Saturday, February 04, 2017

Facing expulsion vote, Kirby resigns (for real, this time) [UPDATED]


State Rep. Dan Kirby (R-Tulsa) has released a statement saying that he will resign from office, just a few days in advance of an expected vote to expel him from the Oklahoma House of Representatives.
"I cannot, in good conscience, continue to fight against unfounded accusations and what I believe to be unreasonable committee recommendations when the end result will ultimately be that the people of House District 75 will not have a voice at the State Capitol for the next two years. The committee has ensured that this would have been a lose-lose situation for me and my district."
Legislative leadership had said that a vote to expel Kirby would be taken before any legislation would be considered. The legislative session begins Monday, so any action would happen then (after the Governor's 'State of the State') or Tuesday.

UPDATE 1

Here is Kirby's resignation letter, which raises more questions for me:


His resignation "shall become effective Wednesday, March 1st, 2017", rather than immediately, or even before the legislative session kicks off on Monday. Will the House still move to expel?

UPDATE 2

I spoke with Majority Floor Leader Jon Echols (R-OKC) about the resignation date and a vote on expulsion. While legislative leadership has not met about the issue since Kirby's resignation announcement earlier today, Rep. Echols said that if Kirby intends to still show up and participate in voting and legislative deliberations, he would expect a expulsion vote to be scheduled and taken before any major action is taken on legislation.

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