Monday, Feb. 10, 2014

• The Senate met briefly Monday, but took no action on bills.

• Senate committees approved a number of measures Monday, including the following.

-SB 2120 by Sen. Rick Brinkley, creates the Future State Employee Retirement Act.

-SB 1918 by Sen. Eddie Fields, requires the Oklahoma Department of Agriculture, Food and Forestry to create rural fire protection districts.

-SB 1839 by Sen. Brian Crain, requires staff providing direct support or supervising at any level to those with developmental disabilities to complete in person an approved training course.

-SB 1172 by Sen. Clark Jolley, authorizes the governor to award a state medal for heroism directly or posthumously to any citizen of the state in recognition of a valorous and heroic deed performed in the saving of a life or for injury or death incurred in the service of the state or the citizen’s community or on behalf of the health, welfare, or safety of other persons.

-SB 1505 by Sen. David Holt, authorizes state agencies to offer their employees an option to voluntarily elect to be paid, one time annually, for a certain number of unused accrued annual leave.

-SB 1833 by Sen. Greg Treat, permits every state agency employing more than 10 full-time equivalent employees to develop an employee suggestion program to promote efficiency and effectiveness of state government operations by providing economic incentives to employees who make suggestions which result in direct cost savings.

-SB 1971 by Sen. Clark Jolley, modifies language related to good-cause exemptions for promotion for students with disabilities who participate in the statewide criterion-referenced tests and who have an individualized education program by removing language that limits the exemption to students previously retained in kindergarten, first grade, second grade, or third grade.

-SB 1461 by Sen. Gary Stanislawski, directs virtual education providers and the district with which it contracts to submit information to the State Department of Education on students who are full-time virtual students and do not live in the physical boundaries of the district in an electronic format.

SB 1462 by Sen. Gary Stanislawski, requires statewide virtual charter schools approved by the Statewide Virtual Charter School Board offering full-time virtual education that receive the economically disadvantaged weight to annually verify the income levels of 10 percent of the parents or guardians of students eligible for such weight.

-SB 1463 by Sen. Gary Stanislawski, exempts statewide virtual charter schools approved by the Statewide Virtual Charter School Board and virtual education providers offering full-time virtual education from providing transportation.

-SB 1242 by Sen. Rob Standridge, requires nursing home facilities to obtain a registration issued by the Director of the Oklahoma State Bureau of Narcotics and Dangerous Drugs Control.

-SB 1521 by Sen. Rob Standridge, creates the Foster Parent Accountability Act of 2014.

• The House approved no measures Monday.

• House committees met Monday, approving numerous measures including the following.

-HB 2317 by Rep. Bobby Cleveland, permits school districts to educate students about the history of traditional winter celebrations and allows students and district staff to offer traditional greetings regarding celebrations including Christmas and Hanukkah.

-HB 2496 by Rep. Dennis Ray Casey, allows an inoperable gun, knife, bayonet or other weapon on school property and deemed not in violation of law if in the possession of a member of a veterans group, National Guard or active member of a veterans group, National Guard or active military to participate in a ceremony or assembly approved by the chief administrator.

-HB 2497 by Rep. Dennis Ray Casey, requires the State Department of Education to conduct a study of reading instruction and retention of students in the third grade based on reading assessments administered by law to determine the reasons why some students are not successful in acquiring appropriate grade-level reading skills.

-HB 2642 by Rep. Lee Denney, creates the Securing Educational Excellence Fund.

-HB 3291 by Rep. Leslie Osborn, implements a four-year plan that reduces the top individual income tax rate to four percent.

-HB 2508 by Rep. Earl Sears, reduces the top individual income tax rate to five percent.

-HB 2415 by Rep. Doug Cox, amends language relating to fuel property tax credits.

-HB 2480 by Rep. Charles Joyner, adds the definition of “regional district” to mean a specific governing and assessment district created out of any combination of any portions of any cities or towns either equal to or less than the entity of the boundaries of such.

-HB 2509 by Rep. Earl Sears, modifies the definition of a qualified employee.

-HB 2580 by Rep. Todd Thomsen, extends the provisions of the Compete with Canada Film Act.

-HB 2870 by Rep. Tom Newell, creates an individual income tax deduction for a husband and wife filing a joint return based on the length of time the husband and wife have been married.

-HB 2956 by Rep. Josh Cockroft, modifies the definition of establishment under the Small Employer Quality Jobs Incentive Act.

