The House last week had to censure one of its own members for impeding law enforcement after an alleged assault on a fellow member and an Oklahoma Highway Patrol trooper. Censuring is serious and rarely done, but it is deserved in this instance.
The member, Rep. Mauree Turner, D-Oklahoma City, has been accused of harboring a fugitive in the member’s Capitol office while Highway Patrol troopers were seeking the individual for questioning about the alleged assault. This event happened during a protest by transgender activists at the Capitol.
It was reported by the speaker of the House that Turner refused multiple requests by law enforcement to enter the office in order to question this person, and that the member even lied to law enforcement about the presence of the individual in the Capitol office. It was only after the speaker’s intervention that troopers accessed the office and spoke to the individual in question. The next day, a felony arrest warrant was issued for this person.
The censure in the House resulted in Rep. Turner being stripped of committee assignments until a public apology is issued to the House and the Highway Patrol. Rep. Turner has said that will not happen. It was pointed out that in any other instance, an individual accused of hiding a fugitive and impeding law enforcement would be arrested. The loss of a few committee assignments seems negligible in comparison.
In the meantime, we are hearing dozens of measures on the House floor before the third-reading deadline in the chamber of origin. Bills that pass the House go to the Senate. Those that pass there are advanced to the governor for his consideration of signing them into law.
My House Bill 1005 passed the House this week and now awaits committee assignment in the Senate where it is authored by Sen. George Burns, R-Pollard. This bill would allow nurse practitioners and physicians assistants to sign affidavits for those who are unable for health reasons to sit on a jury. Currently, only physicians are able to sign these forms, and that presents a hardship for those in rural communities far from their doctors.
I’ve been reading, listening to explanations, questions and debate on each bill heard in the House. I’ve asked questions of my own when needed. I’ll keep you posted on what happens next.
Remember to listen to me on KPRV Radio at 7:30 a.m. every Thursday for my legislative update.
As always, if I can help you with anything, feel free to call my Capitol office at (405) 557-7413 or email me at rick.west@okhouse.gov.
- Rick West serves District 3 in the Oklahoma House of Representatives. His district includes part of LeFlore County.
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