Oklahoma Sheriffs Hit Paydirt
State lawmakers are getting into the local law enforcement business.
On Tuesday, the Joint Committee for Appropriations and Budget passed House Bill 2914, which would create the Oklahoma Sheriff’s Office Funding Assistance Grant Program Act of 2024. The measure would allow counties to apply for grants of $150,000 to $300,000 to offset operational costs. It would also set base pay for county sheriffs at a minimum of $44,000.
It’s a toned-down version of a bill that died in a Senate committee, but the arguments remain on both sides.
Those who like the bill contend state grants to supplement salaries are needed in rural counties where property values are low due to widespread agricultural use and in counties where the state owns a lot of land on which no tax is paid. Since the ad valorem tax rate is statutorily limited, counties are handcuffed when it comes to paying competitive salaries to attract and retain sheriffs, deputies and jailers.
Sen. Julie Daniels, R-Bartlesville, argued that believing the grant system would be anything less than permanent was naive. Many voiced an opinion that the state should not be paying for local law enforcement.
The Tulsa World’s Steve Metzer published a thorough rundown of budget bills that passed Tuesday and will head to the opposite chamber on Thursday.
More worth reading:
Court Opens Documents in Homicide
Details of the double homicide investigation that led to five arrests in the panhandle were revealed when the court unsealed documents. [AP]
Groups Launch New Homelessness Council
The Interagency Council on Homelessness of Oklahoma launched this month to fill the hole left by the former Governor’s Interagency Council on Homelessness, which was created by an executive order more than two decades ago. [The Frontier]
Oklahomans Started Missions in Haiti
David and Alicia Lloyd, of Oklahoma, started Missions in Haiti in 2000 seeking to focus on the country’s children. Their son, Davy Lloyd, and daughter-in-law, Natalie Lloyd, were killed in Haiti by gang members last week. Natalie Lloyd is the daughter of Missouri state Rep. Ben Baker. [AP]
OSU Frat Members Plead Guilty
Four fraternity members pleaded guilty to misdemeanor charges in connection with a longhorn carcass dumped on the lawn of a rival fraternity house at Oklahoma State University. [Tulsa World]
“Another white man, when asked what he did for a living, said by way of an answer that he’d married an Osage woman, and everyone who listened understood what that meant.”
— Linda Hogan in Mean Spirit
Ciao for now,
Ted Streuli
Executive Director, Oklahoma Watch
tstreuli@oklahomawatch.org
