Oklahoma Highway Patrol troopers would get a pay increase under a bill that has unanimously cleared a Senate committee.
The Senate Appropriations Committee voted 22-0 on Wednesday for the bill by Edmond Republican state Sen. Clark Jolley.
The bill would provide for an across-the-board pay hike for troopers of between 14 percent and 20 percent, which is the recommendation of a recent study on state employee compensation.
Jolley says the bill would cost the state about $8.5 million annually when fully implemented. A starting trooper currently makes about $38,000.
Troopers haven't received a raise in seven years, and OHP Maj. Rusty Rhoades says the agency is routinely losing quality officers to the two dozen municipal police departments in Oklahoma that pay their officers more.
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