By AP
Tulsa, OK – Okla. speaker wants open records for Legislature
OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) Oklahoma House Speaker Kris Steele says he supports an initiative to require the Oklahoma Legislature to be subject to the requirements of the state's Open Records and Open Meetings Act.
The Shawnee Republican said Thursday during The Associated Press' annual legislative forum in Oklahoma City that "the time has come" for a similar law to apply to the Legislature.
Currently, the Legislature is exempt from laws that require state and local agencies and boards to be open and transparent.
Fellow Republican state Representative Jason Murphey of Guthrie has introduced a bill to create a separate open meetings and open records act applicable to the Legislature.
Steele added that he believes the law should contain some exemptions for constituent correspondence and legislative caucus meetings.