Welcome to the Oklahoma House of Representatives

OKLAHOMA CITY – Reps. David Hardin, R-Stilwell, and Tim Turner, R-Kinta, held an interim study before the House Public Safety Committee examining pay for correctional officers, support staff and administrators at the Oklahoma Department of Corrections. Hardin chairs the committee and had an almost 40-year career in law enforcement.  "Having a strong and dependable corrections workforce is an important part of maintaining public safety across our state," Hardin said. "We need to understand the challenges the Department of Corrections faces in recruiting and retaining employees, as well as what is working in Oklahoma and elsewhere. The information gathered through this study gives us a clearer understanding of those challenges and a stronger foundation for considering how we address them moving forward." Turner, a member of the committee, spent more than two decades in law enforcement. "Every day, our correctional officers walk into an environment that most Oklahomans will never experience," Turner said . "They face dangerous situations, unpredictable behaviors and tremendous responsibility. Yet far too often, their compensation does not reflect the risks they take or the sacrifices their families make. And we cannot forget our support staff. From medical personnel and administrative employees to maintenance workers, food service staff, and everyone who keeps these facilities operating, they are essential to our mission. Adequate pay is not simply about rewarding employees. It’s about recruitment, retention, safety and accountability." The lawmakers invited Justin Farris, director of the Oklahoma Department of Corrections (ODOC), to give an overview of the department, current pay and challenges to recruiting and retaining correctional officers, administrators and support staff. "Staffing levels at ODOC are critical," Farris said . "We have recognized this for a long time" Farris said when he began as a correctional officer in 1999, each prison had two to three correctional officers per housing unit. Now, there is one officer per unit, traditionally. "This is not at all how we want to operate, which is why I'm here today. I'm here not only to highlight our dedicated and hard-working staff but also to advocate for them. They are an integral part of public safety, and really the thankless part that often goes unnoticed. Yet they are no less dedicated to protecting public safety and building a stronger Oklahoma than any other law enforcement agency in our state." Farris said over the last several years the department has worked to improve the culture of the work environment, and they are seeing the result of that. "Retention rates are up, but we need a pay raise for all of our employees to keep up with this," he said. "We're not only losing our security staff to other states and entities that pay more, we're also losing experienced support and administrative staff to other state agencies that offer higher salaries for positions with less supervisory responsibility." Farris said a pay raise would help stabilize the workforce and undergird the improvement efforts the department has undertaken. Since 2023, the department hired over 3,300 employees agencywide. However, they lost more than 3,100 during the same period. That leaves the department with a gain of just 194 employees. Currently, agencywide, the department has 641 open positions. Jeannine Morton-Brown, director of Human Resources with the department, showed the disparity of pay between Oklahoma and surrounding states. Correctional officers between tiers two and four earn on average between 18% and 21.7% less than peers in surrounding states including Arkansas, Colorado, Kansas, Missouri, New Mexico and Texas. Only in tier two is the state higher in pay than Arkansas. It is less in all the additional surrounding states. She also discussed the gap in DOC pay versus other state agencies. Donald Thurmond, who serves as the chief of security at the Oklahoma State Penitentiary and Jackie Brannon Minimum Security Unit in McAlester, asked study attendees to ask themselves what $21.48 an hour – the starting pay for most Oklahoma correctional officers – would purchase in today's economy. He then graphically explained what an officer is asked to do for that wage. "We ask them to supervise individuals convicted of violent crimes," he said . "We ask them to intervene in fights. We ask them to confront individuals armed with homemade weapons. We ask them to respond when an inmate attempts to take their own life. We ask them to remain professional when they're threatened, cursed at, spit on or assaulted, and we ask them to protect the lives of the very people who may have just attempted to hurt them for approximately twenty-one dollars and forty-eight cents an hour." Thurmond said he's watched good, experienced correctional officers walk away from careers they love because they could not afford to stay. Additional presenters included Mike Thompson, director of the nonprofit Safe Inside Project, who discussed improving life and work behind prison walls, and Mary Babcock, director of Human Resources for the Texas Department of Criminal Justice. She described efforts the department has pursued that has resulted in better compensation, better retention of staff and an overall safer environment for officers and inmates. Turner closed the study saying , "Respect must reflect in our actions, our budgets and ultimately in our paychecks of those that are serving behind those walls. These employees aren't asking to become wealthy. They're asking to earn a fair wage and provide for their families and know the state they serve values their sacrifices. As we move forward to the next legislative session, I hope we remember the testimony that we've heard today and we recognize that adequate compensation isn't just an employee issue, it's a public safety issue, it's a retention issue and a responsibility that we have as state leaders." The entire study can be viewed on the House website under News & Media, live proceedings, then search the calendar for Oct. 21 Public Safety starting at 1:02 p.m.

