Oklahoma lawmakers could tighten the state’s conflict-of-interest laws after the former Department of Corrections director signed off on a million-dollar vendor contract and promptly took a job with the company.
In April 2025, Steven Harpe approved a one-year, $1.017 million contract with LEO Technologies for access to artificial intelligence call monitoring software. Less than five months later, he resigned as director after accepting the position of chief product officer with the company.
That timeline conflicts with Title 74, Section 590 of the Oklahoma Statutes, which prohibits a state officer or employee who exercises discretion or decision-making authority in awarding a contract from becoming an employee of that business or organization within one year of the contract award date. The law was enacted to prevent a revolving door of state employees moving to private companies after those companies were awarded contracts.
While the attorney general’s office said they were investigating the matter following Oklahoma Watch’s initial story, which was published in October, neither the company nor Harpe has faced repercussions. The contract with LEO Technologies remains in effect through 2027, said Christa Helfrey, a spokesperson for the Office of Management and Enterprise Services.
Harpe, who earned a $275,000 annual salary prior to his resignation, has lauded his experience as director in promotional content for the Austin, Texas-based company. Prior to entering state service as director of OMES in 2020, Harpe worked as chief information officer for Gov. Kevin Stitt’s Gateway Mortgage Company.
“The pace at which LEO runs to stay on top of technology to solve problems and use it in different ways, [I said] we’re going to take this and put it into the tentacles of our operations,” Harpe said in a promotional video posted to the LEO Technologies website in February.
Shauna Peters, the director of communications for Attorney General Gentner Drummond, said Harpe’s resignation exposed a loophole in a public corruption law enacted last year.
While the statute specifies a cooling-off period, it’s less clear about the definition of a private contract and the state’s oversight authority. For instance, it does not specify the state agency tasked with enforcing the law.
Peters said the attorney general’s office worked with Rep. John Pfeiffer, R-Orlando, on legislation to ensure the AG can take action against violators. House Bill 3279 authorizes the attorney general’s office to terminate agreements and seek monetary damages when a state employee involved in a contracting decision defies a one-year cooling-off period. It would also prohibit the violating company from doing business with the state for at least three years.
The bill passed the House last month and is pending in the Senate, where Michael Bergstrom, R-Adair, has signed on as a sponsor. A companion measure that allows the attorney general to enforce violations of the Open Meetings Act is also alive in the Senate.
“Oklahomans deserve a government that operates in the open and plays by the rules,” Drummond, who is running for governor, said in a statement after the bills passed the House. “These bills give our office the practical tools to enforce transparency and hold public officials accountable.”
While presenting the bill on the House floor last month, Pfeiffer did not mention Harpe by name but alluded to his departure.
“This will fix a scenario that we had with a certain agency director signing contracts and then going to work for them,” he said.
The bill passed unanimously out of the Senate Retirement and Government Resources Committee on Tuesday. It faces a May 7 deadline to be heard in the full Senate.
“The way it is right now, there are instances where people can get away with it, even though our intention has been to avoid allowing that,” Bergstrom said. “We’re making it clear that you can’t do these things, and if you do, there are going to be consequences for the individual and for the business.”
Keaton Ross covers democracy and criminal justice for Oklahoma Watch. Contact him at (405) 831-9753 or Kross@Oklahomawatch.org. Follow him on Twitter at @_KeatonRoss.
