Monday, Feb. 6, to Wed., Feb. 9, 2017

• The Senate held its second floor session of the 56th Legislature Monday before joining the House in joint session as to hear Gov. Mary Fallin's seventh State of the State address. The Senate welcomed 12 new members, marking one of the largest freshman classes in the upper chamber's history. There are 42 Republicans to the 6 Democrats, also representing an all-time high in the Senate.

• After Gov. Fallin delivered her address, the House reconvened Monday to vote on HR 1003, this session's proposed House Rules. Members of the minority party attempted and failed to pass six amendments to the resolution. All amendments were tabled by Rep. Terry O'Donnell.

Tuesday, February 7, 2017

• The full Senate convened briefly Tuesday afternoon but took up no legislation.

• Members of the Senate Judiciary Committee and the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Finance heard the first bills of the session Tuesday, with the bills receiving the approval of the Senate Judiciary Committee moving to the Senate the floor for eventual consideration. Legislation that passed in the Finance subcommittee is expected to be heard next by the full Senate Appropriations Committee.

• The Senate Judiciary Committee met on Tuesday and approved the following:

- SJR 42, by Sen. Anthony Sykes, proposes a vote of the people on a constitutional amendment that would require Supreme Court justices and Court of Criminal Appeals' judges to be elected in partisan elections. It also would require intermediate appellate judges to be elected in partisan elections. The measure received a do pass recommendation on vote of 5 to 4.

-SJR 14, by Sen. Nathan Dahm, proposes a vote of the people on a constitutional amendment that would increase the amount of votes needed to retain a judge in office to 60 percent from a majority. The measure passed by a vote of 6 to 4.

-SB 213, by Sen. Nathan Dahm, requires five Supreme Court Judicial districts and boundaries to correspond to Oklahoma's congressional districts. It requires the number of corresponding Supreme Court Judicial Districts to increase or decrease accordingly in the event Oklahoma gains or loses a congressional district. It requires four Supreme Court Judicial Districts to be statewide at-large districts. It requires said at-large districts increase or decrease accordingly if the state gains or loses a Supreme Court Judicial District that corresponds to the number of congressional districts.

-SB 699, by Sen. Anthony Sykes, requires all appellate Justices and Judges to be automatically retired when the sum of their years of judicial service and age equals 80 if not having previously chosen to retire and regardless of any time remaining in an existing term.

-SB 700, by Sen. Anthony Sykes, requires three attorney members of the Judicial Nominating Commission be appointed by the Senate President Pro Tempore and three attorney members shall be appointed by the House Speaker. It requires the appointees be licensed to practice law and include at least one from each congressional district. It requires vacancies to be filed by the original appointing authority. It declares on the effective date provisioned in the bill that all existing appointed attorney member positions of the Judicial Nominating Commission be deemed vacant and their terms deemed terminated. It gives the Senate President and House Speaker 30 days from the bill's effective date to make their appointments.

-SB 702, by Sen. Anthony Sykes, removes Pawnee County from the Supreme Court Judicial District 1 and places it in Judicial District 8. It removes Coal County from Supreme Court Judicial District 8 and places it in Judicial District 2. It removes Sequoyah County from Supreme Court Judicial District 2 and places it in Judicial District 7. It removes Washita County from Supreme Court Judicial District 4 and places it in Judicial District 9. It removes Pottawatomie County from Supreme Court Judicial District 8 and places it in Judicial District 5.

-SB 708, by Sen. Anthony Sykes, requires a district judge, in addition to the qualifications required by such section and as part of his or her experience as a licensed practicing attorney, to have experience as lead counsel in a minimum of three jury trials brought to verdict prior to filing for such office or appointment.

-SB 779, by Sen. Anthony Sykes, modifies the composition of district judges in the counties of Grady, Stephens, Jefferson and Caddo.

-SJR 43, by Sen. Anthony Sykes, proposes a vote of the people on a constitutional amendment that would change the way judges are appointed. It would require the Governor to submit names to the Judicial Nominating Commission for rating. It also would require advice and consent of the Senate for nominations.

-SJR 44, by Sen. Anthony Sykes, proposes a vote of the people on a constitutional amendment that would require Senate advice and consent for the appointment of judges. It would permit the Governor to call the Legislature into special session to consider judicial appointments once per quarter.

• The House convened briefly Tuesday morning with many members absent, as they were attending the funeral for Speaker Charles McCall's mother. All House committee meetings originally scheduled for Tuesday were also cancelled.

Wednesday, February 8, 2017

• The full Senate convened Wednesday afternoon, but no legislation was heard.
• The Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Health met Wednesday and approved the following bills:

- SB 813, by Sen. AJ Griffin, increases the limit on application and renewal fees under the Department of Mental Health and Substance.

- SB 232, by Sen. Frank Simpson, consolidates the State Accrediting Agency with the Oklahoma Department of Veterans Affairs. The bill transfers all assets, funds, liabilities, allotments, purchase orders, outstanding financial obligations, encumbrances, records, equipment and other property of the State Accrediting Agency to the Oklahoma Department of Veterans Affairs.

• The Senate Appropriations Committee approved several bills on Wednesday afternoon, including the following:

-SB 58, by Senator Stephanie Bice, reduces the tax rate on the total gross receipts of a holder of an on-premises beer and wine, mixed beverage, caterer, public event or special event license issued by the ABLE Commission to 10 percent from 13.5 percent. It also updates statutory references.

-SB 236, by Appropriations Committee Chair Kim David, authorizes the issuance of a $58.5 million bond for the construction of a new State Health Laboratory for the State Department of Health. The motion passed 23 to 13.

-SB 791 by Sen. David Holt and Sen. Mike Schulz, establishes a REAL ID compliant driver license and identification card. It also allows for the continuation of a non-compliant license and establishes license fees. The bill prohibits a person from holding more than one REAL ID compliant license from any state.

