Statement by Senator Kenneth Corn: Senate Budget Panel Chairman Comments on Signing of HB 2288

“The Governor’s signature on HB 2288 culminates months of work in the Senate to bring an end to the public safety crisis facing Oklahoma.

“Just as in June when I offered my thanks to the Governor for answering my call to expand the Special Session to include the Department of Corrections (DOC) funding issue, I am offering my thanks to him again today for his leadership on signing this supplemental appropriation into law.

“Government has no greater moral obligation than to keep its citizens safe, and HB 2288 will allow us to help create a safer Oklahoma for all our citizens.

“This measure that was signed into law today by Governor Brad Henry could not have come soon enough.

“The Senate has been working tirelessly on this effort for months, even coming in this past August to pass a bill that would have immediately allowed DOC to hire additional corrections, probation and parole officers.

“We cannot allow inadequate staffing at state prisons to cripple correctional officer’s ability to keep themselves and Oklahoma communities safe, and that is why the action by Governor Henry today to sign this measure into law is a huge victory for all Oklahomans.”