Former Oklahoma State Representative M.C. Leist died Feb. 13.
He was an 18-year legislative veteran who left office in 2004 due to term limits. He was first elected to the Oklahoma House of Representatives in 1986 and was undefeated, serving for nine consecutive terms.
Rep. Leist attended Oklahoma State University and earned his bachelor's degree in Social Studies from Panhandle State University. By profession, Rep. Leist was an educator and a sub-state planner. He was a member of the Oklahoma Cattlemen's Association, the past Treasurer of the National Association of Area Agency on Aging, and a former member of the Oklahoma Wildlife Federation Board.
As representative for District 16, he served on six House committees including Appropriations and Budget, Environment and Natural Resources, Rules, Tourism and Recreation, Transportation, and Wildlife. He was also the Chairman of the Appropriations and Budget Subcommittee on Health and Social Services.
Rep. Leist was the House author of the Emergency Response Act, which specifies the functions and responsibilities of all agencies in the event of an emergency. He authored numerous other important measures such as the Quality Jobs Act, the Vulnerable Adults Protective Act, the Veterinarian Practice Act, and the Lead Based Paint Removal Act.
Rep. Leist was responsible for key legislation to protect the environment in throughout the state of Oklahoma. He wrote the legislation that created the Oklahoma Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) on July 1, 1993.
He provided the leadership to clean up two Brownfield sites in his district, the old Eagle Picher smelter site north of Henryetta and the Phillips 66 Refinery in Okmulgee. The City of Henryetta renamed the Eagle Picher site the "Shurden-Leist Industrial Park" to recognize the Rep. Leist and Senator Frank Shurden for their success in getting funding for the $5.6 million cleanup. The Okmulgee Phillips 66 Refinery project put approximately $40 to $50 million into the Henryetta and Okmulgee area communities.
He secured $42,000 from EPA and DEQ in grants to complete comprehensive mapping of Henryetta's water and sewer systems to help address Henryetta's infrastructure problems. He was also responsible for saving Henryetta’s wastewater plant $2 million by having the Coal Creek stream designation changed, thus saving Henryetta from having to add expensive tertiary treatment to the wastewater treatment plant.
Rep. M.C. Leist was known as a conduit of innovative ideas and a great source of funding for many projects. Rep. Leist was honored as Legislator of the Year by the Oklahoma Chapter of the Safari Club in 1990 and received the Oklahoma Rural Water Association's Legislator of the Year Award in 1997.
He also authored the Swine Operations Act, regulating swine operations to protect the environment, and the Poultry Operations Act, regulating poultry operations and water monitoring. He established administrative procedures for tire recycling and the cleanup of landfills in addition to the creation and revision of all solid waste statutes including paper, plastic, and tires. He created paper recycling programs and authored many water-related statutes to improve and upgrade Oklahoma's water quality as well.
ep. Leist was the primary architect of the REAP (Rural Economic Action Plan) Program. Since its inception in 1995, this grant program has provided many millions of dollars to the towns and communities of District 16 including Henryetta, Dewar, Grayson, Wilson, Schulter, Morris, Twin Hills, and Beggs.
Rep. Leist and Sen. Shurden arranged for construction grants to fund the Henryetta Senior Citizens Center, the Schulter Community Building, the Grayson community wastewater system, the Henryetta Armory, and the Okmulgee County Fair Board. Together, they secured funds for the $420,000 expansion of the Okmulgee County Health Department and added $50,000 per year to the Okmulgee Health Department budget allowing the hiring of another full time nurse.