Oklahoma

===State government===

{{See also|Governor of Oklahoma||Oklahoma Legislature|Oklahoma Supreme Court}}

The [[Oklahoma Legislature|Legislature of Oklahoma]] consists of the [[Oklahoma Senate|Senate]] and the [[Oklahoma House of Representatives|House of Representatives]]. As the lawmaking branch of the state government, it is responsible for raising and distributing the money necessary to run the government. The Senate has 48 members serving four-year terms, while the House has 101 members with two-year terms. The state has a [[term limit]] for its legislature that restricts any one person to twelve cumulative years service between both legislative branches.<ref name="Oklahoma Government 2" /><ref>{{cite web|publisher=U.S. Term Limits |access-date=August 9, 2007 |url=http://www.ustl.org/leglong.html |title=Legislative Longevity Limits |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070920054851/http://www.ustl.org/leglong.html |archive-date=September 20, 2007 }}</ref>

Oklahoma's judicial branch consists of the [[Oklahoma Supreme Court]], the [[Oklahoma Court of Criminal Appeals]], and 77 District Courts that each serve one county. The Oklahoma judiciary also contains two independent courts: a Court of [[Impeachment in the United States|Impeachment]] (for [[impeachment trial]]s) and the [[Oklahoma Court on the Judiciary]]. Oklahoma has two courts of last resort: the state Supreme Court hears civil cases, and the state Court of Criminal Appeals hears criminal cases (this split system exists only in Oklahoma and neighboring Texas). Judges of those two courts, as well as the Court of Civil Appeals are appointed by the Governor upon the recommendation of the state Judicial Nominating Commission, and are subject to a [[non-partisan]] retention vote on a six-year rotating schedule.<ref name="Oklahoma Government 2">{{cite web | date=June 7, 2007 | publisher=Netstate| access-date=August 1, 2007 | url=http://www.netstate.com/states/government/ok_government.htm| title=Oklahoma State Government}}</ref>

The executive branch consists of the [[Governor of Oklahoma|Governor]], their staff, and other elected officials. The principal head of government, the Governor is the chief executive of the Oklahoma executive branch, serving as the [[List of Latin phrases (E)|ex officio]] [[Commander-in-chief]] of the [[Oklahoma National Guard]] when not called into [[Federal government of the United States|Federal]] use and reserving the power to veto bills passed through the Legislature. The responsibilities of the Executive branch include submitting the budget, ensuring state laws are enforced, and ensuring peace within the state is preserved.<ref>{{cite web | date=December 1, 1995 | publisher=Governor's Commission| access-date=August 6, 2007 | url=http://www.oklaosf.state.ok.us/osfdocs/gvcmmsh2.html| title=Report of the Governor's Commission on Government Performance|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20070429100905/http://www.oklaosf.state.ok.us/osfdocs/gvcmmsh2.html|archive-date=April 29, 2007 }}</ref>