Monday, April 9 through Thursday April 12, 2007

Monday, April 9

• The Senate met briefly Monday and approved the following bills:

-HB 1021 by Sen. Brian Crain, would prohibit human trafficking and provide penalties.

-HB 1527 by Sen. Earl Garrison, would direct the Department of Agriculture, Food and Forestry to operate an Oklahoma Agritourism program to stimulate economic growth in rural communities.

-HB 1645 by Sen. Patrick Anderson, would remove the requirement that the Office of Planning and Coordination for Services to Children and Youth comply projected expenditures, budget requests and other fiscal information.

-HB 1991 by Sens. Patrick Anderson and Brian Crain, would modify the Utilization of Unused Prescription Medications Act to provide for the transfer of unused drugs from charitable clinics and private mental health facilities to county jails for incarcerated individuals with mental health disorders.

-HB 2078 by Sen. Patrick Anderson, would modify admission and discharge procedures at Greer Center facility in Enid.

-HB 1340 by Sen. Johnnie Crutchfield, would establish guidelines by which the owner of a manufactured home may apply to the Oklahoma Tax Commission for a new original certificate of title.

• Senate committees took no action on bills on Monday.

• The House convened Monday and approved the following legislation:

-SB 659 by Sen. Jonathan Nichols, would authorize district attorneys to conduct investigations prior to the commencement of any civil or criminal proceeding and would require DNA sampling of any person arrested for a felony offense.

-SB 593 by Sen. Todd Lamb, would provide for search warrants authorizing the installation or use of tracking devices in any moveable item, container, vehicle or other vessel.

-SB 633 by Sen. Todd Lamb, would authorize the Department of Corrections to design and install high-voltage electrified security fence systems at all existing and proposed medium and maximum security prisons.

-SB 399 by Sen. Tom Adelson, would add county and city-county health departments to the list of political subdivisions under the Oklahoma Emergency Management Act of 2003 and would add the appearance of a novel, previously controlled or eradicated infectious agent or biological toxin to the definition of “catastrophic health emergency”.

-SB 567 by Sen. Randy Bass, would authorize victims of identity theft to request a copy of their incident report from local law enforcement and to request disclosure of incident reports to other law enforcement agencies.

-SB 634 by Sen. Richard Lerblance, would provide that, in lieu of mailing a copy of process or other papers by ordinary or certified mail, return receipt requested and delivery restricted to the addressee, a party or attorney may send the same by commercial courier service.

-SB 1054 by Sen. James A. Williamson, would expand requirements for inquiries to determine whether a person is suitable to serve as a guardian to include a determination whether the proposed guardian and each adult household member has a record of a criminal conviction or protective order.

-SB 1091 by Sen. Tom Adelson, would remove the requirement that direct care staff at residential care homes who are responsible for administration of medication obtain a residential care certificate of training.

• House committees approved a number of bills on Monday, including the following:

-SB 486 by Sen. Todd Lamb, would require the State Board of Health to establish and maintain an advance directives registry.

-SB 1092 by Sen. Mike Mazzei, would increase the money the state puts into the Oklahoma Teacher’s Retirement System.

-SB 63 by Sen. Brian Crain, would increase county retirement system contribution percentages.

-SB 129 by Sen. Kenneth Corn, would authorize the Commissioner of Public Safety to establish a procedure for renewing driving records of residents who are existing policyholders of any insurance company and for producing a report which identifies the policyholders with violations during a set time period.

-SB 577 by Sen. Cliff Aldridge, would modify language relating to salvage sales.

-SB 1028 by Sen. Charlie Laster, would make it sufficient for an employer to state in the written policy that the substances tested will be for drugs and alcohol.

-SB 923 by Sen. Susan Paddack, would direct the state Department of Education to establish a School Nurse Pilot Program to assist school districts with the ability to provide certified school nurses.

-SB 151 by Sen. Brian Crain, would authorize expenditure of monies in the Community-based Substance Abuse Revolving Fund for contracting with statewide substance abuse organizations to provide training and to establish and maintain a collaborative network for substance abuse prevention, treatment and advocacy.

