17th Oklahoma Legislature

The 17th Oklahoma Legislature was the seventeenth convening of Oklahoma's state legislative branch. It consisted of the Oklahoma Senate and the Oklahoma House of Representatives and met in regular session at the Oklahoma State Capitol in Oklahoma City from January 3 through April 29, 1939. The session took place during the administration of Governor Leon C. Phillips, who had previously served as a state representative and was the first former state representative to become governor of Oklahoma. The legislature operated within Oklahoma's established bicameral constitutional framework. The Senate was presided over by Lieutenant Governor James E. Berry, who served as Senate president and retained the authority to cast a deciding vote in the event of a tie. Senators selected Jim A. Rinehart of El Reno as president pro tempore. In that role, Rinehart acted as the Senate's principal legislative organizer and chamber leader beneath the lieutenant governor. The House of Representatives was strongly controlled by the Oklahoma Democratic Party, which held 102 of the chamber's 115 seats. That majority enabled the Democrats to choose the House leadership. Don Welch of Madill served as speaker, while Harold Freeman of Pauls Valley served as speaker pro tempore. The session therefore reflected the political dominance of Oklahoma Democrats in the state House during the late 1930s. The 17th Legislature is best understood as a historical governmental institution rather than a commercial brand. Its principal activities were the consideration and enactment of state legislation, the organization of the two chambers, and the exercise of legislative oversight during the 1939 session. Available reference material identifies the session dates, institutional structure, party composition, and principal presiding officers, but does not provide sufficient information in the supplied sources to describe individual enacted laws, major policy programs, financial appropriations, controversies, campaigns, or subsequent institutional initiatives in detail. The body was succeeded by the 18th Oklahoma Legislature.

The 17th Oklahoma Legislature convened in Oklahoma City for its regular session from January 3 to April 29, 1939. It was composed of the Oklahoma Senate and the Oklahoma House of Representatives, operating from the Oklahoma State Capitol under the state's constitutional system of government. The session occurred while Leon C. Phillips served as governor. Phillips had earlier been a member of the Oklahoma House of Representatives and was the first person to progress from that position to the governorship, giving the legislature's relationship with the executive branch particular historical significance. Leadership was divided between the two chambers and the lieutenant governor's constitutional role. James E. Berry, serving as lieutenant governor, presided over the Senate as its president. His duties included acting as presiding officer and holding a tie-breaking vote. The senators elected Jim A. Rinehart, an El Reno legislator, as president pro tempore. Rinehart was the Senate's chief internal organizer and its principal legislative leader in the regular session. In the House, the Democratic Party held 102 of 115 seats. This substantial majority allowed the party to determine the chamber's leadership and legislative organization. Don Welch, representing Madill, became speaker of the House, and Harold Freeman of Pauls Valley became speaker pro tempore. The party balance illustrates the dominant position of Oklahoma Democrats in the House in 1939, although the available reference material does not specify the complete Senate party breakdown or identify the outcomes of individual bills. The legislature's work consisted of the ordinary functions of a state lawmaking body, including chamber organization, deliberation, and consideration of legislation during the regular session. The supplied references identify the session dates, officers, party composition in the House, and the succession from the 16th to the 18th Legislature, but do not provide enough verified detail to summarize particular statutes, appropriations, investigations, disputes, or policy turning points. Consequently, the historical record represented here focuses on the institution's composition, leadership, and place in Oklahoma's legislative sequence rather than attributing unverified achievements or controversies to it. After the session ended on April 29, 1939, the 17th Legislature became a completed historical term and was followed by the 18th Oklahoma Legislature. It should not be confused with the modern Oklahoma Legislature as a continuing institution: the subject refers specifically to the 1939 legislative term.

• 1939

  Regular session convened

  [1]17th Oklahoma Legislatureen.wikipedia.org

  The 17th Oklahoma Legislature opened its regular session at the Oklahoma State Capitol in Oklahoma City on January 3, 1939.

• 1939

  House leadership organized

  [1]17th Oklahoma Legislatureen.wikipedia.org

  The Democratic majority, holding 102 of the House's 115 seats, selected Don Welch as speaker and Harold Freeman as speaker pro tempore.

• 1939

  Senate leadership established

  [1]17th Oklahoma Legislatureen.wikipedia.org

  Lieutenant Governor James E. Berry presided over the Senate, while senators elected Jim A. Rinehart president pro tempore.

• 1939

  Regular session adjourned

  [1]17th Oklahoma Legislatureen.wikipedia.org

  The regular session concluded on April 29, 1939, after which the 17th Legislature was succeeded by the 18th Legislature.

A historical state legislative institution representing Oklahoma's bicameral government during the 1939 regular session.

1. 117th Oklahoma Legislatureen.wikipedia.org