OKLAHOMA CITY – Rep. Jim Grego, R-Wilburton, was among a group of Oklahomans who traveled recently to the Louisiana State Penitentiary to view firsthand the Angola Prison Rodeo, the only remaining prison rodeo in the United States. "The purpose of this trip was to gain ideas about what they are doing and how we might apply some of this knowledge as we make an attempt to revive our own prison rodeo at the Oklahoma State Penitentiary in McAlester," Grego said. "Angola really has their stuff together," he added. "This is so much more than just a rodeo. It is an event drawing 10,000 visitors to each sold-out rodeo." Grego said one estimate shows a total local impact of $1 million for each rodeo held at the prison. Traveling with Grego was his wife, Sandy; Braedon and Kristie Oquin, the latter serves as the chair of the Oklahoma State Penitentiary Rodeo Restoration Committee; Kevin Beaty, committee vice chair; Willis Pettit, warden of the Oklahoma State Penitentiary in McAlester; Michael Davis, CEO and president of Oklahoma Finance Authorities; and Josh Beaty. The group had the opportunity to visit with the commissioner and the first deputy of the Louisiana Department of Corrections, Grego said, as well as the warden at the state penitentiary, known as Angola. Grego said for many years, the Oklahoma State Penitentiary held a rodeo that was very popular with inmates and their families as well as staff. It drew visitors from across the nation to Southeast Oklahoma. "The rodeo was discontinued due to a lack of funding and deterioration of the grounds," Grego said. The last rodeo at the prison was held in 2009. Grego has authored legislation the last few years to create a revolving fund to restart the rodeo, but the bills have not made it through the full legislative process. Grego said the measures have support, including from the Department of Corrections, which previously committed to putting $1 million toward the project. Both the City of McAlester and the McAlester Chamber of Commerce are supportive as well, Grego said. The Oklahoma Department of Tourism and recreation also previously committed to promoting the rodeo if it were to again operate. Grego said many professional cowboys also have expressed an interest in holding events at the McAlester prison once the rodeo grounds are restored. He said the Oklahoma Department of Commerce agreed the event would have a positive economic impact on McAlester and surrounding areas of Southeast Oklahoma. "This could bring a return on investment to the Department of Corrections and the state and local economy, and we could all reap the economic reward it would bring," Grego said.