-SB 455 by Sen. Tom Adelson, would create the Dental Health Service within the Department of Health to manage public dental health efforts.

-SB 554 by Sen. John Sparks, would allow a person aggrieved by a final order of the Department of Health regarding an application to amend a certificate or vital record to appeal it pursuant to Article II of the Administrative Procedures Act.

-SB 833 by Sen. John Sparks, would provide for confidentiality of information and records that identify any person who has participated in a public health investigation or who may have a communicable or noncommunicable disease.

-SB 890 by Sen. Brian Crain, would make damages for medical costs paid by the Oklahoma Health Care Authority a priority over all other damages.

-SB 909 by Sen. Brian Crain, would create a five-member Forensic Review Board.

-SB 81 by Sen. Kenneth Corn, would change the time for which the county jail can charge the Department of Corrections for housing an inmate to begin on the date the sentence was ordered by the court.

-SB 95 by Sen. Kenneth Corn, would require that individuals have permission to hunt or fish on private land devoted to farming, ranching or forestry.

-SB 109 by Sen. Jonathan Nichols, would remove the exemption for a parent or legal guardian who is a registered sex offender to be within the safety zone of a school when their child is participating in a school sanctioned activity.

-SB 138 by Sen. Kenneth Corn, would increase from $27 per day to $40 per day the jail per diem rate for county jails required to retain certain inmates in the custody of the Department of Corrections.

-SB 158 by Sen. Randy Bass, would order the court to delay final determination or modification in child custody cases until after a parent engaged in active duty in the Oklahoma National Guard or other branch of the armed services completes his or her term of active duty.

-SB 390 by Sen. Don Barrington, would add U.S. Department of Homeland Security and U.S. probation officers to the list of those allowed to view Department of Juvenile Justice records of children without a court order.

-SB 1006 by Sen. Jeff Rabon, would require that a national criminal history record check be conducted prior to issuance of a driver’s license and requires the commission to conduct an investigation in accordance with rules promulgated by the commission.

-SB 539 by Sen. Randy Bass, would provide that the spouse of a package store license holder or partner is not deemed to be a partner or have a beneficial interest in a package store unless his or her name appears on the license.

-SB 665 by Sen. Jonathan Nichols, would prohibit amendment of certain victim impact statements.

-SB 677 by Sen. Kenneth Corn, would create the offense of aggravated trafficking and set mandatory minimum penalties for purposes of the Trafficking in Illegal Drugs Act.

-SB 678 by Sen. Kenneth Corn, would add the director or associate director of the Department of Corrections to the membership of the Oklahoma Sentencing Commission.

-SB 698 by Sen. Charlie Laster, would limit to 30 the number of items the court clerk may be requested to produce, or permit inspection of, in civil cases.

-SB 811 by Sen. Charles Laster, would provide inmates in pretrial detention or custody of a county jail the opportunity to receive necessary medical care for a pre-existing condition, the cost of which is the responsibility of the inmate.

-SB 848 by Sen. Mike Johnson, would require that parolees be given a valid state identification card to have in the person’s possession upon parole release.

-SB 944 by Sen. James A. Williamson, would provide for the preparation of orders, decisions and the taking of appeals from the Office of Administrative Hearings: Child Support.

-SB 945 by Sen. James A. Williamson, would modify enforcement for contempt for failure to make child support arrearage payments and would allow any court to enforce a child support order.

-SB 1048 by Sen. Richard C. Lerblance, would increase from $10 to $25 the fee in criminal cases to be deposited in the Oklahoma Court Information System Revolving Fund.

-SB 1049 by Sen. Patrick Anderson, would provide that willful or malicious cruelty to an animal will subject the owner to legal proceedings forcing the owner to release the animal to the custody of the applicable humane organization.

-SB 1130 by Sen. Todd Lamb, would require the Department of Corrections, in conjunction with the Pardon and Parole Board, to implement a method for tracking the success and recidivism of persons who are required to have a two stage parole consideration process for the first three years following their individual release from incarceration or release to parole.

