Oklahoma House of Representatives
The House of Representatives from Oklahoma (Oklahoma House of Representatives ) is the lower house of the Oklahoma Legislature, the legislature of the U.S. state of Oklahoma. Originally each county of Oklahoma was represented proportionate to its population in the parliamentary chamber. Following a court ruling in the early 1960s, the state was, however, divided into 101 districts with an equal population. Each of these units includes a fixed average rate of 35,000 voters. Deputies are elected for two -year terms.
The conference hall of the House of Representatives is located in the west wing of the Oklahoma State Capitol in Oklahoma City the capital. The deputies gather there to regular meetings of February until the last Friday in May. Special meetings may be called only by the Governor of Oklahoma or a majority of the Legislature.
- 4.1 Important Members
- 4.2 Committees of the Houses of Parliament
- 4.3 Joint Committees
Structure of the chamber
Speaker of the House is the Speaker of the House. He is initially elected by the majority faction of the chamber before the confirmation by the whole Parliament follows. The Speaker is also responsible for the course of legislation and monitors the shutdowns in the various committees. Other important office holders are the Majority Leader ( Majority Leader ) and the leader of the opposition (minority leader), who are elected by the respective fractions.
Requirements for the Members' Office
Each candidate who wants to be elected to the House of Representatives from Oklahoma, must have completed at least 21 years before the election. The person must be a proven voters in each county or district, and be a resident during his or her tenure there. Persons who have been officials in the government of the United States or of Oklahoma, a member of the legislature is denied. Furthermore, anyone who has been found guilty of a capital crime, prohibited from participating in the election to the legislature. If a member of the legislature is excluded due to corruption, that of the return to the legislature is prohibited.
No member of the Legislature is authorized to operate in the Oklahoma Legislature for more than twelve years. The years are not necessarily consecutive. Furthermore, the years of service in both chambers of parliament, the Senate and the House of Representatives, added together, so that the total time is determined which one was active in the legislature. An exception is made for the election or appointment to one of the two chambers, when less than a full term of duty performed there and this happens to fill a vacancy. This time is not included in the scheme above. However, no Member who has already fully served his twelve years make use of this exception.
Representation
Old Method
The representation in the parliament chamber was once determined by the total population in the state which was won by the latest Federal Decennial Census. This value was then divided by one hundred, so that the quotient corresponding to a share. Counties, where the population was less than this proportion was only given to a deputy. Any county in which the population was greater than such share, but less than two, two MPs have been allocated. In counties whose population was greater than two shares, but less than three such, three deputies were assigned accordingly. In addition, four deputies were in counties whose population was greater than three such units, but less than four allocated. After the first four deputies a County then had each claim to another Member, if its population then exceeded two more whole units.
New method
After the lawful mandate method was declared unconstitutional, a new method was raised. Now had the chamber of parliament the power to draw their own district lines. After the decision Reynolds v. Sims, 377 U.S. 533 ( 1964), all districts must be allocated to the targeted average largest district within a five percent margin, which is dependent on the population figures from the U.S. Census and is divided by one hundred and one district. This allows some districts to be smaller or larger than the others. The parliamentary chamber draws its own map of the district boundaries, which is dependent on the consent of the Senate and the Governor. If the redistricting does not occur within the time limits prescribed by the Act ( reorganization of constituencies ), the boundaries are determined by a panel of five elected officials throughout the state.
Composition
Important members
Committees of the Houses of Parliament
The House of Representatives from Oklahoma has ten standing committees with twenty-six sub-committees:
- Appropriations & Budget Revenue & Taxation Subcommittee
- Economic Development and Financial Services Committee Insurance & Retirement Subcommittee
- Banking Subcommittee
- Industry & Labor Subcommittee
- Education Committee Common Education Subcommittee
- Higher Education & Career Tech Subcommittee
- Arts & Culture Subcommittee
- Energy & Technology Committee Energy Subcommittee
- Telecommunications & Utility Regulation Subcommittee
- Aerospace & Technology Subcommittee
- General Government & Transportation Committee Transportation Subcommittee
- County & Municipal Government Subcommittee
- Government Modernization, Agency Review & Administrative Rules Subcommittee
- Human Services Committee Social Services Subcommittee
- Children & Families Subcommittee
- International, Federal & Tribal Relations Subcommittee
- Judiciary & Public Safety Committee Civil Justice Subcommittee
- Criminal Justice & Corrections Subcommittee
- Homeland Security Subcommittee
- Natural Resources Committee Agriculture & Commerce Subcommittee
- Tourism & Recreation Subcommittee
- Environment & Wildlife Subcommittee
- Public Health Committee Health Subcommittee
- Elderly & Long-Term Care Subcommittee
- Veterans Subcommittee
- Rules Committee Elections & Redistricting Subcommittee
Joint Committee
- Joint Committee on Federal Funds
- Joint Special Committee on International Development
- Joint Committee on State -Tribal Relations
- Legislative Oversight Committee on State Budget Performance