Monday, Apr. 26 to Thursday, April 29, 2010

Monday, Apr. 26

• The Senate met Monday, approving the following measures:

-SB 747 by Sen. Clark Jolley, exempts school psychologists or psychometrists from the general education portion of the required competency examination to successfully complete the professional education portion of the competency examination.

-SB 1713 by Sen. Jay Paul Gumm, designates a portion of State Highway 32 in Kingston west to the intersection of State Highway 377 in Madill as “Corporal Michael Eyre Thompson Memorial Highway.

-SB 1910 by Sen. John Ford, permits the state central committee of a political party to submit to the State Election Board a nominee for membership on a county election board and a nominee to serve as an alternate if the county central committee in a county fails to submit a nominee or if there is no county central committee for a party in a county.

-SB 1917 by Sen. Cliff Aldridge, authorizes the Oklahoma Tax Commission to design and issue a Downed Bikers Association license plate.

• Senate committees approved no legislation Monday.

• The House convened Monday, approving the following measures:

-HB 2780 by Rep. Lisa Billy, requires an abortion provider one hour prior to performing or inducing an abortion to perform an obstetric ultrasound on the woman.

-HB 2656 by Rep. Daniel Sullivan, states legislative intent that the birth of a child does not constitute a legally recognizable injury and that it is contrary to public policy to award damages because of the birth of a child or for the rearing of the child.

• House committees took no action on Monday.

Tuesday, April 27

• The Senate met Tuesday, approving the following bills:

-HB 2656 by Rep. Daniel Sullivan, states legislative intent that the birth of a child does not constitute a legally recognizable injury and that it is contrary to public policy to award damages because of the birth of a child or for the rearing of the child.

-HB 2780 by Rep. Lisa Billy, requires an abortion provider one hour prior to performing or inducing an abortion to perform an obstetric ultrasound on the woman.

-SB 1712 by Sen. Patrick Anderson, creates the Commercial Pet Breeders Act.

-SB 1329 by Sen. Randy Bass, creates the Motorcycle Mobility and Safety Act.

• Senate committees approved no legislation on Tuesday.

• The House approved the following measures on Tuesday:

-HB 2556 by Rep. Steve Martin, provides a definition of “place of primary use” and adds a definition for “prepaid wireless telecommunication service” under the Nine-One-One Wireless Emergency Number Act.

• House committees approved the following measures on Tuesday:

-HJR 1087 by Rep. John Trebilcock, disapproves Oklahoma Administrative Code 165:5-3-1 of the Corporation Commission, which adds or increases fees for commercial recycling facility applications, tax exemption applications, annual operators agreements, public utility docket applications, consumer services docket applications and other items.

Wednesday, April 28

• The Senate met Wednesday, approving the following bills:

-SB 2212 by Sen. John Ford, classifies charter schools sponsored by a board of education of a school district as a local education agency for the purposes of federal funding

-SB 1941 by Sen. Bryce Marlatt, creates the Innovative Funding for Oklahoma Roads Task Force to study and evaluate innovations, technologies, and new methods being employed to more adequately and equitably fund road and bridge infrastructure

-SB 1631 by Sen. Mike Mazzei, modifies the purposes of public trusts for authorized activities of municipalities and counties, to exclude any distribution centers for alcohol and beer, not just specifically wholesale outlets. Authorization for municipal and county trusts shall not include any residential enterprise except for housing for the aged or disabled persons, students, Department of Human Services units, and other structures as currently provided for in statute.

-SB 1927 by Sen. Dan Newberry, allows city-county health departments the power to own, acquire, lease, or dispose of real property in the performance of local public health functions, duties, and responsibilities.

-SB 441 by Sen. Brian Bingman, directs that land disposal sites be prohibited from accepting waste tires being disposed

-SB 2270 by Sen. Brian Crain, states that to accept real estate pursuant to a transfer on death deed, a grantee beneficiary shall execute a notarized affidavit affirming the death of the owner; marriage status of the owner and beneficiary; and a legal description of the property.

-SB 2154 by Sen. Brian Crain, modifies language related to actions to enforce a mortgage, deed of trust, or other lien or charge.

-SB 1985 by Sen. Brian Crain, requires that a physician interpreting the data generated by sleep diagnostic tests be board certified by the State Board of Medical Licensure and Supervision or by the Board of Osteopathic Examiners

-SB 1817 by Sen. Brian Crain, stipulates that midwives are also responsible for treating newborns with a prophylactic opthamalic agent as directed by the CDC. Also states that the Board of Health shall promulgate rules to implement the new provisions of law.
-SB 2073 by Sen. Gary Stanislawski, amends the Oklahoma Producer Licensing Act requiring insurers to provide life insurance companies information relating to the person’s policy if the insured has signed a form authorizing release of the information.

-SB 2211 by Sen. Clark Jolley, establishes that districts forfeit State Aid during the time period in which they do not comply with requirements regarding the student record system.

-SB 1819 by Brian Crain, permits 16-year-olds to donate blood under certain circumstances and also allows 17-year-olds to donate blood without parental consent.

• Senate committees approved no legislation Wednesday:

• The House met Wednesday, and approved the following resolution and legislation:

-HJR 1054 by Rep. Mike Ritze, would send to a vote of the people a Constitutional Amendment stating that a law shall not compel any person, employer, or health care provider to participate in any health care system.

-HB 2541 by Rep. Marian Cooksey, would require municipal courts to keep confidential information involved in any case in municipal court. This personal information includes driver’s license and I.D. card numbers, credit card numbers, Social Security numbers and bank account numbers.

• House committees approved no measures on Wednesday.

Thursday, April 29

• The Senate met Thursday approving the following legislation:

-SB 573 by Sen. Harry Coates, lowers retainage fees from ten to five percent.

-SB 1012 by Sen. Harry Coates, mandates that an owner of a bid project must specify the frequency of payments, and has specific language for the contract. The provisions do not include private negotiated projects.

-SB 1650 by Sen. Jim Halligan, establishes the Certified Retirement Communities Act stating that communities in Oklahoma can apply to be a certified retirement community based on certain criteria in an effort to attract retirees to the state.

-SB 1883 by Sen. Debbe Leftwich, charges the Department of Public Safety with licensing wreckers and towing services, and with the obligation to enforce such license regulations by detaining and arresting violators.

Other News

• The Senate honored the public service and many accomplishments of Currie Ballard, who is the Assistant Secretary of the Senate. Ballard will be inducted into the Oklahoma Historians Hall of Fame April 30, 2010. He was born on May 25, 1958 in Los Angeles, California. His ancestors were slaves of the Choctaw Indians in Oklahoma and he is the descendent of the two slaves, Wallace and Minerva Willis, who wrote the Song “Swing Low, Sweet Chariot”. Ballard has a Bachelor of Arts degree from Langston University. He has been collecting African American artifacts and documents for more than 30 years. “The Ebony Chronicles” won him a Regional Emmy award for best historical documentary. In 2002, he was appointed by President George W. Bush to a Presidential Commission to build an African American Museum in Washington, D.C. In 2005, he was appointed by U.S. House Speaker J. Dennis Hastert to a special task force to study the history and contributions of slave laborers in the construction of the U.S. Capitol.

• Jobless rates in all 77 Oklahoma counties dipped in March, a sign of economic recovery in the state, according to the Oklahoma Employment Security Commission.