-SB 547, by Sen. Paul Scott, requires the collection of a $10 fee for each transaction not over $500 and in addition to such fee an amount to one percent of the amount in excess of $500 on every international wire transaction for persons that do not present valid personal identification. The bill also requires the Tax Commission to apportion all revenues derived from the fee to the General Revenue Fund.

• The House Appropriations and Budget Subcommittee on Finance passed several bills on Wednesday, including:

-HB 1300, by Rep. Earl Sears, limits the total amount of Zero Emission Tax Credits that may be used to either reduce tax liability amounts on returns and which may be paid in the form of cash to not more than $15 million each fiscal year until all tax credits which have been earned through electric power production from a zero emission facility prior to July 1, 2017, have been fully utilized. The bill passed 6 to 2.

-HB 1299, by Rep. Earl Sears, requires a taxpayer who claims a tax credit for electric power produced from a zero emission facility to file an annual report with the Oklahoma Tax Commission which summarizes the total amount of electric power produced. It requires the Commission to prescribe a form for the report and for the report to be submitted no later than February 15th each year. The bill passed 6 to 2.

-HB 1200, by Rep. Dennis Ray Casey, allows a credit to be given for any taxpayer who makes a contribution to a public school. It requires the credit to be 50 percent of the total contributions made not to exceed $1,000 for single individuals and $2,000 for married individuals or $100,000 for a business entity. It allows the credit to increase to 75 percent if the individual commits to contribute the same amount for an additional year.

• The House Rules Committee considered REAL ID legislation on Wednesday.

-CS to HB 1845, by Rep. Leslie Osborn, establishes Real ID compliant driver licenses and eliminates the prohibition on the Real ID Act implementation and compliance. It creates the Public Safety Enhancement Fund, identifies revenue sources and provides for appropriation authority and the purpose of such appropriations. The bill received a unanimous recommendation from the committee.

• House Judiciary Criminal Justice and Corrections Committee met on Wednesday and approved the following bills:

-HB 1679, by Rep. Harold Wright, clarifies the manner in which a death sentence is carried out by allowing any method not prohibited by the U.S. Constitution. It requires the manner of punishment to be selected by the Director of the Department of Corrections and also requires notice to be given to the inmate beforehand.

-HB 1005, by Rep. Scott Biggs, makes rape by instrumentation a first degree crime, eliminating the requirement that it result in bodily injury and regardless of the age of the victim.

-HB 1008, by Rep. Rande Worthen, modifies when the court may terminate a parent's rights to a child to include when a parent has previously abused or neglected another child living in the home or failed to protect another child living in the home for abuse or neglect.

-HB 1121, by Rep. Scott Biggs, creates the Oklahoma Integrated Domestic Violence Court Act of 2017. The bill allows any district or municipal court to establish an integrated domestic violence court subject to the availability of funds and defines integrated domestic court to be a specialized judicial process for civil and criminal domestic matters. The bill requires a single judge to preside over the related criminal, family and matrimonial matters. It requires the Administrative Office of the Courts to promulgate rules and ensure statewide uniformity.

Thursday, February 9, 2017

• The full Senate convened briefly Thursday morning but no legislation was heard before adjourning for the weekend.

Other News

• Rep. Dan Kirby submitted an irrevocable letter of resignation last week, effective March 1. Kirby was at the center of sexual harassment complaints last year, with the House Rules Committee conducting an investigation into a wrongful termination settlement that ultimately resulted in a recommendation that the Tulsa Republican be expelled. His bills will be reassigned to other members with new authors not yet decided. Kirby had previously served as chair of the House Business, Commerce and Tourism Committee, and Rep. Elise Hall has been named to serve in that capacity following Kirby’s resignation.

• Gov. Mary Fallin proposed a $7.9 billion fiscal year 2018 budget Monday, a plan that would increase state spending by more than $1 billion over the current fiscal year.

Her proposals include:
o A sales tax modernization plan that would increase state revenues by $839.7 million;
o A plan to eliminate the sales tax on groceries, which would cut into tax collections to the General Revenue Fund by $234.8 million;
o The elimination of the corporate income tax, which could cut $140.2 million;
o Increasing the fuel tax on both gasoline and diesel to $0.24, reflecting a $0.07 increase on gasoline and a $0.10 increase on diesel;
o A $1.50 per pack cigarette tax hike that would generate $257.8 million;
o Establishing an annual $100 fee for high speed electric vehicles and a $50 fee for hybrid electric vehicles that would generate $1.4 million;
o Repeal of the motor fuel eligible purchaser discount, which would generate $5.8 million;
o Increasing the number of non-appropriated agencies make a percentage of their revenues available for certification as revenue available for appropriation by elected officials, which would provide $45.0 million; and
o Accelerating the sunset of the zero emission tax credit and to begin taxing the production of wind energy at $0.005 per kilowatt hour produced, generating $36.6 million.
• On Friday, Governor Mary Fallin announced the selection of Patrick Wyrick as the newest member of the Oklahoma Supreme Court. He replaces former justice Steven Taylor who retired last year. Wyrick, 35, has served as solicitor general in the Oklahoma attorney general’s office since 2011, and has represented the state before the U.S. and Oklahoma supreme courts as well as other federal and state courts. Wyrick earned his bachelor’s degree in sociology/criminology from the University of Oklahoma and then earned his juris doctorate from OU’s College of Law. Prior to his work at the attorney general’s office, Wyrick was an associate attorney at the law firm of GableGotwals and was a law clerk to Judge James Payne in the U.S. District Court of Eastern Oklahoma in Muskogee. Wyrick is Fallin’s first appointment to the Oklahoma Supreme Court.