A Democratic lawmaker complains that the ruling doesn't address whether the new law is constitutional.

OKLAHOMA CITY -- The attorney general on Tuesday ruled in favor of a new law allowing faith-based and community groups to seek partnerships with the Department of Corrections to provide services to inmates leaving prison.

House Speaker Lance Cargill hailed the decision regarding the legislation he had sponsored. After both houses approved the bill and it was signed by the governor, state Rep. Al Lindley, D-Oklahoma City, sought an attorney general's opinion.

The bill passed with only four dissenting votes in the 101-member House. The vote in the Senate was 36-10.

"This is a real victory for the important reform of offering faith-based solutions to the problems that we face in society today," said Cargill, R-Harrah.

"These faith-based programs can make a real difference in a person's life in a way that no big-government program ever could," he added.

In his ruling, Attorney General Drew Edmondson noted that the Legislature had required the Department of Corrections "to actively solicit faith-based and secular providers" for a prisoner re-entry program that would review policies and identify gaps in services.

These duties do not conflict with the policy-making responsibilities of the Department of Corrections, the ruling stated.

The legislation also established the

Lindley said he disagrees with the opinion.

"I think he (Edmondson) is dead wrong," he said. "It's got to be difficult for the Department of Corrections to listen to two bosses."

He also said the opinion does not answer the more crucial question of whether the program unconstitutionally violates the separation of church and state and illegally uses tax dollars to support religious groups.