Oklahoma House of Representatives Swears in One Last Member

OKLAHOMA CITY –State Rep. Aaron Stiles this evening became the final member to be sworn in by the Oklahoma House of Representatives for the upcoming Oklahoma Legislature. The swearing in came shortly after a drawn out recount and legal battle that stalled certification of the election for weeks.

"I'm just glad to be putting this whole thing behind us, and I'm ready to continue my service to the people of House District 45," said Stiles, R-Norman. "I am proud and honored to be representing the people of my district. I will spend these next two years the same way I spent the first two: putting politics aside in order to get things done for District 45 and the state of Oklahoma."

After a recount showed Stiles the winner by 16 votes, his challenger filed a number of petitions claiming "irregularities" in the election proceedings. However, the district court in Norman sided with Stiles, clearing the way for the election results to be certified.

Immediately after the court ruling, the Cleveland County Election Board certified the results and transmitted them to the State Election Board, which then certified the results and created an official certificate of election.

With the certification complete and the certificate of election in hand, the Chief Clerk of the House then was able to swear in Rep. Stiles.

"It has been a very hectic month," said Stiles. "Now that this is finally done, I'm looking forward to getting back to work and serving my constituents. That's the whole reason I ran for office to begin with."

Stiles said he will immediately begin working on getting legislation filed for the upcoming session, along with other official duties to prepare for next session.

Stiles Bill Protects the Custody Rights of Deployed Military Personnel

Rep. Aaron Stiles
R-Norman

State Rep. Aaron Stiles praised Gov. Mary Fallin for signing legislation designed to ensure deployed parents will not lose the custody of their children while serving the country.

House Bill 1603, by Stiles (R-Norman), bans military deployment as a reason to modify custody, bans courts from entering final orders while the deployed parent is deployed, provides for remote electronic hearings and allows deployed personnel to designate a family member to exercise visitation and enforce custody.

“I’ve seen in my law practice where a service member will be deployed and will come home to find his son or daughter trained to call someone else his ‘new Daddy’,” Stiles said. “This is a sad occurrence. This bill will give the service members more power to stop this type of scenario from happening. The legislation ensures service members’ custody and visitation rights are protected while they are deployed.”

Stiles said that losing custody and visitation rights should not be one of the sacrifices service members have to make to serve the country.

“Our military men and women already sacrifice time with their families,” Stiles said. “They shouldn’t have to lose their rights to see their families when they are home because they were not present to defend those rights.”

Governor’s Business Licensing One-Stop Plan Approved

The Oklahoma House of Representatives has approved Gov. Mary Fallin’s request to provide convenience to Oklahoma business owners this week.

Rep. Aaron Stiles
R-Norman

House Bill 1601, by state Rep. Aaron Stiles (R-Norman) and state Sen. Clark Jolley (R-Edmond), would establish a one-stop shop through which business owners could establish a new business and obtain the licensees and permits they need in one convenient location.

"This plan is designed to cut through the government bureaucracy, which is a strong disincentive to the creation of new businesses and jobs," Stiles explained. "Business owners should not be forced to navigate through a gauntlet of multiple agencies and government red tape in order to start their business."

"Governor Fallin’s proposal will enable Oklahoma businessmen to spend less time dealing with government and more time focusing on their business," added House Government Modernization Committee Chairman Jason Murphey (R-Guthrie).

House Bill 1601 was approved by a vote of 90-7 and now goes to the Senate for additional consideration.