The First Oklahoma Legislature was the first meeting of the

legislative branch A legislature is an assembly with the authority to make laws for a political entity such as a country or city. They are often contrasted with the executive and judicial powers of government. Laws enacted by legislatures are usually known as ...

of the

government of Oklahoma The government of the U.S. State of Oklahoma, established by the Oklahoma Constitution, is a republican democracy modeled after the federal government of the United States. The state government has three branches: the executive, legislative, and ...

, composed of the

Oklahoma Senate The Oklahoma Senate is the upper house of the two houses of the Legislature of Oklahoma, the other being the Oklahoma House of Representatives. The total number of senators is set at 48 by the Oklahoma Constitution.Oklahoma House of Representatives The Oklahoma House of Representatives is the lower house of the legislature of the U.S. state of Oklahoma. Its members introduce and vote on bills and resolutions, provide legislative oversight for state agencies, and help to craft the state's b ...

. The meeting took place from December 2, 1907, to May 26, 1908, in the Guthrie City Hall Building during the first year of the only term of Governor Charles Haskell.A Century to Remember
, Okhouse.gov. (accessed June 19, 2013) Both houses of the state legislature had large Democratic majorities. William H. Murray, who had served as the president of the state constitutional convention, was elected by his colleagues as the first

Speaker of the Oklahoma House of Representatives The Speaker of the Oklahoma House of Representatives is the presiding officer of the lower house of the Oklahoma Legislature, the Oklahoma House of Representatives. The speaker exercises administrative and procedural functions, but remains a ...

.Bryant, Keith L
MURRAY, WILLIAM HENRY DAVID (1869-1956)
Encyclopedia of Oklahoma History and Culture. (accessed July 1, 2013)

2013-07-05. Henry S. Johnston, who had served as the presiding officer of the state constitutional convention, was elected to serve as the first

President pro tempore of the Oklahoma Senate 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 designates the Lieutenant Governor of Oklahoma as the highest-r ...

.Burke, Bob
JOHNSTON, HENRY SIMPSON (1867-1965)
, Encyclopedia of Oklahoma History and Culture. (accessed July 1, 2013)

Dates of session

*Regular session: December 2, 1907 – May 26, 1908 Next: 2nd Legislature

Major legislation

Prohibition Prohibition is the act or practice of forbidding something by law; more particularly the term refers to the banning of the manufacture, storage (whether in barrels or in bottles), transportation, sale, possession, and consumption of alcoholic ...

- State Senator Richard Billups authored legislation to prohibit the manufacture, transportation and possession of liquor.Wilson, Linda D.
Billups Law
," Encyclopedia of Oklahoma History and Culture. (accessed July 27, 2013) The bill was amended by William H. Murray to allow state liquor dispensaries for medicinal and scientific purposes. It was signed by the governor on March 24, 1908. *

Segregation Segregation may refer to: Separation of people * Geographical segregation, rates of two or more populations which are not homogenous throughout a defined space * School segregation * Housing segregation * Racial segregation, separation of humans ...

Jim Crow The Jim Crow laws were state and local laws enforcing racial segregation in the Southern United States. Other areas of the United States were affected by formal and informal policies of segregation as well, but many states outside the Sout ...

- The very first bill introduced in both houses once statehood had been achieved was a measure requiring separate coaches and waiting rooms for white and black persons. Oklahoma was admitted to the Union on Saturday, November 16, 1907. The legislature convened two weeks later on Monday December 2. After formalities on the first day, both the House and Senate introduced respective Bill No. 1 on the second legislative day in each chamber, entitled: "An Act for the accommodation, comfort, convenience and protection of passengers on Railroad Trains and Cars." (House) and “An Act to promote the comfort of passengers on railroads, street cars, urban, interurban, suburban cars, and at railroad stations.” (Senate). After a suspension of the rules (House) and designation as an emergency bill (Senate), the bill was passed by the House on the fourth legislative day and by the Senate on the fifth by a wide majority of both houses (including many Republicans) and took effect December 18, 1907. The only opposition reported in the record of either chamber was from a Senator that objected "to the section permitting negro nurses and attendants riding in the coach or compartment designated for whites".

Party composition

Senate

House of Representatives

Leadership

Senate

With the Democratic caucus controlling the

Perry, Oklahoma Perry is a city in, and county seat of, Noble County, Oklahoma, United States. As of the 2010 census, the city population was 5,126, a 2.0 percent decrease from the figure of 5,230 in 2000. The city is home of Ditch Witch construction equipment. ...

, was selected to serve as the first

. Johnston had served as the presiding officer of the state constitutional convention. Lieutenant Governor George W. Bellamy served as the President of the Senate, which gave him a tie-breaking vote and allowed him to serve as a presiding officer.

House

After much deliberation over who would serve as

, the Democratic caucus chose William H. Murray of

Tishomingo, Oklahoma Tishomingo is the largest city in, and the county seat of, Johnston County, Oklahoma, United States. The population was 3,034 at the 2010 census, a decline of 4.1 percent from the figure of 3,162 in 2000. It was the first capital of the Chick ...

, a former

Chickasaw Nation The Chickasaw Nation (Chickasaw language, Chickasaw: Chikashsha I̠yaakni) is a federally recognized tribes, federally recognized Native Americans in the United States, Native American tribe, with its headquarters located in Ada, Oklahoma in th ...

representative and the president of the state constitutional convention. Sworn into office on November 16, 1907, Murray pushed for legislation to curb business excesses and support agriculture during his single term as speaker. State Representative A. H. Ellis, of

Garfield County, Oklahoma The county courthouse in 1908. Garfield County is a county located in the U.S. state of Oklahoma. As of the 2010 census, the population was 60,580. Enid is the county seat and largest city within Garfield County. The county is named after Pre ...

, was elected by his peers to serve as speaker pro tempore.

Staff

Charles H. Pittman served as the first chief clerk of the

Oklahoma House of Representatives The Oklahoma House of Representatives is the lower house of the legislature of the U.S. state of Oklahoma. Its members introduce and vote on bills and resolutions, provide legislative oversight for state agencies, and help to craft the state's b ...

Members

Senate

*Table based on cross-references of three sources.

House of Representatives

*Table based on government database.Historic Members
Okhouse.gov (accessed June 20, 2013)
Archived
2013-06-22.

References

External links

First State of the State AddressOklahoma LegislatureOklahoma House of RepresentativesOklahoma Senate
{{Oklahoma Legislatures Oklahoma legislative sessions 1907 in Oklahoma 1908 in Oklahoma 1907 U.S. legislative sessions 1908 U.S. legislative sessions