By Barbara Hoberock, Oklahoma Voice
OKLAHOMA CITY – A Senate panel on Wednesday passed a bill that would nearly double the pay of the five-member Oklahoma Pardon and Parole Board.
Senate Bill 1330, by Sen. Darcy Jech, R-Kingfisher, would increase the board chairman’s pay to $46,000 from $24,800. Pay for the other four members would rise to $42,000 from $22,800.
“I have attended numerous Pardon and Parole Board meetings,” Jech said. “It is obvious to me to watch those meetings how much input and preparation goes into that.”
The board is tasked with considering if inmates should receive clemency, have their sentences commuted, be pardoned or qualify for early release.
The proposed increase more accurately reflects the workload, Jech said.
Increasing the pay, which has not been adjusted since 2002, will help attract and retain members, Jech said.
In recent years, the panel had quite a bit of turnover, said Kyle Counts, executive director.
Board members spend 20 to 30 hours preparing for a meeting by reading investigative reports and correspondence, he said.
The board meets once a month for two to two- and-a-half days, which takes up another 15 to 20 hours, Counts said.
“The board members are public servants but there is a time factor involved and the emotional weight of the responsibility,” he said. “They are committed to balancing the interest of the early release when the offender went through rehabilitation with protecting the community and respecting the victims and their pain.”
The pay adjustment is expected to cost $98,000 annually.
The Senate Appropriations Committee passed the measure by a vote of 22-0.
