The Forty-seventh Oklahoma Legislature was a 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

Senate A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior (Latin: ''senex'' meaning "the el ...

and the

House of Representatives House of Representatives is the name of legislative bodies in many countries and sub-national entitles. In many countries, the House of Representatives is the lower house of a bicameral legislature, with the corresponding upper house often c ...

. It met in

Oklahoma City Oklahoma City (), officially the City of Oklahoma City, and often shortened to OKC, is the capital and largest city of the U.S. state of Oklahoma. The county seat of Oklahoma County, it ranks 20th among United States cities in population, a ...

from January 5, 1999, to January 2, 2001, during the first two years of the second term of Governor

Frank Keating Francis Anthony Keating II (initially born as David Rowland Keating) (born February 10, 1944) is an American attorney and politician who served as the 25th governor of Oklahoma from 1995 to 2003. , Keating is one of only five governors in Okl ...

.House Journals

Oklahoma House of Representatives
(accessed June 3, 2013)

Dates of sessions

*Organizational day: January 5, 1999 *Special session: January 20–28, 1999 *First regular session: February 1-May 28, 1999 *Special session: May 28, June 14–18, June 30, 1999 *Second regular session: February 7-May 26, 2000 *Special session: June 28, 2000 Previous: 46th Legislature • Next: 48th Legislature

Party composition

Senate

House of Representatives

Major legislation

Enacted

1999

*Tax cut - The state legislature passed an

income tax An income tax is a tax imposed on individuals or entities (taxpayers) in respect of the income or profits earned by them (commonly called taxable income). Income tax generally is computed as the product of a tax rate times the taxable income. Tax ...

break. *Tax exemption - The state legislature passed an earned income tax credit for the poor. *Criminal justice reform - The state legislature enacted a

Truth in Sentencing Truth in sentencing (TIS) is a collection of different but related public policy stances on sentencing of those convicted of crimes in the justice system. In most contexts, it refers to policies and legislation that aim to abolish or curb parole so ...

law.

2000

*Teacher pay raise - The state legislature raised teacher pay by more than $3,000 annually.

Leadership

In Oklahoma, the lieutenant governor serves as a tie-breaking and ceremonial presiding officer 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.Mary Fallin Mary Fallin (; née Copeland; born December 9, 1954) is an American politician who served as the 27th governor of Oklahoma from 2011 to 2019. A member of the Republican Party, she was elected in 2010 and reelected in 2014. She was the first and s ...

served as President 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.Democratic Party Democratic Party most often refers to: *Democratic Party (United States) Democratic Party and similar terms may also refer to: Active parties Africa *Botswana Democratic Party *Democratic Party of Equatorial Guinea *Gabonese Democratic Party *Demo ...

held the majority of the seats on both 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 ...

, giving them control of key leadership positions.

Stratton Taylor Stratton Taylor (born 1956) is an American attorney and was the longest-serving President pro tempore of the Oklahoma Senate in the U.S. state of Oklahoma. Elected as President pro tempore on a unanimous, bipartisan vote in 1995, he served eight ...

served as

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 ...

. Lloyd Benson served as

Speaker of the Oklahoma House of Representatives The Speaker of the Oklahoma House of Representatives is the speaker (politics), presiding officer of the lower house of the Oklahoma Legislature, the Oklahoma House of Representatives. The speaker exercises administrative and procedural functions ...

. He was aided by Speaker Pro Tempore Larry Adair, Majority Floor Leader Tommy Thomas, Executive Majority Leader Don Kinnamon, Majority

Whip A whip is a tool or weapon designed to strike humans or other animals to exert control through pain compliance or fear of pain. They can also be used without inflicting pain, for audiovisual cues, such as in equestrianism. They are generally e ...

Randy Beutler and Appropriations and Budget Chair Bill Settle. Fred Stanley served as the House Democratic caucus chair and Darrell Gilbert served as the caucus secretary. Fred Morgan served as the Republican Minority leader. Forrest Claunch served as the Republican caucus chair and Bill Case served as caucus secretary.

Members

Senate

*Table based on list of Oklahoma state senators and years served. Districts 25, 27, 28, 36, and 53 did not exist.

House of Representatives

*Table based on database.Historic Members
, Okhouse.gov (accessed June 30, 2013)

References

{{Oklahoma Legislatures Oklahoma legislative sessions 1999 in Oklahoma 2000 in Oklahoma 1999 U.S. legislative sessions 2000 U.S. legislative sessions

Dates of sessions

Party composition

Senate

House of Representatives

Major legislation

Enacted

1999

2000

Leadership

Members

Senate

House of Representatives

See also

References