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Oklahoma Senate | |
|---|---|
| Oklahoma State Legislature | |
 | |
| Type | |
| Type | |
Term limits | 12 year cumulative total, in either or both chambers |
| History | |
New session started | January 7, 2025 |
| Leadership | |
Lonnie Paxton (R) since January 7, 2025 | |
Majority Leader | Julie Daniels (R) since January 7, 2025 |
Minority Leader | |
| Structure | |
| Seats | 48 |
 Seat display Map display | |
Political groups | Majority
Minority
|
Length of term | 4 years |
| Authority | Article V,Oklahoma Constitution |
| Salary | $38,400/year + $153 per diem + $10,000 bonus=($58,804) |
| Elections | |
Last election | November 5, 2024 (24 seats) |
Next election | November 18, 2026 (24 seats) |
| Redistricting | Legislative Control |
| Meeting place | |
 | |
| State Senate Chamber Oklahoma State Capitol Oklahoma City,Oklahoma | |
| Website | |
| oksenate.gov | |
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Executive
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Legislature
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Divisions |
Congressional delegation
|
TheOklahoma Senate is theupper house of the two houses of theLegislature of Oklahoma, the other being theOklahoma House of Representatives. The total number of senators is set at 48 by theOklahoma Constitution.[1]
Senators approve or reject gubernatorial appointments, and contribute to the creation of both state law and an annual state budget. Every ten years, they aid in drawing new boundaries forOklahoma's electoral districts. The Oklahoma Senate also serves as a court of impeachment.
The presiding officer of the Senate is thelieutenant governor of Oklahoma, who is the president of the Senate. Since the 1960s, thepresident pro tempore of the Senate has presided over daily work. Prior to that time, the president of the Senate took a leading role in the Senate, including appointing committees and members to those committees. The president of the Senate may cast a vote only in the instance of a tie vote and may not vote to create a tie.
The 1907Oklahoma Constitution established the Oklahoma Senate alongside theOklahoma House of Representatives. It met inGuthrie, Oklahoma until 1910.[2]Henry S. Johnston, the author of the initiative and referendum section of theOklahoma Constitution, served as the first Senate President Pro Tempore.[3]
After women in Oklahoma earned the right to vote in 1918, the Oklahoma Senate gained its first female state senator.Lamar Looney was elected in 1920 over a male incumbent, G. L. Wilson. Looney was a progressiveDemocrat and served from 1921 to 1929.[4]
TheUnited States Supreme Court "one man, one vote" decision inBaker v. Carr (1962) led to a court order that forced Oklahoma to equalize representation.[5] Before that decision, Oklahoma had 48 senatorial districts that represented either a populous county or several less-populated counties, but did not provide for districts of equal population.
Since 1964, under the holding ofReynolds v. Sims, 377 U.S. 533 (1964) districts must be apportioned within a 5% margin of the average target size district as determined by the U.S. Census state population figures divided by the forty-eight districts. This allows for some districts to be slightly smaller or larger than others. The Oklahoma Senate draws its own maps of its district lines, which are subject to the approval of both the Oklahoma House of Representatives and the governor. Should the redistricting not occur in a timely manner, the lines are determined by a panel of five statewide elected officials.
In 1966, voters approved 90-day legislative sessions and, in 1968, they voted to create a Board of Legislative Compensation.[6]
An initiative petition championed by GovernorHenry Bellmon in 1989 created a requirement that the legislative sessions end by 5 p.m. on the last Friday in May.[6]
The November 7, 2006 elections resulted in an unprecedented 24–24 tie in the number of seats held by Oklahoma's two major political parties, theRepublican Party and theDemocratic Party.[7] Although theRepublican Party added two seats to their prior total,[7] they had lost a seat in July due toNancy Riley changing in her party affiliation fromRepublican toDemocratic.[8] TheDemocratic Party did hold the seat of lieutenant governor, who also serves as President of the Senate, giving them a tie-breaking vote in the Senate.[7]
The result was a power-sharing agreement for the 2007 and 2008 legislative sessions that split control of the presiding officer position of President Pro Tempore into two Co-President Pro Tempores, one of each party. Officially, aDemocratic member held the President Pro Tempore position for 23 months and aRepublican member held the position for only one month.[9] Unofficially, decisions were made with the approval of both Co-President Pro Tempores.
By winning two more seats in the 2008 elections, the Republicans assumed control of the Oklahoma Senate for the first time in state history and held a 26–22 majority, thus ending the power sharing arrangement between the parties.
Since the53rd Oklahoma Legislature convening in 2011 theOklahoma Republican Party has held a supermajority of the seats in the senate. The party's dominance peaked in the56th Oklahoma Legislature following the 2016 Oklahoma Senate Election with the chamber split 42-6. The57th and58th Oklahoma legislatures saw slightly smaller super majorities with the chamber split 39-9. The current60th legislature has a breakdown of 40-8 continuing the Republican supermajority.
The Senate meets in regular session in east wing of theOklahoma State Capitol inOklahoma City, from early February to the last Friday in May.[6] Special sessions may be called by thegovernor of Oklahoma, or by supermajority vote of the legislature. Unlike their counterparts in theOklahoma House of Representatives, state senators are not restricted on introduction of bills and resolutions.
The Oklahoma Senate advises and consents to numerous appointments of the Governor, including the entireGovernor's Cabinet. Nominations are heard by respective standing committees rather than through a committee on nominations.
