Members of the Oklahoma Ethics Commission discuss allowing state officeholders to use campaign funds for security at a meeting Thursday at the state Capitol. (Photo by Emma Murphy/Oklahoma Voice)
OKLAHOMA CITY — The Oklahoma Ethics Commission on Thursday voted unanimously to allow state officeholders to use campaign funds for security.
The board voted to permit Oklahoma officials to use the funds to pay for security if there is a threat posed to the individual as a direct result of holding office. Any expenses must pass a personal use test, meaning the cost would not have been incurred if the individual was not in office.
“The officeholder must need security to respond to dangers or threats related to the office held, and not simply for security that any member of the public would need,” according to the opinion. “Further, the dangers or threats are related not just to any elected office within the State of Oklahoma, but the office held by that elected official.”
The approval comes as a bipartisan group of state House and Senate legislative leaders requested increased spending flexibility following the June assassination of a top Minnesota lawmaker and her spouse.
Lee Anne Bruce Boone, executive director of the Ethics Commission, said any further clarifications will require a rule change, which requires legislative approval.
“The nature of an advisory opinion is really to clarify the rules,” Bruce Boone said. “That’s why you ask for an advisory opinion. And we think this clarification is certainly appropriate. But to get more specific, that’s really more of a rule change itself. So we may need to consider some additional rules that would be related to this as we consider a rules package for the next legislative session, to give a little more specificity than what can be given in advisory opinion.”
Administrative rules have the force of law and are designed to build upon the statutes legislators create.
The Federal Election Commission previously issued guidance which allows campaign funds to be used to pay for certain security devices and services to address ongoing dangers and threats.
Senate President Pro Tem Lonnie Paxton, R-Tuttle, House Speaker Kyle Hilbert, R-Bristow, Senate Minority Leader Julia Kirt, D-Oklahoma City and House Minority Leader Cyndi Munson, D-Oklahoma City, jointly requested the advisory opinion and issued a statement Thursday applauding the Commission’s action.
“Public service should never mean putting your safety at unnecessary risk,” Paxton said. “This ruling gives elected officials a clear, ethical pathway to address credible threats that arise solely because they hold public office.”
Hilbert said this decision sends a clear message and “strikes the right balance” between the safety of public servants and ensuring accountability of campaign fund use.
Violence should never be part of the democratic process, Kirt said, but the events in Minnesota reminded elected officials of the risks of public service.
“Tragic events this past year have left many lawmakers fearful for their safety,” Munson said. “All public servants should have the support they need in order to best serve their communities.”
Lawmakers and elected officials around the country have been on edge and weighing the cost of holding public office after Melissa Hortman, a member of the Minnesota Democratic–Farmer–Labor Party and House Speaker Emerita, and her husband Mark Hortman were shot and killed in their home.
Vance Boelter, 57, is accused of posing as a police officer to gain entry to the couple’s home and shooting them. He’s also accused of shooting another state lawmaker Rep. John Hoffman and his spouse. Hoffman and his wife are recovering.
Boelter faces federal and state charges for murder and stalking, some of which carry the potential for the death penalty. He allegedly had a list of other targets.
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