Oklahoma
State Senate
Communications Division
State Capitol
Oklahoma City, OK 73105
405-521-5774
For Immediate Release: May 18, 2009
Sen. Kenneth Corn
Sen. Corn Proposes Solution to Avoid Trooper Furloughs
State Sen. Kenneth
Corn said the safety of Oklahoma’s citizens is too important
to allow highway patrol troopers to be furloughed. He’s
come up with a plan to prevent that. Currently the Department
of Public Safety charges $5 for copies of driving records. That
fee has not increased for several years. Corn, D-Poteau, said
the state could keep the troopers on the job by increasing the
fee to $10.
“If we do this, we’d generate about $5 million dollars
for the Department of Public Safety. It would be enough to prevent
furloughs and keep those troopers on our highways, protecting
law abiding citizens,” Corn said.
In the budget agreement now working its way through the legislature,
DPS is targeted for a 6.5 percent budget cut. However DPS Commissioner
Kevin Ward stated on Monday that cut would result in furloughs
for 800 Highway Patrol Troopers.
“The best scenario would be if we had the funding to both
avoid any kind of fee increase as well as avoiding furloughs,
but due to the national recession, that simply isn’t possible
this year,” Corn said. “If troopers were needed because
of a manhunt or some catastrophic situation and several were furloughed
at the time, it could pose a public safety risk. We cannot allow
that to happen.”
For more information contact:
Sen. Corn's Office - 405-521-5576
