Governor Fallin issued the following statement on the passing of Jim Hamilton, who was elected to the state Senate in 1967 and served there for nine years, including 1973-75 as president pro tempore, and was elected to the state House of Representatives in 1984, where he served as appropriations and budget committee chairman for eight years before retiring in 1998:
“Jim Hamilton was a fiscal conservative who sponsored the constitutional amendment that created Oklahoma’s ‘Rainy Day’ Fund. He also drafted the language in the state’s balanced budget amendment to the state constitution, which placed a cap on the growth of state government. I enjoyed serving in the House with him, where he was known as someone who fought for his constituents and the needs of his district. My thoughts and prayers are with his family and friends.”
