Oklahoma Rep. Scott Biggs (R-Chickasha) has resigned, effective immediately, to assume a federal appointment.
Biggs will become executive director of the U.S. Farm Service Agency, according to multiple people with knowledge of the appointment who spoke to NonDoc on condition of anonymity
“I heard it from him,” said a political insider.
Rumors of Biggs leaving the Oklahoma Legislature for a federal position have swirled since early October. Asked in recent weeks about the rumors, Biggs did not flatly deny anything to NonDoc, answering instead with the linguistic grace common of an attorney.
“Tell me if you hear where those rumors are coming from,” Biggs said on multiple occasions.
The U.S. Farm Services Agency is part of the larger U.S. Department of Agriculture. In addition to being a former prosecutor, Biggs’ family background is in farming.
Scott Biggs supported agriculture initiative
NonDoc wrote about Biggs in September, when the former prosecutor sent a survey via email to a select assortment of media and others in the hopes of getting feedback on the classification of various types of crime.
The survey was intended to support an interim study examining criminal justice reform, which Biggs and other district attorneys in Oklahoma had criticized.
Elected in 2012, Biggs’ district included municipalities in Grady, McClain and Stephens counties, with Chickasha and Duncan constituting two of the largest.
Biggs served on numerous House committees during the past four years, including:
- Judiciary — Criminal Justice and Corrections, chairman
- Agriculture and Rural Development
- Appropriations and Budget
- A&B Natural Resources and Regulatory Services
- Joint Committee on Appropriations and Budget
Biggs advocated for State Question 777 in 2016, the so-called “Right to Farm” initiative to limit Oklahoma’s ability to regular agriculture. The ballot question was defeated by voters, with Democratic gubernatorial hopeful Drew Edmondson leading a substantial amount of the opposition.
Biggs’ resignation is the eighth in the 2017 Oklahoma Legislature. Another representative died while in office.
