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The President pro tempore of the Oklahoma Senate is the second-highest-ranking official of the Oklahoma Senate and the highest-ranking State Senator. The Oklahoma Constitution states the Lieutenant Governor of Oklahoma serves ex officio as President of the Senate, and is the highest-ranking official of the Senate even though he or she only votes in the case of a tie. During the Lieutenant Governor's absence from the Senate, the President pro tempore presides over its sessions. Since the Lieutenant Governor hasn't regularly presided since the 1960s, the management and political power falls to the President pro tempore.
The President pro tempore is popularly elected by the Senators, unlike the custom of the United States Senate where the most senior Senator in the majority party serves as President pro tempore. The Oklahoma Senate has rarely had the most senior senator serve as President pro tempore. The office of President pro tempore was created in 1907 by Oklahoma Constitution and the President pro tempore is selected by the Senate. While not a Constitutional requirement, every President pro tempore has been a member of the majority party.
The President pro tempore is second in line of succession to the Governorship of Oklahoma, behind the Lieutenant Governor. The President’s counterpart in the Oklahoma House of Representatives is the Speaker of the House.
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Following the statehood of Oklahoma in 1907, the first President pro tempore was elected. Since all candidates for pro tempore had no prior service in the Senate, there were no prominent former Senate leaders to select from. With the Democrats controlling the Senate, the popular State Senator Henry S. Johnston of Perry was selected to serve as the first President pro tempore. Sworn into office on November 16, 1907, (the same day Oklahoma was admitted to the Union) Johnston served as the President pro tempore from 1907 to 1909.
For its first 60 years, no one person ever held the office for more than one term consecutively. State Senator Tom Anglin of Holdenville was the first to hold the office a second time: first from 1923–1925 and a second time from 1943-1945. Clem McSpadden was the first President pro tempore to serve two consecutive terms, from 1965 to 1969. As in the House, once one person held the chamber’s highest office, the trend continued.
From 1965 to 2006, ten Presidents have been selected to serve over the 41 year period, a period which would allow for the election of 22 Presidents. Of those ten Presidents, only James E. Hamilton of Poteau and Cal Hobson of Lexington served only one full single term. Hamilton sought the U.S. Senate nomination in 1980, unsuccessfully, and eventually returned to politics as a State Representative, where he chaired the powerful House Appropriations Committee. Hobson won reelection to the office of Pro Tem, but resigned shortly thereafter as the Senate Democratic Caucus voted to allow him to resign or be ousted due to alcohol abuse during the legislative session in 2005. After completing treatment for alcoholism, Hobson in 2006 sought unsuccessfully to be the Democratic nominee for Lt. Governor.
Four Presidents pro tempore have served two consecutive terms and two have served three consecutive terms. Currently, Stratton Taylor of Claremore holds the record of four consecutive terms. Senator Taylor held the office for eight years, 1995 to 2003, serving as the President pro tempore under the entire administration of Governor Frank Keating.
Following the 2006 elections, the Senate was split evenly 24-24 between the Democrats and the Republicans. The election of Democratic State Representative Jari Askins as the Lieutenant Governor of Oklahoma, the ex officio President of the Senate, gave the Senate Democrats a single-vote majority.
The Oklahoma Constitution specifically states that only one Senator can be elected as President pro tempore. To address the historic tie, a power sharing agreement was reached that created a new office within the Senate: the "Co-President pro tempore." Under this agreement, Democratic State Senator Mike Morgan of Stillwater would serve as the President pro tempore of the Senate and Republican State Senator Glenn Coffee of Oklahoma City would serve Co-President pro tempore. Co-President Coffee switched places with President Morgan for one month (July 2007) to symbolize the unity between the two parties. While Coffee held the office of President pro tempore in July, Morgan served as the Co-President pro tempore.
Both Morgan and Coffee presided over the Senate every other day and, under the agreement, President Morgan only had appointment authority as long as Co-President Coffee assented to the appointment, effectively making them both fully vested with the duties and rights of President pro tempore. Additionally, under the agreement, should the Governor of Oklahoma and Lieutenant Governor of Oklahoma both have been absent from the state, Morgan would have served as the Acting Governor except for the one month of July, 2007.
Following the 2008 elections, the Republicans won control of the Senate for the first time in state history, with 26 Republicans and 22 Democrats. They selected Glenn Coffee to serve as the first full President pro tempore who served from 2009-2011 when he was term-limited out and was selected to serve as Secretary of State in Governor Mary Fallin's administration. Brian Bingman is the current President pro tempore.
The President pro tempore holds a variety of powers in addition to the role as presiding officer of the Senate. The President pro tempore assigns other members to assume the chair in his absence (which is very common). The Lieutenant Governor rarely presides except for ceremonial duties. Before any member may speak, he must seek the presiding officer's recognition. The presiding officer may call on members as he pleases, and may therefore control the flow of debate. The presiding officer decides all questions of orders during debate, seats in the camber, calls members to order for violating rules, and approves all claims for supplies and services. He is responsible for maintaining decorum in the Senate, and enforces the rules. On the floor of the Senate, the presiding officer is always addressed as "Mister President" (even if the President himself is not the individual presiding). The President's powers and duties extend beyond presiding in the chamber. In particular, he has great influence over the committee process. The President appoints all members of committees and assigns all bills to whichever committee he wishes to allow consideration.
