Kris Steele (born July 11, 1973) is a United States politician from the U.S. state of Oklahoma who served as state representative. Steele served in the Oklahoma House of Representatives as the Speaker of the House, a position he took over after the 2010 elections. He presided over the

53rd Oklahoma Legislature The Fifty-third Oklahoma Legislature was the meeting of the legislative branch of the government of Oklahoma, composed of the Senate and the House of Representatives. State legislators met at the Oklahoma State Capitol in Oklahoma City from Janu ...

. Steele, served as Speaker Pro Tempore, under Chris Benge. He was chosen as Speaker-designate in 2009. Elected to the Oklahoma House of Representatives on November 7, 2000,2000 Election Results

Oklahoma State Election Board
(accessed February 3, 2010). he was term-limited out of office in 2012. Steele is now the executive director of The Education and Employment Ministry (TEEM) in Oklahoma City.

Early life and career

Born in Ardmore, Oklahoma on July 11, 1973, Steele graduated from Broken Bow High School in 1992 and earned a B.A. in religion from

Oklahoma Baptist University Oklahoma Baptist University (OBU) is a private Baptist university in Shawnee, Oklahoma. It was established in 1910 under the original name of The Baptist University of Oklahoma. OBU is owned and was founded by the Baptist General Convention of ...

in 1996. Since graduating from OBU, Steele has served as a Baptist minister and public school teacher.

Political career

Steele was elected to the Oklahoma House of Representatives on November 7, 2000, He filed five bills in the 2001 session; two became law. Steele became House Speaker Pro Tempore when Chris Benge took over as Speaker of the House following

Lance Cargill Lance Cargill (born September 13, 1971) is an American lawyer and Republican politician from the U.S. state of Oklahoma. Cargill served as Speaker of the Oklahoma House of Representatives from January 2, 2007, to January 28, 2008. He resigned ...

's resignation in January 2008. The Shawnee lawmaker had several pieces of legislation signed into law from the 2009 session, including the "Health Care for Oklahomans Act" and "The Silver Alert Act". Steele introduced a 2012 proposal to reject a pay raise for statewide officials and judges. Steele presided over the

and under his tenure oversaw the enactment of

tort reform Tort reform refers to changes in the civil justice system in common law countries that aim to reduce the ability of plaintiffs to bring tort litigation (particularly actions for negligence) or to reduce damages they can receive. Such changes a ...

, the elimination of

social promotion Social promotion is the practice of promoting a student (usually a general education student, rather than a special education student) to the next grade after the current school year, regardless of if they learned the necessary material or if the ...

in public school after the third grade, the elimination of the ability of teachers to appeal termination to district courts as

trial de novo In law, the expression trial ''de novo'' means a "new trial" by a different tribunal (''de novo'' is a Latin expression meaning "afresh", "anew", "beginning again", hence the literal meaning "new trial"). A trial ''de novo'' is usually ordered b ...

, corrections reform that expanded the eligibility of low-risk, nonviolent inmates for community sentencing and electronic monitoring programs, pension reform, agency consolidation and the Justice Reinvestment Initiative.

Post-state House career

Steele is the executive director of The Education and Employment Ministry (TEEM), a 501(c)(3) organization "dedicated to breaking cycles of incarceration and poverty through education, personal development and work readiness training". He has criticized the Oklahoma penal system as being "awfully quick to look at incarceration as a solution. It tears families apart, it creates instability. It makes the situation much worse". Steele successfully campaigned for State Questions 780 (making low-level drug possession and property crimes misdemeanors) and 781 (creating a rehabilitation fund), which passed in 2016. He has received the requisite signatures to put State Question 805, a constitutional amendment which would end sentence enhancements for non-violent crimes, on the ballot in November 2020.

Personal life

When Steele was six, he was shot point-blank with a pellet gun in the head. After being in a coma for ten days after the pellet passed through his brain, he recovered but he now swings his left leg forward from his hip when he walks; his left arm and hand, though usable, curl from his elbow and his fingers often ball into a fist. Steele is married to Kellie Kursar and lives in

Shawnee, Oklahoma Shawnee ( sac, Shânîheki) is a city in Pottawatomie County, Oklahoma, United States. The population was 29,857 in 2010, a 4.9 percent increase from the figure of 28,692 in 2000. The city is part of the Oklahoma City-Shawnee Combined Statistical ...

. They have two daughters.

District

House District 26 encompasses a small northern portion of Pottawatomie County that includes the city of Shawnee.House Districts, Congressional and Other Maps

Oklahoma House of Representatives
. 10-14-09

Election history

Sources

{{DEFAULTSORT:Steele, Kris 1973 births Living people People from Ardmore, Oklahoma Republican Party members of the Oklahoma House of Representatives Oklahoma Baptist University alumni People from Shawnee, Oklahoma 21st-century American politicians Speakers of the Oklahoma House of Representatives Baptists from Oklahoma