Appropriations committee passes bill to help towns increase law enforcement

OKLAHOMA CITY – A measure to improve public safety in small Oklahoma towns passed unanimously out of the Senate Appropriations Committee Wednesday. Sen. Grant Green, R-Wellston, authored Senate Bill 1095 to allow retired law enforcement members to be employed full-time in small towns.

“Just as the business community is struggling to maintain their workforce, smaller municipalities are struggling to retain and recruit police officers as they compete with larger cities, who can pay more,” Green said. “Currently, retired law enforcement members are only allowed to work 25 hours, but this bill would allow them to return to the workforce full-time without impacting their retirement benefits.”

SB 1095 would authorize municipalities with a population of 4,000 or less to employ a retired police officer over 45 years old, a member of the Oklahoma Police Pension and Retirement System (OPPRS), and actively receive benefits. However, the officer would not be subject to the requirements and obligations of the OPPRS and would not receive any additional credit toward retirement.

“We have so many retired highway patrolmen, game wardens, Bureau of Narcotics agents, and other law enforcement officers, who are willing to use their experience and training to work in these smaller communities,” Green said. “This is an opportunity to improve public safety in dozens of towns statewide, and I’m anxious to get this bill to the governor’s desk.”

Green said around 70 towns in Oklahoma would meet the population requirement. 

The measure, co-authored by Rep. Carl Newton, R-Cherokee, will go before the full Senate for further consideration.

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For more information, contact:  Sen. Green: (405) 521-5547 or Grant.Green@oksenate.gov