Originally, the Oklahoma Constitution based Senate districts on Oklahoma's counties. The 19 most populous counties, as determined by the most recent federal census, were each to elect one senator. The 58 less populous counties were to be joined into 29 two-county districts, each of which was to elect one senator. In apportioning the Senate, the Oklahoma Constitution required that consideration be given to population, compactness, area, political units, historical precedents, economic and political interests, contiguous territory and other major factors, to the extent feasible.
In 1964, theUnited States Supreme Court ruled this method violated the federal Constitution. Since then, every ten years, the Oklahoma Senate is responsible for passing into law new district boundaries for the Oklahoma House of Representatives, Oklahoma Senate and Oklahoma Congressional delegation. The Senate and House have traditionally drawn their own lines without any comment from the other body and work together with the Congressional delegation to draw lines appropriate for the next election. The Governor must sign these bills into law or a statewide panel is convened to draw the disputed lines.
The Oklahoma Senate serves a dual role as both a legislative body and as a judicial court. As the court ofimpeachment, it is an independent court in theOklahoma court system. Impeachment charges are brought by theOklahoma House of Representatives, butheard by the court of impeachment, with Oklahoma's chief justice presiding over the court. If the chief justice or a member of theOklahoma Supreme Court is charged with impeachment, a state senator can preside over the court of impeachment.
Impeachment charges may only be brought against the governor, other statewide elected state officials and justices of theOklahoma Supreme Court for willful neglect of duty, corruption in office, habitual drunkenness, incompetency, or any offense involving moral turpitude committed while in office. Impeached officials are immediately suspended in discharging their duties. Should the impeachment fail, the official returns to their duties. If the impeachment is successful and the defendant found guilty, the official is removed from office.
| Affiliation | Party (Shading indicates majority caucus) | Total | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Republican | Democratic | Vacant | ||
| 50th legislature (2004–2006) | 22 | 26 | 48 | 0 |
| 51st legislature (2006–2008) | 24 | 24 | 48 | 0 |
| 52nd legislature (2008–2010) | 26 | 22 | 48 | 0 |
| 53rd legislature (2010–2012) | 32 | 16 | 48 | 0 |
| 54th legislature (2012–2014) | 36 | 12 | 48 | 0 |
| Begin55th legislature (2014–2016) | 40 | 8 | 48 | 0 |
| End 55th legislature | 39 | 9 | ||
| Begin56th legislature (2016–2018) | 42 | 6 | 48 | 0 |
| End | 38 | 8 | 46 | 2 |
| Begin57th Legislature (2018–2020) | 39 | 9 | 48 | 0 |
| Begin58th Legislature (2021–2022) | 38 | 9 | 48 | 1 |
| After2021 Oklahoma State Senate special election | 39 | 9 | 48 | 0 |
| Begin 59th Legislature (2023–2024) | 40 | 8 | 48 | 0 |
| Latest voting share | 83% | 17% | ||
In order to file for election to the Senate, candidates must be twenty-five years of age at the time of their election.[10] The candidate must also be a qualified elector in their respective counties or districts and shall reside in their respective counties or districts during their term of office.[10] No person is eligible to serve as a member of the legislature if they are serving as an officer of the United States or State government. Furthermore, any person who has been adjudged guilty of a felony is not eligible to election to the legislature. If a member of the Senate is expelled for corruption, they are not eligible to return to the legislature.
The senators are elected to four-year terms on alternating cycles.[1] The odd senatorial districts are elected in the same cycle of every presidential election year (years divisible by four, e.g., 2012, 2016); the even numbered senatorial districts are elected during the gubernatorial election year (even-numbered years not divisible by four, e.g., 2010, 2014).
Senators serve a four-year term and are limited to three terms or 12 years. A term-limited member cannot run for election to the House of Representatives as both representative terms and senate terms are added together in determining the total number of legislative years in office.[11] When term limits were implemented in 1992, they were not applied retroactively, which meant that senators elected prior to their implementation could serve up to three full terms following the implementation of term limits. For example, the longest-serving member of the Oklahoma Senate,Gene Stipe was first elected in 1956, but would not have been term limited out until after the 2004 election, had he not resigned the previous year.[12]
Members of the Oklahoma Senate receive $47,500 in annual pay while presiding officers earn a larger salary.[13] (Also, they do not receive any Bonuses.) Additionally, legislators can seek reimbursement for expenses related to meals and lodging during the legislative session, and for certain travel expenses related to their duties at any point during the year. They also have access to benefits received by state employees, including health and life insurance as well as retirement savings plans.
TheLieutenant Governor serves as President of the Oklahoma Senate, but by custom only casts a vote in the case of a tie and presides less frequently since the 1960s. ThePresident Pro Tempore is the one who serves as leader of the Senate, managing legislative votes and is the head of the majority party. The President Pro Tempore appoints themajority floor leader and the chair of the appropriations committee. Along with the elected officers of the majority caucus (caucus chair, caucus vice chair, three assistant majority leaders and four majority whips), they comprise the leadership of the Senate majority caucus. The leader of the minority caucus is called either the Republican Leader or Democratic Leader, depending on which party is in the minority. Along with the elected officers of the minority party (assistant leaders, assistant whips and the caucus chair and vice chair), they comprise the Senate minority leadership team.
35°29′32″N97°30′12″W / 35.49222°N 97.50333°W /35.49222; -97.50333
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