Tuesday, February 11

• The Senate met Tuesday, but took no action on bills.

• Senate committees approved a number of measures Tuesday, including the following.

-SB 1686 by Sen. Brian Crain, modifies language relating to master discovery.

-SB 1571 by Sen. Mark Allen, creates the Port-of-Entry Officer Division within the Department of Public Safety.

-SB 1904 by Sen. Anthony Sykes, modifies the definition of “Oklahoma assets” under the Family Wealth Preservation Trust Act.

-SB 2029 by Sen. Anthony Sykes, repeals administrative expenses of CompSource Oklahoma and implements a new effective date.

• The House approved no measures Tuesday.

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

-HB 2803 by Rep. Scott Biggs, requires every person that has had contact with a victim of abuse or neglect and has a reasonable suspicion to believe that an act of abuse or neglect has occurred to report the matter promptly to any local law enforcement agency or the Department of Human Services.

-HB 2796 by Rep. Mark McCullough, requires the Oklahoma Health Care Authority to support and reinforce intact families in the state.

-HB 2348 by Rep. John Bennett, states that the Ten Commandments, Magna Carta, Mayflower Compact, Declaration of Independence, United States Constitution, Bill of Rights, Constitution of Oklahoma, and other historically significant documents should be displayed proudly in public buildings and on public grounds.

-HB 2422 by Rep. John Bennett, creates the Religious Viewpoints Antidiscrimination Act.

-HB 2684 by Rep. Randy Grau, states legislative findings regarding mifepristone and states that based on those findings the purpose of the bill is to protect women from the dangerous and potentially deadly off-label use of abortion inducing drugs.

-HB 2418 by Rep. Mike Ritze, amends language relating to abortions.

-HB 2384 by Rep. Doug Cox, creates the Medicare Sustainability and Cost Containment Act.

Wednesday, February 12

• The Senate met Wednesday, approving the following bill.

-SB 906 by Sen. Rob Johnson, establishes the Agreement Among the States to Elect the President by National Popular Vote.

• Senate committees met Wednesday, approving a number of measures including the following.

-SB 1692 by Sen. Kim David, removes Department of Public Safety salary bands and replaces them with new bands.

-SB 1750 by Sen. Anthony Sykes, eliminates language related to the Board on Judicial Compensation and declares that judicial salaries will be set by law.

-SB 1513 by Sen. David Holt, removes the Open Records Act exemption from Oklahoma Highway Patrol dash cam video.

-SB 2044 by Sen. Brian Bingman, authorizes up to $160 million in bonds for the repair of the State Capitol.

-SB 1832 by Sen. Greg Treat, requires OMES to post on the Open Books website of each affected agency a fiscal impact statement which accompanied any legislation enacted by the Legislature and signed into law if such legislation expended any state funds or if the fiscal impact statement was otherwise required by law to accompany the legislation.

-SB 1320 by Sen. Kyle Loveless, modifies the school funding formula.

-SB 1604 by Sen. Mark Allen, creates the Oklahoma Veterans Recovery Plan Act of 2014.

-SB 1777 by Sen. Frank Simpson, exempts from the ban on smoking in state buildings and on state property state veterans centers which will be designated nonsmoking Jan. 1, 2015.

• The House met Wednesday, approving a number of bills including the following.

-HB 2372 by Rep. John Trebilcock, prohibits an employing entity from requesting, requiring, or forcing a current or prospective employe to disclose or access his or her social media account.

• House committees met Wednesday, approving several measures including the following.

-HJR 1009 by Rep. David Dank, proposes a constitutional amendment regarding property tax freezes for elderly individuals.

-HB 2630 by Rep. Randy McDaniel, creates the Retirement Security and Freedom Act.

-HB 3167 by Rep. Gus Blackwell, removes the Common Core Curriculum Standards from state statute.

Thursday, February 13

• The Senate met Thursday, approving the following bills.

-SB 1723 by Sen. Clark Jolley, eliminates the expiration date of certain deductions for members of the Armed Forces.

-SB 1722 by Sen. Clark Jolley, modifies language relating to the Oklahoma Quality Events Incentive Act.

-SB 1721 by Sen. Clark Jolley, extends the expiration date of the Compete With Canada Film Act.

-SB 1622 by Sen. Frank Simpson, creates the Oklahoma Nurses License Plate Revolving Fund.

-SB 1397 by Sen. Ron Justice, amends language relating to motor vehicle registration.