Oklahoma lawmakers examined the state’s Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), nutrition initiatives and home-delivered meal services during a combined interim study Thursday, exploring ways to improve program integrity, expand access to nutritious food and strengthen outcomes for Oklahoma families. The study combined three topics requested by Rep. Daniel Pae, R-Lawton, Rep. Emily Gise, R-Oklahoma City, and Rep. Cynthia Roe, R-Lindsay. The lawmakers said the study provided an opportunity to examine both immediate challenges associated with federal SNAP changes and longer-term approaches to improving nutrition and food access. "Food assistance is about more than putting food on the table," Pae said. "We need to understand whether these programs are working as intended, whether taxpayer dollars are being used responsibly and whether Oklahomans are getting the resources they need to build healthier, more independent lives. These conversations will help inform the work ahead as we prepare for the upcoming legislative session." "Home-delivered meals are just one example of how a targeted service can address multiple problems at a time," Gise said. "For some Oklahomans, access to nutritious meals can help them manage health conditions, remain independent and avoid costly institutional care. We should continue examining the outcomes of these programs and identify opportunities to make them work better for the people who truly need them." Oklahoma Department of Human Services (DHS) Director Jeffrey Cartmell said the agency prevented more than $5 million in erroneous benefit payments after tripling new employee training time, implementing additional quality-control checkpoints and reviewing more than 75,000 cases over the past year. The state’s most recently federally certified SNAP payment error rate was 11.04%. Cartmell said the agency anticipated a rate between 6.5% and 8.5%, though final figures remained subject to additional reviews . Cartmell explained that incomplete applications, additional verification requirements and repeated requests for documentation can increase the agency’s workload even as participation declines. However, he emphasized that program performance should be evaluated not only by processing metrics but also by whether families become more stable and move toward greater independence. "Our agency has four goals, four pillars that we hold near and dear to what we believe," Cartmell said . "The third one of those is that Oklahoma should have the strongest pathways to prosperity—not the strongest safety net, not the most benefits, the strongest pathways for prosperity. And once we really start measuring programs like SNAP, not on outputs, but on outcomes, we can get closer to that." Alexina Cather, director of policy and communications for Wellness in the Schools, discussed research on school nutrition and the relationship between healthier meals and public health outcomes. According to Hunger Free Oklahoma estimates, more than one in four Oklahoma children do not get the food they need and nearly seven in 10 public school students qualify for free or reduced-price meals. Cather said , "Meal quality isn't a side issue"—instead, she described it as a "public health lever." She highlighted research suggesting improved school nutrition standards helped reduce obesity rates among children living in poverty. Cather also discussed nutrition initiatives in California, Michigan and New York, along with opportunities for Oklahoma to build on existing school meal programs. The latter half of the study focused on home-delivered meals, highlighting the potential to improve health outcomes, support independent living and reduce the costs associated with institutional care. Tara Searles, director of business development for Mom’s Meals, described the company’s medically tailored meal services and their potential to help older adults, people with disabilities and individuals managing chronic health conditions. Searles also discussed a potential pathway for eligible SNAP participants to purchase medically tailored, home-delivered meals. Searles said Mom's Meals has delivered more than 630,000 meals to more than 8,500 clients in the state over the previous 12 months. Additionally, the organization employs around 180 people and purchased over 97,000 locally sourced ingredients in 2025 alone. Jeff Barteau, CEO of Homestyle Direct, described the company’s work providing meals to Oklahoma Medicaid beneficiaries through the Advantage Waiver Program. "For an older or disabled Oklahoman living alone, the inability to prepare reliable, appropriate meals is often the first thing that makes their home unsafe," Barteau told the committee. Barteau said home-delivered meals can help address food insecurity while supporting individuals who want to remain in their homes rather than entering institutional care. He pointed out that an annual cost of one home-delivered meal per day is about $2,200, less than 3% of the $82,000 cost to provide care for someone living in a nursing facility. Sara Marlow Fulks, advocacy and public policy officer for Food Bank of Eastern Oklahoma, discussed the role food banks play in addressing food insecurity. She said Oklahoma’s two food banks served more than 2 million summer meals in 2026, with most distributed through noncongregate options that allow families to take meals home. "SNAP truly is the first line of defense when it comes to serving food insecurity," Fulks said . "It's the most dignifiable way to serve our food insecure neighbors." Fulks also highlighted the proposed Farmers Against Hunger initiative, a $2 million pilot program developed with the Oklahoma Farm Bureau and Oklahoma Pork Council. If funded, the initiative is estimated to provide 3 million pounds of locally raised meat to families in need while supporting Oklahoma farmers and processors. "This is an innovative, common-sense approach to fighting hunger," Gise said. "It supports Oklahoma agriculture while putting nutritious food on the tables of families who need it most." Leslie Young, program director for Double Up Oklahoma, described how the program helps SNAP participants purchase fresh fruits and vegetables by providing incentives for eligible purchases. Young said the initiative has helped hundreds of thousands of SNAP customers purchase produce. She pointed to a three-month follow up where participants had increased their fruit and vegetable intake by almost one serving per day. "This study demonstrated that addressing food insecurity requires more than one program or one organization," Roe said. "By bringing together people working on different parts of that challenge, we can better understand what is working, where the gaps are and what improvements may be worth considering in the next legislative session."