Oklahoma Commissioners of the Land Office


The Oklahoma Commissioners of the Land Office is an agency of the government of Oklahoma. The Land Office was created by the Oklahoma Constitution and is responsible for managing and controlling lands and funds granted to the state under the provisions of the Oklahoma organic act. These lands and fund are used to support common schools, colleges and universities.
The governing body of the Land Office is the Commissioners. The board is composed of five members: the Governor, Lieutenant Governor, the State Auditor, the Superintendent of Public Instruction, and the Commissioner of Agriculture. The Governor serves as the Chair and the Lt. Governor serves as Vice Chair.
The Governor is responsible for appointing, with the consent of the other Commissioners, the Secretary of the Commissioners of the Land Office. The current Secretary is Harry W. Birdwell, who was appointed by Governor Mary Fallin in 2011.
The Land Office was created in 1907 during the term of Governor Charles N. Haskell.

Mission

The mission of the Commissioners of the Land Office is: "to grow the School Land Trust and to generate maximum earnings for distribution to the Trust beneficiaries".

Leadership

The Commissioners of the Land Office is under the supervision of the five-member board of Commissioners, with the Governor of Oklahoma serving as permanent Chairman and the Lieutenant Governor of Oklahoma serving as the permanent Vice Chairman.
The members of the Commissioners of the Land Office:
OfficeCurrent OfficerSinceParty
Governor of OklahomaMary FallinJanuary 10, 2011Republican
Lieutenant GovernorTodd LambJanuary 10, 2011Republican
State Auditor and InspectorGary JonesJanuary 10, 2011Republican
State School SuperintendentJoy HofmeisterJanuary 12, 2015Republican
Commissioner of AgricultureJim ReeseJanuary 10, 2011N/A

Organization

The Commissioners of the Land Office, with an annual budget of over $5 million. In fiscal year 2011, the Land Office was authorized 50 full-time employees.
ActivityNumber of Employees
Administration10
Real Estate17
Financial11
Minerals08
Total50