In this position, I will help oversee legislation related to funding for the state’s public safety agencies. These include the Alcoholic Beverage Laws Enforcement Commission (ABLE), the Council on Law Enforcement Education and Training (CLEET), the Oklahoma Department of Corrections (DOC), the Department of Public Safety (DPS), the Oklahoma Bureau of Narcotics and Dangerous Drugs (OBNDD), the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner (OCME), the Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation (OSBI), and the state Fire Marshall’s office.
My background in law enforcement will prove beneficial in this new role. I’ve worked as a 911 dispatcher, a reserve deputy and then deputy sheriff in McIntosh County before being elected sheriff of Haskell County. I even served a stint as police chief. I then became a district attorney’s taskforce officer with the United States Drug Enforcement Agency, and in 2022 was appointed by Gov. Stitt to serve on the OSBI Commission.
I pretty much faced everything in my long career in law enforcement, from cracking down on illegal marijuana operations to fighting against illegal immigration.
I say all this to emphasize that my varied history in law enforcement and public safety will help guide my decisions on which pieces of legislation should be heard in this committee and which should advance to a vote by the full House of Representatives.
The Appropriations Committee structure will be the same this session as in the past, in that subcommittees like mine will send the legislation we pass to the full Appropriations Committee for final passage before a bill is eligible to be considered by the full House.
This year, the House also will have a similar two-step process for policy bills. Various subcommittees will answer to six full oversight committees before bills advance.
Every year, legislators file thousands of bills. Committees are where those bills get their first hearing. This is the first chance for other lawmakers to ask questions of the bills’ authors and suggest any changes before the bills advance to the floor where they’ll be voted on by the whole House. It’s hoped this new two-tiered process will help the Legislature be more transparent and will result in better laws for our citizens.
On a final note, I hope everyone in our House district enjoys a very merry Christmas and has a happy New Year.
In the meantime, if I can help you in my capacity as your representative, please do not hesitate to contact me at the Capitol. My office phone is (405) 557-7375, and my email is tim.turner@okhouse.gov.
Rep. Tim Turner, a Republican, represents House District 15 in the Oklahoma House of Representatives. His district includes Haskell County and portions of McIntosh, Muskogee, Le Flore and Pittsburg counties.
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