OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) — The Oklahoma House has passed legislation to change the way candidates for the state Supreme Court and appellate court are nominated and selected.
House members voted 58-34 for the measure Thursday and sent it to the state Senate for action.
The measure by Republican House Speaker Jeff Hickman of Fairview calls for a vote of the people on a proposed constitutional amendment to change the authority of the Judicial Nominating Commission.
The bill requires the commission to send a list of all applicants for appellate court jobs to the governor, rather than just the names of three applicants as it does now.
The commission can then score each applicant on a 0-10 scale. Nominees would be confirmed by a committee of House and Senate members.