Monday, April 21 to Thursday, April 24, 2008

Monday, April 21

• The Senate met Monday and approved the following legislation:

-HJR 1080 by Rep. Gary Banz, calls for a vote of the people to determine whether a constitutional convention should be held.

-HB 2458 by Rep. Colby Schwartz, modifies language related to the Governmental Tort Claims Act, modifying who constitutes employees of the state to include any person who is licensed to practice medicine, who is under an administrative professional services contract with the Oklahoma Health Care Authority and who is limited to performing administrative duties such as professional guidance for medical review, reimbursement rates, service utilization, health care delivery and benefit design for OHCA.

-HB 2580 by Rep. Terry Hyman, allows real property documents filed with the county to include a legal description by lot and block, quarter section or portion of quarter section.

-HB 2704 by Rep. Kris Steele, directs the State Department of Health to initiate a request for a proposal of a stand-alone, long-term care facility for high-level sex offenders.

-HB 3268 by Rep. Terry Harrison, extends jurisdiction of game wardens to turnpikes under the Oklahoma Wildlife Conservation Code.

-HB 2245 by Rep. Terry Ingmire, creates the Security Breach Notification Act.

-HB 2544 by Rep. Phil Richardson, modifies language relating to the Wildlife Conservation Commission, removing language related to annual and three-day special use permits and removing current permit requirement exemptions.

-HB 3098 by Rep. Gary Banz, creates the Aerospace Institute Act, removing language that placed the institute under the Oklahoma Center for the Advancement of Science and Technology.

-HB 3122 by Rep. Tad Jones, requires a school year to consist of at least 1,080 hours.

-HB 3395 by Rep. Lance Cargill, directs the State Department of Education to establish a School Health Educators pilot program to assist school districts in establishing student health and wellness programs.

• Senate committees took no action on Monday.

• The House convened Monday and approved the following bills:

-SCR 71 by Sen. Glenn Coffee, states that the Legislature will adjourn sine die no later than 5 p.m. May 23.

-SB 1383 by Sen. Mike Johnson, states legislative intent to eliminate the tax on the transfer of estate of any decedent who dies on or after Jan. 1, 2009.

-SB 2101 by Sen. Clark Jolley, directs the State Board of Education to collaborate with state institutions of higher education to develop a program for alternative teacher certification in partnership with an organization that recruits and trains alternatively certified teachers for one-year licensure within the state.

-SB 1612 by Sen. Ron Justice, creates the Oklahoma Quality Afterschool Opportunities Initiative to Reduce Childhood Obesity and Improve Academic Performance.

-SB 1505 by Sen. Jeff Rabon, modifies language related to the Competitive Bidding Act, stating that prequalification to bid or perform work does not constitute a license.

-SB 906 by Sen. James A. Williamson, creates an Interstate Compact for the Placement of Children to join with other member states to replace the existing compact.

-SB 1352 by Sens. Tom Adelson, Johnnie Crutchfield and David Myers, makes general appropriations to various agencies of the executive, legislative and judicial departments.

-SB 1405 by Sen. Bill Brown, modifies language relating to the Advantage Waiver and Developmental Disability Services Rate Review Committee.

-SB 1475 by Sen. Brian Bingman, creates the Sustaining Oklahoma’s Energy Resources Act.

-SB 1558 by Sen. Jay Paul Gumm, extends from January 1, 2009, to 2010, the one-time tax credit for investment in certain clean-burning motor vehicles put in service after December 31, 1990, and for electric vehicles put in service after December 31, 1995.

-SB 1599 by Sen. Debbe Leftwich, creates the “Gaje Jeffrey Florence Act,” directing the Department of Public Safety to extend the period of suspension, revocation or denial of driving privileges for an additional 12 months upon receiving a record of conviction for driving while under suspension or revocation.

-SB 1601 by Sen. Cliff Aldridge, directs persons or businesses who offer services to children to conduct an annual name search of employees on the Oklahoma Sex Offenders Registry and the Mary Rippy Violent Crime Offenders Registry and requires employees sign an affidavit stating they are on neither list.

-SB 1656 by Sen. Constance N. Johnson, creates a 16-member Person-Centered Medical Home Task Force within the Insurance Department to study the quality, safety, value and effectiveness of the patient-centered medical home concept.

-SB 1842 by Sen. Cliff Aldridge, abolishes the Special Agency Account Board and transfers its duties and responsibilities to the Office of State Finance.

-SB 1927 by Sen. Brian Crain, sets a specific education requirement for certain licensees under the Mortgage Broker Licensure Act.

-SB SB 1994 by Sen. Jonathan Nichols, establishes that it is a misdemeanor to knowingly make a false statement verbally or in writing to a state agency investigative unit’s officer or employee in the course of an internal investigation.

• House committees took no action on Monday.

