“It doesn’t just have to be any felony,” said Dessa Baker-Inman, general counsel for the Oklahoma Public Employees Retirement System. “It just has to be a felony of these types.”

Lawmakers can receive retirement benefits only if they have at least six years of service, when they are “vested” in the retirement system. Shortey completed his sixth year as a senator in 2016. He likely would not be eligible for an insurance subsidy offered to retirees.

Shortey, 35, R-Oklahoma City, will receive his legislative salary of $3,200 per month as long as he remains a state senator, despite being stripped of many of his privileges on Wednesday.

His fellow senators suspended his right to have a Capitol office and a parking space. They reassigned his executive assistant and removed his name from legislation. However, Shortey can still vote on matters before the Senate.

On Thursday, Senate President Pro Tem Mike Schulz sent Shortey a letter urging him to resign immediately. Gov. Mary Fallin, Lt. Gov. Todd Lamb and others also called for Shortey’s resignation.

The Senate can expel a member by a two-thirds vote. Lawmakers reconvene Monday.