As a member of the Senate, the President pro tempore is entitled to participate in debate and to vote. The President pro tempore is rarely found on the floor other than to cast a vote. The duties of the office require him to spend most of his time off the floor.
The Legislature may be called into special session by a written call, with specifically set out in the call, with a signed call by two-thirds of the members of the Senate and two-thirds of the members of the House of Representatives. After the number of Senators and Representatives is met, the call is filed with the President pro tempore of the Senate and the Speaker of the House of Representatives who must issue a joint order for the convening of the special session.
According to Section 16 of Article Six of the Oklahoma Constitution, the President pro tempore is second in line to succeed to the Governorship in the event of a vacancy in the office. First in line is the Lieutenant Governor of Oklahoma, then the President pro tempore, followed by the Speaker of the House. No President pro tempore has become the Governor through succession.
The complete (as of 2011) list of Presidents pro tempore is below. Note: All locations are in Oklahoma.
# | President pro tempore | Party | Hometown | Legislature | Start of service | End of service |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Henry S. Johnston | Democrat | Perry | 1st | 1907 | 1909 |
2 | J.C. Graham | Democrat | Marietta | 2nd | 1909 | 1911 |
3 | J. Elmer Thomas | Democrat | Lawton | 3rd | 1911 | 1913 |
4 | C.B. Kendrick | Democrat | Ardmore | 4th | 1913 | 1915 |
5 | E.L. Mitchell | Democrat | Cheyenne | 5th | 1915 | 1917 |
6 | C.W. Board | Democrat | Okemah | 6th | 1917 | 1919 |
7 | R.L. Davidson | Democrat | Tulsa | 7th | 1919 | 1921 |
8 | T.C. Simpson | Democrat | Thomas | 8th | 1921 | 1923 |
9 | Tom Anglin | Democrat | Holdenville | 9th | 1923 | 1925 |
10 | William J. Holloway | Democrat | Hugo | 10th | 1925 | 1927 |
11 | Mac Q. Williamson | Democrat | Pauls Valley | 11th | 1927 | 1929 |
12 | C.S. Storms | Democrat | Waurika | 12th | 1929 | 1931 |
13 | W.G. Stigler | Democrat | Stigler | 13th | 1931 | 1933 |
14 | Paul Stewart | Democrat | Antlers | 14th | 1933 | 1935 |
15 | Claud Briggs | Democrat | Wilburton | 15th | 1935 | 1937 |
16 | Allen G. Nichols | Democrat | Wewoka | 16th | 1937 | 1939 |
17 | Jim A. Rinehart | Democrat | El Reno | 17th | 1939 | 1941 |
18 | H.M. Curnutt | Democrat | Barnsdall | 18th | 1941 | 1941 |
19 | Ray C. Jones | Democrat | Barnsdall | 18th | 1941 | 1942 |
20 | Tom Anglin | Democrat | Holdenville | 19th | 1943 | 1945 |
21 | Homer Paul | Democrat | Pauls Valley | 20th | 1945 | 1947 |
22 | James C. Nance | Democrat | Purcell | 21st | 1947 | 1949 |
23 | Bill Logan | Democrat | Lawton | 22nd | 1949 | 1951 |
24 | Boyd Cowden | Democrat | Chandler | 23rd | 1951 | 1953 |
25 | Raymond Gary | Democrat | Madill | 24th | 1953 | 1955 |
26 | Ray Fine | Democrat | Gore | 25th | 1955 | 1957 |
27 | Don Baldwin | Democrat | Anadarko | 26th | 1957 | 1959 |
28 | Harold Garvin | Democrat | Duncan | 27th | 1959 | 1961 |
29 | Everett C. Boecher | Democrat | Sapulpa | 28th | 1961 | 1963 |
30 | Roy C. Boecher | Democrat | Kingfisher | 29th | 1963 | 1965 |
31 | Clem McSpadden | Democrat | Chelsea | 30th | 1965 | 1969 |
31st | ||||||
32 | Finis Smith | Democrat | Tulsa | 32nd | 1969 | 1973 |
33rd | ||||||
33 | James E. Hamilton | Democrat | Poteau | 34th | 1973 | 1975 |
34 | Gene C. Howard | Democrat | Tulsa | 35th | 1975 | 1981 |
36th | ||||||
37th | ||||||
35 | Marvin York | Democrat | Oklahoma City | 38th | 1981 | 1985 |
39th | ||||||
36 | Rodger A. Randle | Democrat | Tulsa | 40th | 1985 | 1988 |
41st | ||||||
37 | Robert V. Cullison | Democrat | Skiatook | 42nd | 1988 | 1995 |
43rd | ||||||
44th | ||||||
38 | Stratton Taylor | Democrat | Claremore | 45th | 1995 | 2003 |
46th | ||||||
47th | ||||||
48th | ||||||
39 | Cal Hobson | Democrat | Lexington | 49th | 2003 | 2005 |
40 | Mike Morgan | Democrat | Stillwater | 50th | 2005 | July 1, 2007 |
51st | ||||||
41 | Glenn Coffee | Republican | Oklahoma City | 51st | July 1, 2007 | July 31, 2007 |
42 | Mike Morgan | Democrat | Stillwater | 51st | August 1, 2007 | 2009 |
43 | Glenn Coffee | Republican | Oklahoma City | 52nd | 2009 | 2011 |
44 | Brian Bingman | Republican | Sapulpa | 53rd | 2011 | 2013 |