-SB 35 by Sen. Brian Crain, would direct the Department of Public Safety to issue a distinctive license or card bearing the words “Sex Offender” to persons required to register pursuant to the Sex Offenders Registration Act.

-SB 86 by Sen. Harry Coates, would modify the definition of an all-terrain vehicle to be 48 inches or less in width, weigh 800 pounds or less and include a seat meant to be straddled by the operator and is steered by handlebars.

-SB 436 by Sen. Kenneth Corn, would remove the requirement for inmates serving a sentence of death to have a savings account.

-SB 472 by Sen. Cliff Branan, would require junk dealers who deal in copper to maintain records concerning who they purchase copper materials from.

-SB 839 by Sen. Ron Justice, would modify what constitutes a Class D motor vehicle to include a vehicle towing a trailer used for agricultural purposes that does not exceed 20,000 pounds gross vehicle weight rating.

Tuesday, April 10

• The Senate met Tuesday and approved the following legislation:

-HB 2118 by Sen. Cliff Aldridge, would authorize sales at salvage pools or salvage disposal sales to be opened only to state residents, company representatives of a business based in the state or a person who may legally purchase salvage vehicles in his or her home state or country.

-HB 1184 by Sens. Tom Adelson, Mike Johnson and David Myers, would appropriate $1.5 million in supplemental funding to the Military Department.

-HB 1081 by Sen. Roger Ballenger, would authorize rural water districts to charge customers an amount not to exceed 10 cents per 1,000 gallons of water sold.

-HB 1707 by Sen. Kenneth Corn, would exempt probation and parole vehicles of the Department of Corrections from being required to place the name of the department owning or leasing the vehicle in conspicuous letters.

-HB 1798 by Sen. Mike Schulz, would authorize farm tractors and self-propelled farm equipment units to be equipped with a flashing strobe light.

• Senate committees took no action on bills on Tuesday.

• The House met Tuesday and approved one substantive bill.

-SB 1 by Sen. Randy Brogdon, would create a Taxpayer Transparency Act to require the Office of State Finance to develop and operate a searchable website by which the public can monitor any expenditure of state tax dollars.

• House committees approved a number of bills on Tuesday, including the following:

-SB 102 by Sen. David Myers, would modify the membership of the Storage Tank Advisory Council from nine members to 11 members.

-SB 734 by Sen. Mike Morgan, would state legislative intent to direct significant further legislative study to clarify legal issues resulting from the previous legislative actions for the benefit of the electric service providers and ascertain the wishes of citizens to move forward with this process.

-SB 790 by Sen. Debbe Leftwich, would clarify language relating to child abuse and neglect and would add requirements for volunteer Court Appointed Special Advocates to pass a background check administered and paid for by the Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation.

-SB 605 by Sen. Brian Bingman, would create a Municipal Fire Protection District Act to allow for certain municipalities and political subdivisions to create local fire protection districts.

-SB 119 by Sen. Brian Bingman, would modify the requirement for the sale of electricity to qualify for a sales tax exemption by not allowing the oil well production to exceed 10 barrels per well and the total content of oil recovered after enhanced recovery methods not to exceed 1 percent.

-SB 871 by Sen. Jay Paul Gumm, would modify the requirement in the Oklahoma Quality Jobs Program Act that employees reside in the state to be waived for new direct jobs located in a county that has borders contiguous with another state if the waiver is directed to the Department of Commerce.

-SB 42 by Sen. Clark Jolley, would authorize the Office of Administrative Hearings to allow electronic transmittal of documents and electronic signatures if safeguards are in place to protect against unauthorized use.

-SB 107 by Sen. Debbe Leftwich, would require the Department of Juvenile Justice to pay for the costs of transporting a child committed to their custody.

-SB 485 by Sen. Todd Lamb, would authorize the Commission for Rehabilitation Services to use funds from the Social Security reimbursements program for a direct service delivery staff incentive program.

-SB 553 by Sen. John Sparks, would require the establishment of a child abuse and neglect registry for court-identified abusers.

