legislature has a process for referring constitutional amendments before voters. In 18 states, initiated constitutional amendments can be put on the ballot through a signature petition drive. There are also many other types of statewide measures.

The methods in which the Oklahoma Constitution can be amended:

See also: Section 1, Article V, and Article XXIV of the Oklahoma Constitution and Laws governing ballot measures in Oklahoma

The Oklahoma Constitution lays out three different paths, in two different articles, for how to go about changing the state's constitution.

• Sections 1 and 2 of Article V say that citizens of the state have the right to amend their constitution through the process of initiated constitutional amendments.

• Signatures equaling 15 percent of "legal voters" must sign a petition to put a proposed amendment on the ballot. The number of "legal voters" is defined as based on "the total number of votes cast at the last general election for the State office receiving the highest number of votes at such election."
• Petitions that are circulated for this purpose must include "the full text of the measure so proposed."

• According to Section 1 of Article XXIV, the Oklahoma State Legislature can propose amendments.

• To put the proposed amendment on a general election ballot, a simple majority vote is required.
• If the legislature wants the proposed amendment to go on a special election ballot, it has to approve the amendment by a two-thirds vote.
• Proposed amendments must observe the single-subject rule.

• Section 2 of Article XXIV says that constitutional conventions can only be held if approved by a statewide vote.

• Section 2 also says a question about whether to hold a convention shall automatically appear on the state's ballot every 20 years.
• The section does not specify any way other than the every-20-years automatic referral, but is worded in such a way as to suggest that there could be other ways for a constitutional convention question to go on the ballot.
• Other ways could include the state legislature voting to put it there or citizens petitioning to put such a question on the ballot.

2021 measures:

Below is a list of measures that were referred to the 2021 ballot by the legislature.

See also: 2021 ballot measures

Certified:

The following measures were certified for the ballot.

No measures to list

See also[edit]

Elections	Oklahoma State Government	State Legislatures	State Politics
Oklahoma House of Representatives elections, 2022 Oklahoma House of Representatives elections, 2020 Oklahoma House of Representatives elections, 2018	Oklahoma State Legislature Oklahoma State Senate Governor of Oklahoma Oklahoma Supreme Court	State legislative elections, 2022 State legislative elections, 2021 State legislative elections, 2020 State legislative elections, 2019 State legislative elections, 2018	State government trifectas State government triplexes State executives State courts Ballot measures

Footnotes[edit]

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