Tuesday, April 22

• The Senate met Tuesday and approved several resolutions and the following measures:

-HB 3001 by Rep. Dennis Johnson, increases the penalties for persons convicted of a felony that is committed for the benefit of, at the direction of or in association with any criminal street gang, adding an additional term of five years.

-HB 3076 by Rep. Joe Dorman, modifies language related to the Oklahoma Boating Safety Regulation Act, adding a definition of “passenger.”

-HB 1460 by Rep. Sally Kern, makes confidential any communication made by a participant or counselor in peer support counseling sessions conducted by a law enforcement agency or emergency services personnel.

-HB 2501 by Rep. Dennis Adkins, modifies language related to the unlawful act of selling new or used aircraft without a dealer license as well as licensing for aircraft sales.

-HB 2564 by Rep. Steve Martin, authorizes the Oklahoma Real Estate Commission to enter into reciprocal agreements with other real estate licensing regulatory jurisdictions with equivalent licensing, education and examination requirements.

-HB 2566 by Rep. Marian Cooksey, removes language assessing a $15 fee for appeals to county boards of adjustment.

-HB 2607 by Rep. Pam Peterson, modifies language requiring physicians to report to law enforcement criminally injurious conduct that appears to be or is reported by the victim as rape, rape by instrumentation, forcible sodomy or any form of sexual assault.

-HB 2833 by Rep. Kris Steele, creates the Oklahoma Food Security Act.

-HB 2882 by Rep. Mike Shelton, creates a seven-member board of trustees for Langston University-Oklahoma City and Langston University-Tulsa.

-HB 2963 by Rep. Danny Morgan, modifies language related to the per diem rate for satisfaction of fines and court costs, allowing the defendant to perform community service or remain in jail.

-HCR 1047 by Rep. Joe Dorman, directs the Oklahoma Historical Society to host a website at www.oklahomarocksong.org and have polling locations at special events and at the center, allowing the public to nominate an official rock and roll song.

-HB 2214 by Rep. Jason Murphey, authorizes a municipality that adopts building standards to adopt the code of the International Code Council.

-HB 2250 by Rep. Marian Cooksey, expands the list of information public bodies that provide utility services to the public must make available to the public to include consumption rates, adjustments to bills, reasons for adjustments and names of persons that authorized adjustments.

-HB 2490 by Rep. Wes Hilliard, creates the Pharmacy Audit Integrity Act to establish minimum and uniform standards and criteria for the audit of pharmacy records by or on behalf of certain agencies.

-HB 2530 by Rep. Kris Steele, modifies language relating to emergency custody hearings for children by prescribing a form to be used by the district attorney and the Department of Human Services when it is determined that a child placement hearing is not needed.

• Senate committees took no action on Tuesday.

• The House on Tuesday approved the following bills:

-SB 2100 by Sen. John Ford, directs the State Board of Education to establish a 10-district School District Deregulation Pilot Program.

-SB 1604 by Sen. David Myers, directs the Secretary of Energy to create an energy policy for the state, including legislative recommendations, for submission to the governor.

-SB 1451 by Sen. Roger Ballenger, creates the Oklahoma Energy Efficiency and Emission Reduction Program.

-SB 1765 by Sen. David Myers, creates a 12-member Oklahoma Geologic Storage of Carbon Dioxide Task Force.

-SB 1149 by Sen. Don Barrington, expands the sales tax exemption granted under the “Back-to-School” sales tax holiday to include school supplies, school art supplies and school instructional supplies.

-SB 1171 by Sen. Mike Mazzei, would authorize a maximum tax credit of $5,000 for tax years beginning after Dec. 31, 2008, and ending before Jan. 1, 2014, for persons with a baccalaureate or graduate degree who have been employed by a business who principal activity involves the aerospace sector.

-SB 1531 by Sen. Debbe Leftwich, modifies language relating to the Employment Security Act and the Standards for Workplace Drug and Alcohol Testing Act.

-SB 1654 by Sen. Mike Johnson, modifies the conditions under which the Oklahoma Motor Vehicle Commission may deny an application for a license or revoke or suspend a license.

-SB 1738 by Sen. Mike Schulz, established equal access for private and on-campus bookstore advertising for institutions of higher education.

-SB 1793 by Sen. Bill Brown, establishes circumstances where utility vehicles may be operated on streets and highways.

-SB 1960 by Sen. Anthony Sykes, creates the Bureau of Narcotics Education Revolving Fund.

-SB 1961 by Sen. Anthony Sykes, creates the Drug Money Laundering and Wire Transmitter Act.

-SB 2004 by Sen. Jonathan Nichols, allows the inclusion of religious invocations or references in victim impact statements.

-SB 2163 by Sen. Debbe Leftwich, permits courts to order certain defendants to use Global Positioning Monitoring System devices as a condition of pretrial release and requires the defendant to pay the costs of the monitoring.

