OKLAHOMA CITY – Rep. Justin Humphrey, R-Lane, today passed a bill in committee that would allow elected officials to enter a prison on an unannounced visit.

House Bill 1240 passed the House Public Safety Committee, of which Humphrey is vice chair. it now is eligible to be heard in the Committee on Judiciary and Public Safety Oversight, of which he is a member.

"We're not attempting to visit during a riot or anything like that," Humphrey explained. "But when we as elected officials hear something, this would allow us to go out and confirm that."

Humphrey said oftentimes when elected officials visit a prison, the warden and other staff prepare for the visit ahead of time.

"They have a runner out in front of you and make sure nothing is seen that they don't want seen," Humphrey said. "That's standard practice in prison. They wax the floor when they know you're coming. You get the golden tour. It's not the real tour. You don't get to see reality. This would just let us see prisons in their daily form and see what's really going on."

An amendment was proposed on the bill that would move the Office of Inspector General from reporting directly to the director of the Department of Corrections (DOC) to instead reporting to the Board of Corrections. That way when complaints from constituents come to legislators, they will have better assurance of an unbiased investigation.

Humphrey was in favor of the amendment but said because of its complexity the proper time to adopt it would be when the bill comes to the oversight committee.

He asked committee members to move the bill forward as is with the promise he would amend it before the next committee hearing. The bill passed unanimously.

Humphrey has said for years that he's received numerous reports from prisoners, their families and correctional officers themselves that state prisons are rife with murders, stabbings, rapes, hangings, overdoses, beatings and bloodshed. He said DOC is short-staffed, and he's been told by officers that those who say anything are fired.

He said this bill is his best attempt to investigate the truth of these claims and to stop such actions.