Loophole Provides Funding For State Senate Consultant

OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) -- A consultant to the Oklahoma Senate will receive his $98,000 salary from money not appropriated by the state Legislature.<br/><br/>The move is to avoid violating a constitutional

Monday, January 29th 2007, 7:15 am

By: News On 6

OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) -- A consultant to the Oklahoma Senate will receive his $98,000 salary from money not appropriated by the state Legislature.

The move is to avoid violating a constitutional ban on hiring ex-lawmakers until they've been out of office for two years.

Former state House Republican Leader Fred Morgan has been hired as a consultant to Republican Senate co-President Pro Tem Glenn Coffee.

Morgan left the Legislature last year because of term limits.

His salary will come from a $600,000 fund that includes payments by lobbyists and state agencies to get every version of the bills each session.