-SB 787 by Sen. Andrew Rice, would remove authority of the Office of Child Abuse Prevention to designate child abuse and neglect prevention planning districts and establish guidelines for the establishment of district child abuse prevention task forces.

Wednesday, April 11

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

-SB 714 by Sen. James A. Williamson, would modify the definition of abortion.

-HB 1346 by Sen. Earl Garrison, would designated State Highway 51B beginning at the junction with 429th E. Ave. in Porter to the junction with 484th E. Ave. in Porter as the Rex Lee Brown Memorial Highway.

-HB 1374 by Sen. Brian Bingman, would require the Corporation Commission to work with the Director of State Finance to fix the maximum amount of the petty cash fund.

-HB 1375 by Sen. Tom Adelson, would require an ambulatory surgical center to have a formal transfer agreement with a general hospital or all physicians performing surgery in the ambulatory surgical center to have admitting privileges at a general hospital located no more than a 20-minute travel distance from the center.

-HB 1796 by Sen. Charles Wyrick, would rename the Oklahoma Concentrated Animal Feeding Operations Act and Oklahoma Swine Feeding Operations Act.

-HJR 1039 by Sen. Mike Mazzei, would propose a constitutional amendment directing all proceeds to the sale of public lands directed to the permanent school fund, including earnings, interest, dividends and capital gains from investment of the permanent school fund, be credited to the principal of the fund.

-HB 1928 by Sen. Brian Crain, would modify the Health Savings Account Act to make the maximum contribution allowable equal to that allowed by the Internal Revenue Code.

-SR 23 by Sens. Cliff Branan, Constance N. Johnson and Andrew Rice, commends the Bishop McGuinness Catholic High School basketball team for winning the 2006 Class 4A state championship.

-SR 12 by Sen. Mike Mazzei, congratulates the Jenks High School football team upon winning the state Class 6A Championship.

• Senate committees took no action on Wednesday.

• The House met Wednesday and approved the following bills:

-SB 1038 by Sen. Jonathan Nichols, would require the State Regents for Higher Education to make independent third-party audits of its institutions concerning their financial statements available to the public on the internet website maintained by the regents.

-SB 829 by Sen. Kathleen Wilcoxson, would modify requirements for setting student performance levels and specifies indicators for each level.

• House committees approved a number of measures Wednesday, including the following:

-SB 507 by Sen. Cliff Branan, contains provisions regarding charitable and not-for-profit volunteers who provide transportation services and provisions regarding the use of firearms.

-SB 376 by Sen. Cliff Aldridge, would establish new procedures for the Commissioners of the Land Office to appraise the value of land.

-SB 810 by Sen. Ron Justice, would expand duties of the State Board of Agriculture to include promulgating rules regarding prescribed burning and smoke management.

-SB 70 by Sens. Roger Ballenger and Johnnie Crutchfield, would create a Feral Swine Control Act.

-SB 47 by Sen. Brian Crain, would ban the forced implementation of a microchip in humans.

-SB 903 by Sen. Brian Crain, would create a 22-member Twenty-First Century Health Education and Research for Oklahoma Task Force.

-SB 98 by Sen. Don Barrington, would create a Fire Extinguisher Licensing Act to regulate the sale, installation and servicing of portable fire extinguishers.

-SB 560 by Sen. John Sparks, would modify the administration, servicing and processing procedures for accident and health insurance claims.

-SB 41 by Sen. Kenneth Corn, would expand language relating to charitable event licenses to include charitable wine event licenses.

-SB 586 by Sen. Judy Eason McIntyre, would require the Oklahoma Commission for Teacher Preparation to emphasize recruiting efforts to bring teachers to high-poverty schools.

-SB 481 by Sens. Charles Laster and Kathleen Wilcoxson, would direct the Oklahoma Commission for Teacher Preparation to contract for an independent evaluation of elementary school reading professional development programs.

-SB 496 by Sen. Jim Reynolds, would prohibit colleges and universities from entering agreements to provide student data or access to students to any creditor for purposes of marketing consumer credit to students.

