In the wake of the June 14 assassination of Minnesota House Speaker Melissa Hortman and her husband, the Oklahoma Ethics Commission adopted an advisory opinion Thursday allowing state lawmakers to use campaign funds for “reasonable” security measures to protect themselves, but not their families or employees.
The opinion — requested by Oklahoma Senate President Pro Tempore Lonnie Paxton (R-Tuttle), House Speaker Kyle Hilbert (R-Bristow), Senate Minority Leader Julia Kirt (D-OKC) and House Minority Leader Cyndi Munson (D-OKC) — aligns Oklahoma’s laws with federal campaign ethics codes adopted in September 2024, which allow national officials to make similar security expenditures using campaign cash.
The Ethics Commission found that officeholders’ security expenses should not be considered an improper “personal” use of their campaign funds, as long as the dangers inherent to holding public office exist specifically because the person is a public official.
“Ordinary and necessary expenses incurred for safety and security measures to respond to dangers or threats posed to a state elected official as a direct result of holding elected state office fall within the definition of officeholder expenses,” the Ethics Commission’s new opinion reads, “so long as (1) the safety and security expenses would not be incurred if the individual did not hold the elected office; (2) the dangers or threats posed to the state elected official are a direct result of and closely related to office held by that elected official; and (3) the expenses are reasonable.”
The only person to speak during Thursday’s public hearing on the proposed opinion was Glenn Coffee, senior legal advisor to the Oklahoma Senate, former Oklahoma secretary of state and former State Senate president pro tempore.
“The proposed language excludes the things that ought to be excluded to where it’s not abused, but given the tragedy that happened in Minnesota, we think this is appropriate,” Coffee said. “It’s unfortunate, but it’s just the reality of elected office in this day and age, and we think this is an important next step.”
The opinion specifies that “reasonable” expenses may include home security cameras, motion sensors and cybersecurity software. Expenses that fall “outside the scope” of being considered reasonable — and thus ineligible for payment with campaign account funds — include “hiring a security guard or security detail, purchasing weapons, or installing complex, high-end equipment.”
While there was little debate regarding the advisory opinion — which the body approved unanimously — commissioners did acknowledge an email from Kell Kelly, Hilbert’s chief of staff with the Oklahoma House of Representatives.
“My only point would be that in certain circumstances, a bodyguard could fall within your definition,” Kelly’s email read. “I would think that might need a special ruling/opinion/direction from the Ethics Commission.”
Commission Chairman Justin Meek acknowledged that Kelly’s bodyguard question “may be something that comes up at a later date” to be addressed in specific rule changes.
The commission’s vice chairman, Adam Weintraub, struggled to think of a scenario involving a private security necessity, joking that he did not “want to put Kevin Costner out of work.”
“I’m actually having trouble imagining a situation where a bodyguard would be required by an elected official in lieu of civil authorities,” Weintraub said. “It seems to me like a sheriff or deputy would do just fine.”
‘Violence should never be part of our democratic process’
Paxton, Hilbert, Kirt and Munson issued a joint statement following the Ethics Commission’s vote.
“We deeply appreciate Director (Lee Anne) Bruce Boone and the Ethics Commission’s thoughtful work on this important matter,” Paxton said. “Public service should never mean putting your safety at unnecessary risk.”
In the same release, Hilbert said the opinion “strikes the right balance between safeguarding public servants and ensuring strict accountability in the use of campaign funds.
Kirt likewise applauded the opinion.
“Violence should never be part of our democratic process, but what happened in Minnesota this summer reminded us all that public service can come with risk to elected officials and their loved ones,” Kirt said in the release.
Notably, unlike the federal-level ethics code mentioned in legislators’ request for the opinion, the Ethics Commission’s guidance clarifies that the new opinion does not apply to security expenses related to “the officeholder’s family, staff or other persons connected with the office or the officeholder.”
Also unlike federal law, the Oklahoma guidelines only apply to the use of campaign account funds by officeholders. Candidates seeking state office cannot spend campaign funds on security measures until they are elected and sworn into office, an exclusion the Vote Mama Foundation urged the Ethics Commission to consider adjusting.
“Amid escalating political violence nationwide, today’s decision in Oklahoma is an important step forward on protecting public servants and strengthening our democracy. The next step should be to expand this important resource to cover candidates engaging in campaign activity,” Vote Mama CEO Liuba Grechen Shirley said in a statement Thursday. “Democracy requires that representatives hear from everyday people — not just lawmakers when they do legislative work, but also candidates as they are running to get there. Until political candidates are also kept safe, our democracy will remain vulnerable.”
On the same day as Hortman (DFL-Brooklyn Park) was murdered, the killer also shot Minnesota Sen. John Hoffman (DFL-Champlin) and his wife, both of whom survived. The rising tide of political violence in America in recent years has also included an elaborate plot to kidnap Michigan’s governor, the April arson at Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro’s gubernatorial mansion, another arson attempt at the New Mexico Republican Party headquarters, attempts and threats on President Donald Trump’s life and the hammer attack on then-U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s husband.
In Oklahoma, the Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation routinely reviews reported threats against elected officials. In 2022, a voicemail left for a state senator threatened to “have a fucking shootout right in the parking lot” of a Sequoyah County medical marijuana business. A 2018 voicemail left for an Oklahoma House member made vile and personal remarks about the official’s family members. In 2016, multiple Oklahoma legislators reported being surveilled by private investigators — a somewhat common practice over the years. Former Rep. Mark McBride (R-Moore) once found a tracking device on his pickup truck and engaged in protracted litigation over its origin.
Commissioners also voted Thursday to open formal investigations into currently confidential cases listed on their meeting agenda as “C-25-12,” “C-25-14” and “C-25-16.” Boone said no information regarding those investigations, including the persons involved, could be shared.
