Hickman Defends Jones Eviction, Says He Is Wrong

Speaker Jeff Hickman

Speaker Jeff Hickman

House Speaker Jeff Hickman says the eviction of Auditor  & Inspector Gary Jones from the Capitol is appropriate and Jones’ criticism is wrong.

“Since the inception of the Capitol restoration project and the creation of the oversight committee, the House of Representatives has been focused on helping create a master plan for our Capitol Building which will enhance the experience for public visitors, school children and the everyday users of this magnificent building,” Hickman said.

“This past session, the House and Senate developed SB 1583 which defines legislative office and meeting space within the Capitol. Governor Fallin signed the bill into law. All remaining space in the building, including office space currently occupied by a small portion of the State Auditor’s staff, was placed under the control of the Office of Management and Enterprise Services. The current space occupied by the State Auditor is not defined in SB 1583 as legislative space and any reference to the contrary is misleading and inaccurate.

“We must make sure that we are prioritizing each floor of the building to offer the services that are necessary during the legislative session and year round. This is an opportunity that only comes along once in a generation and we must maximize our exiting spaces for new technologies and new experiences. The master plan does that and we look forward to continuing this process.
“I appreciate the commitment of the oversight committee, our design-build teams and the Legislature to restore this beautiful building given to us by previous generations of Oklahomans and preserve it for future generations to enjoy and use.”

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  1. castor, 31 August, 2016

    I had a much higher opinion of Speaker Hickman until this episode occurred.

  2. larry leadership, 31 August, 2016

    Speaker Hickman did not announce this grand plan during debate, so the use of “sleight of hand” legislative trickery is obvious. The media needs to start reading the bills and discerning what is in the legislation, rather than publishing press releases. There was no debate on this issue, these tactics smack of iron curtain dealings in a totalitarian state. WHERE IS DEMOCRACY and free debate, Mr. Speaker?

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