Representative Eric Roberts

R

District 83

Hi, I’m Eric Roberts and I represent the people of Oklahoma’s 83rd District.


representative

Leadership

Assistant Majority Whip

59th Legislature

News & Announcements

Apr 8, 2024
Recent Posts

Roberts Appointed to Energy & Environment Committee for CSG Southern Office

Rep. Eric Roberts, R-Oklahoma City, was recently appointed to the Energy & Environment Committee for the Council of State Governments (CSG) Southern Office by House Speaker Charles McCall, R-Atoka. Roberts was elected to the Oklahoma House of Representatives in 2020 after nearly three decades as a business owner and developer. He served on the MAPS 3 Oversight Committee of Oklahoma City and the Board of Ozarks Teen Challenge. "Energy is a critical driver in Oklahoma's economy," Roberts said. "I'm glad to be part of a group that will give me the opportunity to highlight the industry's contributions while balancing environmental concerns." Established in 1947, the CSG Southern Office is the largest of four regions operating under the Council of State Governments. They aim to promote and strengthen intergovernmental cooperation among 15 member states: Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, North Carolina, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Virginia, and West Virginia. The Energy & Environment Committee exchanges ideas for effective legislation and organizes programs to create strategies to address shared energy and environmental concerns. The committee is comprised of state officials from all levels of government.

Mar 5, 2024
Recent Posts

House Passes Bill to Facilitate Cosmetology and Barber Training in Prisons

Rep. Eric Roberts, R-Oklahoma City, on Monday, won unanimous House passage of a bill designed to help prisoners develop work skills for employment options upon their release from prison. House Bill 3158 would help cosmetology and barber schools in prisons continue to educate and train students by modifying the current school application requirements. Roberts pointed out that the requirements for prison schools are not practical, as they are not tailored to the realities of having a school within a prison. For instance, these schools cannot obtain property leases that schools outside of prisons can. "In recent years, Oklahoma lawmakers have worked to reduce hurdles to employment for people with a criminal record through reforms such as occupational licensing reform and expungement automation under certain circumstances," Roberts said. "When an individual can find employment after serving their time, it significantly reduces the chances they will return to crime and incarceration." Under the measure, correctional facility schools are exempt from submitting a financial statement as they provide education free of charge and do not collect any funds. These schools will also obtain a memorandum of understanding from the Department of Corrections. Currently, RISE Cosmetology School has programming in the Mabel Bassett Correctional Center. "My wife, Leigh, and I have had the privilege of witnessing the transformative impact of the RISE program on the lives of former prisoners who received training in cosmetology," Roberts said. "Through expanding employment and educational opportunities, we can help our recently incarcerated neighbors rebuild their lives after prison." HB3158 is supported by Prison Fellowship, which works to restore lives and families impacted by incarceration. It is now available for consideration in the Senate, where Sen. Rader, R-Tulsa, carries it.

Jan 22, 2024
Recent Posts

Roberts Takes Steps to Prohibit Ranked-Choice Voting

Rep. Eric Roberts, R-Oklahoma City, has filed legislation to prohibit the use of ranked-choice voting in all Oklahoma elections, emphasizing the importance of safeguarding the state's electoral processes. House Bill 3156 would ban ranked-choice voting within the state. House Joint Resolution 1048 would introduce a legislative referendum allowing voters to decide whether to add stipulations about how elections are conducted into the Oklahoma Constitution and ensure voters can select only one candidate for the same office. "Ranked-choice voting makes voting more confusing and has delayed election results everywhere it has been tried," Roberts said. "We need to preserve the simplicity and timeliness of our current elections, along with our current ease in doing hand recounts when needed." Ranked-choice voting requires voters to designate their top choice in a race, their second choice and so on down the ballot. Roberts gave the example of a ballot with five offices. If each office has four candidates, he said, each voter would be expected to review and rank four candidates for each race, which is a total of 20 votes. If no candidate receives a majority, the least popular candidate is then eliminated and their voters would have their votes reallocated to their second-choice candidate, with the process repeating until one candidate has a majority. The process requires specialized computer software to handle the reallocation of votes from one candidate to another. In an interim study last year, Oklahoma State Election Board Secretary Paul Ziriax said the adoption of ranked-choice voting would necessitate the replacement of all state election machines, including new computer software, with an estimated cost of "tens of millions of dollars." Ziriax told committee members that "the days of knowing the election results on election night would be long gone." Ranked-choice voting has already been banned in Florida, Tennessee, Idaho, Montana and South Dakota. HB3156 and HJR1048 are available for consideration in the Second Regular Session of the 59th Legislature, which begins Monday, Feb. 5.