The legislature may legislate on any subject and has certain "necessary and proper" powers as may be required for carrying into effect the provisions of the Oklahoma Constitution.

The Oklahoma Senate's advice and consent is required for gubernatorial appointments to high-level executive positions.

[3] The 1921 session was also notable because it included Oklahoma's first female state legislators, Representative Bessie McColgin and Senator Lamar Loomey.

[4] This occurred shortly after women earned the right to vote in Oklahoma in 1918 through a constitutional amendment approved by voters.

[5] Legislators voted in 1923 to impeach Governor Jack C. Walton for trying to block the legislature from holding special session and administrative practices that included payroll padding, pardons, removal of college administrators, and a large increase in the governor's salary.

[8] Bipartisan opposition to deficit spending in the late 1930s led to a 1941 constitutional amendment requiring legislators to pass a balanced budget.

[9] In 1964, three black men, Archibald Hill, E. Melvin Porter, and Curtis Lawson, were elected to the Oklahoma Legislature, the first since A. C. Hamlin left office in 1910.

[1] Beginning in the 1960s, the Republican party made gains in voter registration and state legislative seats.

In addition, the limit does not include those years of an unexpired term served by a member elected or appointed to fill a vacancy in office, but no member who has completed 12 years in office is thereafter eligible to serve an unexpired term.

[15] The Oklahoma Legislature is constitutionally required to enact laws barring conflicts of interest for its members.

Until the U.S. Supreme Court's 1964 ruling in the case of Reynolds v. Sims, each of Oklahoma's 77 counties was guaranteed at least one seat in the State House of Representatives.

The Senate consists of 48 members, representing single-member districts that are drawn to reflect equal populations.

The Speaker of the Oklahoma House of Representatives is elected by a majority of members of the Oklahoma House of Representatives and is the nominee elected by the majority party caucus, unless a coalition of members of both political parties chooses a coalition candidate.

The Oklahoma Constitution provides that the lieutenant governor serves as the President of the Senate and holds a vote which can only be cast to break a tie.

By convention, the lieutenant governor only attends important ceremonial occasions like the swearing-in of new senators or when his vote is needed to break a tie.

The presiding officer acts as the Oklahoma Senate's mouthpiece, performs duties such as announcing the results of vote, and controls debates by calling on members to speak.

[17] The legislature's power to legislate is broad, except where the constitution limits that authority or reserves it to the people of Oklahoma.

If two or more candidates have an equal number of votes, the legislature may elect one of them to office by means of a joint ballot.

The Legislature shall define what is an unlawful combination, monopoly, trust, act, or agreement, in restraint of trade, and enact laws to punish persons engaged in any unlawful combination, monopoly, trust, act, or agreement, in restraint of trade.

For instance, the Legislature may not meddle in the affairs of local government in the realm of day-to-day business, such as street lay out or school districts.

Legislatures are identified by consecutive numbers and correspond with the election of the members of the Oklahoma House of Representatives.

At the beginning of each new term, the entire House of Representatives and one-half of the Senate (those who were chosen in the previous election) are sworn in.

The provision was intended to prevent one house from thwarting legislative business simply by refusing to meet.

The consent of both bodies is required for the Legislature's final adjournment, or sine die, at the end of each legislative session.

The first stage involves consideration by a standing committee, which has jurisdiction over a particular subject matter, such as agriculture or appropriations.

In many cases, conference committees have introduced substantial changes to bills and added un-requested spending, significantly departing from both the House and Senate versions.

In such a case, the bill only becomes law if each house of the Legislature votes to override the veto with a two-thirds majority.

Both houses use voice voting to decide most matters; members shout out "aye" or "no", and the presiding officer announces the result.

State legislators enjoy the privilege of being free from arrest for criminal charges, except for treason, felony, and breach of the peace.

[20] The President Pro Tempore of the State Senate and the Speaker of the House of Representatives are paid an additional $17,932 annually.