-SJR 38 by Sen. Glenn Coffee, proposes a constitutional amendment to add new language setting forth the inherent right of state citizens to engage in hunting, trapping, fishing and taking of game and fish, free of state laws which explicitly or implicitly prohibit such activities.

• House committees took no action on Tuesday.

Wednesday, April 23

• The Senate met Wednesday and approved numerous appropriations bills and the following legislation:

-HB 2196 by Rep. David Dank, creates the Oklahoma Clean Campaigns Act of 2008.

-HB 2241 by Rep. Terry Ingmire, authorizes the Crime Victims Compensation Board to grant an additional $20,000 in compensation for loss of wages for the victim or loss of support for dependents of a deceased victim.

-HB 2551 by Rep. Guy Liebmann, modifies the apportionment process for the Rebuilding Oklahoma Access and Driver Safety Fund by removing language requiring the Board of Equalization to certify three percent growth in the General Revenue Fund before allocating $50 million to the ROADS Fund.

-HB 3229 by Rep. Charles Key, modifies how ad valorem taxes relate to school aid and changes formulas for calculation.

-HB 1897 by Rep. Rebecca Hamilton, creates a misdemeanor offense for domestic abuse against a pregnant woman with knowledge of the pregnancy punishable by imprisonment in county jail for at least one year.

-HB 2695 by Rep. Paul Roan, authorizes the Commissioner of Public Safety to own, train and use canines to assist in detection of explosives and controlled dangerous substances, perform patrol activities and provide police officer protection.

-HB 2703 by Rep. Kris Steele, creates the Consumer Protection for Wheeled Mobility Act.

-HB 2783 by Rep. Glen Bud Smithson, requires the Department of Corrections’ risk assessment review committee to review the registration information and determine the numeric risk level of persons who have entered the state and who have registered as a sex offender.

-HB 3275 by Rep. Charles Joyner, authorizes a district attorney to request assistance from any attorney employed by the District Attorneys Council.

-HB 2995 by Rep. Dennis Johnson, creates the Missing Angels Act and Christopher and Kendall’s Law.

• Senate committees took no action on Wednesday.

• The House met Wednesday and approved the following legislation:

-HB 2276 by Rep. Kenneth Miller, is the omnibus appropriations bill for various agencies of the executive, legislative and judicial departments of the state.

-SB 163 by Sen. Owen Laughlin, proposes a constitutional amendment to make English the official language of the state of Oklahoma.

-SB 1631 by Sen. Susan Paddack, creates the Oklahoma Computer Equipment Recovery Act.

-SB 1980 by Sen. Sean Burrage, creates the Viatical Settlements Act of 2008.

-SB 1396 by Sen. Brian Bingman, increases the amount to be allocated to the Rebuilding Oklahoma Access and Driver Safety Fund from $70 million to $120 million.

-SB 1923 by Sen. Todd Lamb, establishes procedures for determining paternity in certain circumstances and clarifies statutory references.

-SB 1144 by Sen. John Sparks, increases from $600 to $1,000 the maximum monthly travel allowance for county commissioners and sheriffs for travel within their counties.

-SB 1156 by Sen. Brian Bingman, modifies rules regarding the Fleet Management Division within the Department of Central Services.

-SB 1406 by Sen. Brian Bingman, authorizes municipalities with a population of less than 5,000 to employ a part-time city manager.

-SB 1866 by Sen. Owen Laughlin, changes administration of certain funds for the Rural Economic Action Plan, directing them to be administered by the Department of Commerce.

• House committees took no action on Wednesday.

Thursday, April 24

• The Senate met Thursday and approved the following bills:

-HB 2276 by Rep. Ken Miller, is the omnibus appropriations bill for various agencies of the executive, legislative and judicial departments of the state.

-SB 1428 by Sen. John Sparks, clarifies language in the Oklahoma Insurance Code.

-SB 2076 by Sen. John Sparks, modifies alcohol and drug substance abuse course fees and modifies consent requirements for minors.

-SB 2119 by Sen. John Sparks, modifies the amount of lifetime limit covered expenses under the Health Insurance High Risk Pool Act.

-SB 1479 by Sen. Roger Ballenger, relates to roads, bridges and ferries and requires offers to previous owners at certain prices with sales of unneeded land.

Other News

• Governor Brad Henry this week publically endorsed Democratic Presidential candidate Barack Obama, in an effort to encourage undecided superdelegates to support the Illinois Senator at the Democratic National Convention.

• According to a recent study published in the Journal of Family and Economic Issues, divorce and its economic consequences cost Oklahoma taxpayers more than $400 million each year. The study suggests the cost of splitting up marriages takes about $125 million from state and government coffers per each 1 million in population.