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Senate Approves Lower Age Limit For Oklahoma State Troopers

Oklahoma Highway Patrol cadets lining up during academy training.
Oklahoma Highway Patrol

A state senator from Coalgate hopes to make it easier to become an Oklahoma Highway Patrol trooper.

At the request of the agency, Republican state Sen. Josh Brecheen wrote a bill that would lower the age limit from 23 to 21 and reduce the educational requirements needed to become a trooper.

The bill passed the Senate on Tuesday on a 43-2 vote and now heads to the House for consideration.

Brecheen says he sponsored the bill at the request of the Department of Public Safety, which has complained about dwindling recruit pools over the last several years.

DPS officials say more than two dozen local law enforcement agencies across the state currently pay their newly hired officers more than the Oklahoma Highway Patrol.

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