State lawmakers' birthday greetings come under fire

OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) _ The Oklahoma House's chief of staff says lawmakers can't use state resources to send birthday cards to voters. <br/><br/>Chief of Staff Doug Enevoldsen notified members of

Monday, July 4th 2005, 2:17 am

By: News On 6

OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) _ The Oklahoma House's chief of staff says lawmakers can't use state resources to send birthday cards to voters.

Chief of Staff Doug Enevoldsen notified members of the state House of the policy in a recent e-mail to lawmakers.

The practice was questioned by Representative Al Lindley of Oklahoma City. Lindley asked for an attorney general's opinion on whether it's legal for legislators to send out birthday mailers.

More than $80,000 was spent during the past year for mailings from state House members and staffers. That includes more than $37,000 for rolls of stamps.

The state House also allows lawmakers access to the state House postage meter to send out as many as 500 pieces of mail a week.