Bill proposes combining law enforcement
Proponents say it would help agencies share info
Legislation moving through the Oklahoma House would place the state’s law enforcement agencies under the same roof, but some lawmakers continue to ask questions about the cost and the timing.
Senate Bill 1612 intends to move the Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation, Oklahoma State Bureau of Narcotics and Dangerous Drugs Control and the Oklahoma Highway Patrol Division within the Oklahoma Department of Public Safety.
Proponents of the bill say the legislation would help the agencies share information and work together more easily, while also creating career advancement avenues for officers.
The Unification, Recruitment, and Retention Act also would create an 11member Oklahoma Board of Public Safety and a commissioner to oversee the new mega-agency.
However, the fate of the bill and its final form are yet to be determined as questions remain surrounding commissioner qualifications, the number of board members and the cost of the project with several legislative hurdles remaining.
“When we had this in the Senate, it changed before every committee meeting, and then it changed before it hit the floor,” said Sen. Kim David, R-Porter, the bill’s author. “So I wanted to make sure we gave the House that same opportunity to let it go through the whole process over there.”
That process consists of conversations between representatives, senators and law enforcement officials as a House committee hearing deadline for the bill looms at the end of the week.
Budget negotiations could affect legislation
For some lawmakers, there is pause due to both the significant change being proposed and the bill being considered amid the Legislature’s effort to craft a state budget as the session heads closer toward its final weeks.
Senate Majority Floor Leader Greg McCortney, R-Ada, said he doesn’t want the bill to get caught up in budget negotiations.
“Something this big, in creating a mega-agency, I would hate to see us do something like this and allow it to be a part of a horse-trading scenario,” he said.
“I want it to stand alone, and I want us to make a clear-eyed decision on whether or not this is really the best thing to do for the people of Oklahoma.”
Additionally, McCortney is uncertain why the creation of a mega-agency is necessary to address a hiring problem.
“I can’t get to a place in my mind where those things have to go together,” he said.
Along with the Unification Bill, there is a proposal for a new $100 million law enforcement training facility. The Department of Public Safety already requested funding for the project, David said.
However, the details of the bill, including the final cost, are still a work in progress.
“This is a bill that right now pretends to cost very little,” McCortney said. “But the reality is I think we all know that this is a bill that costs over $100 million. But until we understand the price tag, I’d have a lot of trouble supporting that.”
“This is a bill that right now pretends to cost very little. But the reality is I think we all know that this is a bill that costs over $100 million. But until we understand the price tag, I’d have a lot of trouble supporting that.” Senate Majority Floor Leader Greg McCortney
Former state narcotics bureau chief opposes move
Outside of money concerns, opposition came from Sen. Darrell Weaver, RMoore, a former director of the Oklahoma Bureau of Narcotics and Dangerous Drugs Control, based on a lack of “insulation” between the proposed board, commissioner and political influences.
As the bill stands, the board would be appointed by the governor, Senate and House leadership and law enforcement associations. The commissioner, appointed by the board, is required to have either law enforcement, public safety or other related experience in addition to displaying five years of success in leadership.
Citing concerns that the proposed qualifications are not stringent enough and the potential for outside influences to interfere with investigations and the commissioner’s decision making, Weaver debated against the bill on the Senate floor before it passed on a 37-6 vote.
“Politics and law enforcement should never mix,” Weaver said. “Don’t kid yourself, this will be the most powerful law enforcement officer in the history of this state, ever.”
Local law enforcement officials say they may lack representation
While the bill does not address local law enforcement, legislators, including Weaver, have expressed concern about a lack of local input.
Former co-author of the bill Sen. Jessica Garvin, R-Duncan, stepped away from the legislation after law enforcement officials in her district made their opposition known.
“Some of it was just that they felt like the local law enforcement didn’t have a lot of representation in the process,” Garvin said.
“I think that there is a way to get there.”
The proposed changes Senate Bill 1612 would bring are based on findings provided by the Unified State Law Enforcement Commission, which consisted of leadership from state agencies as well as OSBI, OHP and the OBN.
Those conversations mostly revolved around law enforcement at the state level, although the commission did seek input from other departments around the state.
Originally, the bill did not have a position on its proposed five-member board for local law enforcement, but in later versions six additional spots were added for input from county sheriffs, district attorneys and chiefs of police.
Additionally, David said the potential changes are similar in structure to that of local law enforcement offices.
“This isn’t any different than trying to put something in place like you have in a city, metropolitan police department, it’s the same thing, you’ve got a patrol division, investigations, drug enforcement. It isn’t any different,” David said.
Bill expected to face more amendments
In the House, where the bill would be heard by the Public Safety committee, changes are still expected to come.
Alterations at this point could range from how the governor will work with the mega-agency, the time frame of the board’s first meeting that is currently set for no later than Oct. 1 or the role and powers of the commissioner.
“But I do think we don’t need to lose sight of the overall goal of the bill, which is to support the operational and career advancement of our officers,” said House Majority Floor Leader Jon Echols, the bill’s House author.
If passed, supporters of the bill say it may assist in removing the competition in hiring and recruiting between the state agencies.
Additionally, it could allow officers more opportunity to work across the different agencies and stay within the state’s enforcement ranks without being stuck with little chance of mobility, Echols said.
“You can imagine, eventually, somebody’s going to get more into investigations after they’ve spent a lot of time as a trooper on the road,” Echols said.
Another big piece of the bill, which is accompanied by Senate Bill 1613, would create a Mental Wellness Division within the Public Safety department. The task of the separate division would be to provide programs and services that promote “good mental wellness.”
“What we’ve not done, as a state and as a society, is recognize the trauma that these officers put themselves in everyday for us,” Echols said.
Moving forward, Senate Bill 1612 will need to pass a committee vote followed by a floor vote in the House before heading back to the Senate.
“I’m not opposed to this concept, I don’t want people to think that I think it’s a horrible idea.
“I don’t know yet,” McCortney said. “I just don’t think that the information is out there that we would need to make a decision this big.”