A changing of the guard took place at the Oklahoma Corporation Commission (OCC) Wednesday, March 6, 2024, when Transportation Enforcement Major Scott Baze formally became Chief Scott Baze.
Numerous Transportation Enforcement officers were on hand or online to view outgoing Chief Mike Henley officially pin Baze with his new badge and rank insignia.
“There is not a better officer to promote to chief,” said OCC Director of Administration Brandy Wreath. “Whenever I speak with rank-and-file officers, from Boise City to Hugo, and ask if there’s anything they need, they tell me Major Baze has it covered. In this position, it’s critical that the Chief has the respect of the officers he supervisors and that’s what we have in Chief Baze.”
The OCC Transportation Division operates five Ports of Entry and four weigh stations along the major highway routes in and out of Oklahoma. The agency employs about 100 CLEET-certified enforcement officers, 30 non-Cleet officers, along with another 36 employees in enforcement support and IFTA/IRP permitting.
“We have some amazing men and women serving in the critical role of motor vehicle enforcement,” Wreath said. “I’m proud of the work our officers do and we’re doing everything we can to make their workplace as safe as possible. Frankly, you don’t know what you’ll find trying to enter our state so we provide every bit of training available for our officers to make sure they finish their shift the same as when they arrived.”
The OCC Transportation Division plays a critical role in helping to keep road maintenance costs as low as possible by stopping improperly permitted and overweight trucks from traveling state roads, highways and bridges. Motor Carrier Enforcement Officers also patrol a 25-mile radius around the Ports of Entry and seven miles around weigh stations to help locate and stop those drivers attempting to slip past the scales and other surveillance measures.
OCC officers electronically screened six million vehicles in 2022. Of those, 17 percent of were stopped and inspected. In-compliance carriers, about 73 percent of all vehicles entering Oklahoma, were permitted to bypass inspection without stopping.
The agency’s investment in sophisticated state-of-the-art screening measures ensures more officers are available to focus on delinquent motor carriers and no third-party software or transponders are required to bypass a port of entry.
Source: OCC release