-SB 507 by Sen. Cliff Branan, would exempt charitable and not-for-profit volunteers who provide transportation services from tort liability and would exempt lawful firearm manufacturers from wrongful death liability.

-SB 35 by Sen. Brian Crain, would direct the Department of Public Safety to issue a distinctive license or card bearing the words “sex offender” to persons required to register pursuant to the Sex Offenders Registration Act.

-SB 371 by Sen. Cliff Aldridge, would increase from a misdemeanor to a felony the providing of false information that results in the activation of an AMBER alert.

-SB 464 by Sen. Constance N. Johnson, would authorize the Governor to delay compliance with the federal REAL ID Act of 2005.

-SB 763 by Sen. Patrick Anderson, would authorize district attorneys and assistant district attorneys to carry firearms for protection.

Thursday, April 12

• The Senate met Thursday and approved the following bills:

-HB 1285 by Sen. Charles Wyrick, would make the statute of limitations for the
of accessory to a felony the same as if the person had committed the substantive offense.

-HB 1711 by Sen. Jim Wilson, would permit unemancipated persons under age 18 who are in the permanent custody of the Department of Human Services to be excluded from submitting an application for restricted license signed by another person if the applicant can provide proof of financial responsibility.

-HB 1520 by Sen. Mike Schulz, would create an Oklahoma Controlled Burn Indemnity Fund for the Oklahoma Conservation Commission for the benefit of landowners who perform controlled burns.

-HB 2152 by Sen. Jeff Rabon, would modify language relating to the Elevator Safety Act.

-HB 1510 by Sen. Jeff Rabon, states legislative intent for the Commissioner of Health to authorize waivers for provisions of the Nursing Home Care Act and the Long-Term Care Certificate of Need Act.

-HB 1391 by Sen. Johnnie Crutchfield, would create a Blue Skies Collaborative Grant Program.

-HB 1497 by Sen. Cliff Aldridge, would authorize trusts and trustees or beneficiaries of trusts to acquire, sell, rent or lease real estate.

-SR 30 by Sen. Joe Sweeden, endorses the Housing America 2007 campaign.

-HB 1399 by Sen. Cliff Branan, would require “junk dealers” to keep records regarding who they purchase copper from.

-HB 1708 by Sen. Randy Bass, would direct the Secretary of State to serve as Chief International Protocol Officer.

-HB 1612 by Sen. Don Barrington, would modify language regarding sex offender registration to allow peace officers to collect DNA samples.

-HB 1739 by Sen. Brian Bingman, would create the Retail Electric Consumer Cost Reduction, Safety and Service Efficiency Act.

Other News

• A painting depicting Solomon Layton, architect of the Oklahoma State Capitol, laying the cornerstone of the building was officially dedicated at the state Capitol this week. Former State Senator Charles Ford, President of the Oklahoma State Senate Historical Preservation Fund, Inc., unveiled the painting during a ceremony in the Senate Chamber on Tuesday. The painting was created by artist Christopher Nick of Oklahoma City and was sponsored by the Oklahoma Chapter of the American Institute of Architects, an organization dedicated to promoting public awareness, understanding and appreciation of architecture. The organization is celebrating its 100th anniversary this year. Architects Solomon Layton and S. Wemyss Smith were awarded the contract for the building on January 7, 1911. Construction began on July 20, 1915. The cornerstone ceremony was held on Statehood Day, November 16, 1915. The building was completed on June 30th, 1917.

• On Wednesday, the Senate commended the athletic accomplishments of two state championship winning teams. The Bishop McGuiness Catholic High School boys basketball team captured the class 4A state crown, and the Jenks High School Football team won their eighth state championship in the past 11 seasons. Both teams were present in the Senate Chamber as resolutions were approved recognizing their accomplishments.

• It was announced this week that Oklahomans would have the opportunity to choose the design on a commemorative quarter honoring the state. Five design options have been finalized by the U.S. Mint. Votes can be cast for the coin designs at www.gov.ok.gov/coin.php.