AN OPEN LETTER TO ALL MEMBERS OF THE OKLAHOMA HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES:
Hollye Hunt is an employee of the State Board of Regents for Higher Education. Her father, Rep. Earl Sears, is chairman of the House Appropriations and Budget Committee.
It is undisputed that Ms. Hunt’s primary job responsibility is to lobby her father on behalf of the Board of Regents. Her salary is appropriated by her father, and her job performance is judged primarily by how effectively she convinces her father to direct taxpayer’s dollars toward her employer.
This is an obvious conflict of interest as well as a clear violation of Oklahoma law.
Oklahoma's Code of Ethics Standards 257: 20-1-7 & 8 (see complete text below) state in unusually explicit language that a legislator may not introduce, promote, or vote on any legislation that would benefit his child over and above any other citizen of the state of Oklahoma. The wording of these statutes is not tricky and the intent is obvious. If our Code of Ethics means anything, it means a representative may not appropriate money to his own family members, and a daughter may not be paid to lobby her own father.
This law makes a great deal of common sense, and it would be difficult to see how anyone could justify the law being otherwise. Indeed, Governor Mary Fallin went through great effort to make sure this issue didn’t arise with her when own daughter recently, when she was quick to clear up even the appearance of a conflict.
Yet when this issue was brought up with Speaker Steele in private earlier this year, he refused to address the situation. Amazingly, he claimed he can see no conflict in a daughter being paid by the state to lobby her father, and he pretended not to understand the clear wording of the statute.
Speaker Steele’s response to this situation is simply not credible. He obviously understands the law; he just refuses to follow it. He understands that this arrangement is unethical, yet he does not care. Rather than trying to prevent an illegal conflict of interest, Speaker Steele is content to cover it up. This is a consistent pattern with our leadership.
As we begin to work on this year’s budget, Speaker Steele has forced the Republican caucus into a very difficult situation. Do we ignore a transparent violation of Oklahoma law, or do we stand up and demand that Republicans lead with the kind of ethics we campaigned on? As for me, I will not vote for any budget bill that is a product of such an obviously illegal conflict of interest.
Respectfully,
Rep. Mike Christian
House District 93
Chapter 62, App.
Title 257. Ethics Commission
Chapter 20
Standard 257:20-1-7. Votes, Deliberations, and Discussions
by Legislators or Statewide Elective Officers .
(a) A legislator or statewide elective officer shall not
introduce or cause to have introduced, request the introduction of, promote, or
vote on any legislation if the statewide elective officer or legislator or a
child, adopted child, step-child or spouse of the officer or legislator or a
business or entity with which the legislator or officer or a member of the
immediate family of the legislator or officer is associated has:
(1) a pecuniary interest in; or
(2) a reasonably foreseeable benefit from;
the legislation. A reasonably foreseeable benefit includes
detriment to a business competitor to the legislator or statewide elective
officer, to a business competitor of a member of the immediate family of the
legislator or officer, or to a business competitor of a business or entity with
which the legislator or officer or child, step-child or spouse of the
legislator or officer is associated.
(b) A legislator or statewide elective officer may introduce
or cause to have introduced, request the introduction of, promote, or vote on
legislation if the only pecuniary interest or reasonably foreseeable benefit
that may accrue to the legislator or officer, child, adopted child, step-child
or spouse of the legislator or officer, or business or entity with which a
legislator or officer or a child, adopted child, step-child or spouse of a
legislator or officer is associated is incidental to the legislator's or
officer's, child's, adopted child's, step-child's, or spouse's or business or
entity's position, or which accrues to the legislator or officer, child,
adopted child, step-child or spouse, of the legislator or officer, or business
or entity as a member of a profession, occupation, or large class, whichever is
applicable, to no significantly greater extent than the pecuniary interest or
potential benefit could reasonably be foreseen to accrue to all other members
of the profession, occupation, or large class.
(c) Nothing in this subsection shall allow a legislator or a
member of the immediate family of a legislator, a statewide elective officer,
or a business or entity with which the legislator or statewide elective officer
is associated to contract with a governmental entity except as provided in
Subsection (b) of Section 10 of this chapter.
______________________________
Chapter 62, App.
Title 257. Ethics Commission
Chapter 20
Standard 257:20-1-8. Votes, Deliberations, and Discussions
by Public Members .
(a) A public member shall not participate in the discussion
on, vote on, influence, or attempt to influence an official action of the
governmental entity the public member serves on if the public member or a
member of the immediate family of the public member or a business or entity
with which the public member or a member of the immediate family of the public
member is associated, has:
(1) a pecuniary interest in; or
(2) a reasonably foreseeable benefit from;
the matter under consideration by the governmental entity of
which the public member is a member. A reasonably foreseeable benefit includes
detriment to a business competitor of the public member, to a business
competitor of a member of the immediate family of a public member or to a
business competitor of a business or entity with which the public member or a
member of the immediate family of the public member is associated. The public
member's abstention must be recorded in the governmental entity's minutes.
(b) A public member may participate in the discussion on,
vote on, or influence or attempt to influence an official action if the only
pecuniary interest or reasonably foreseeable benefit that may accrue to the
public member or a member of the immediate family of a public member or
business or entity with which the public member or member of the immediate
family of the public member is associated is incidental to the public member's,
immediate family member's or business or entity's position, or which accrues to
the public member, immediate family member or business or entity as a member of
a profession, occupation, or large class, whichever is applicable, to no
significantly greater extent than the pecuniary interest or potential benefit
could reasonably be foreseen to accrue to all other members of the profession,
occupation, or large class.
(c) Nothing in this section shall allow a public member or a
member of the immediate family of the public member or a business or entity
with which the public member or a member of the immediate family of the public
member is associated to contract with the governmental entity over which the
public member has jurisdiction.
