Monday, March 21 to Thursday, March 24, 2011

Monday, March 21

• The Senate approved the following measures on Monday:

-HB 2169 by Rep. Scott Martin, increases from $263,139,950 to $278,139,950 the amount the Oklahoma Health Care Authority is authorized to transfer from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act Fund to the CMIA Programs Disbursing Fund.

• Senate committees approved the following measures on Monday:

-HB 1271 by Rep. Ann Coody, modifies the definition of “person requiring treatment” in language related to the Department of Mental Health and Substance Abuse Services to include those who place another person in reasonable fear of violent behavior directed towards the person or persons or serious physical harm to them as manifested by serious and immediate threats.

-HB 1197 by Rep. Jeannie McDaniel, creates a Children of Incarcerated Parents Task Force.

-HB 1359 by Rep. Ron Peters, creates a Foster Care System Improvement Task Force.

-HB 1441 by Rep. Doug Cox, modifies language relating to maintenance of emergency medication kits, removing reference to long-term care pharmacy and simply allowing a pharmacy to maintain controlled dangerous substances in such a kit used at a nursing home or assisted living center.

-HB 1638 by Rep. Charles Ortega, allows the Department of Mental Health and Substance Abuse Services to enter into a contract for professional services at any time with a registered nurse or pharmacist or person meeting the definition of “licensed mental health professional.”

• The House met Monday and approved the following bills:

-SJR 45 by Sen. Dan Newberry, disapproves emergency rules created by the Construction Industries Board related to the Roofing Contractor Registration Act.

• House committees approved the following measures on Monday:

-SB 862 by Sen. Anthony Sykes, removes language stating that a defendant is jointly and severally liable for the damages recoverable by a plaintiff if the percentage of responsibility attributed to the defendant with respect to a cause of action is greater than 50 percent and if at the time of the incident occurred that gave rise to the cause of action, a joint tortfeasor acted with willful and wanton conduct or with reckless disregard and the conduct proximately caused the damages legally recoverable by the plaintiff, the liability damages shall be joint and several.

-SB 576 by Sen. Patrick Anderson, authorizes the Department of Human Services to release a delinquent or missing parent “Most Wanted” type list of individuals who are in arrears in their district or administrative court-ordered child support obligations or who are sought for the purpose of establishing a child support order.

-SB 943 by Sen. Patrick Anderson, modifies language relating to procedures for judicial review and transmission of agency orders to the reviewing court.

-SB 942 by Sen. Patrick Anderson, modifies language related to the grounds for dismissal of court actions and court orders.

-SB 940 by Sen. Patrick Anderson, requires an appeal to the Oklahoma Supreme Court to be filed as a petition in error within 30 days of the date of the original document or ruling.

-SB 941 by Sen. Patrick Anderson, modifies language related to procedures for the discovery of certain trial preparation materials and experts.

-SB 102 by Sen. Cliff Aldridge, modifies loan repayment conditions under the Oklahoma Energy Independence Act.

-SB 277 by Sen. Patrick Anderson, clarifies language related to pre-lien notices.

-SB 527 by Sen. Brian Crain, modifies language related to claims by creditors, allowing claims to be brought in the county in which the claim arose.

Tuesday, March 22

• The Senate heard no bills on Tuesday.

• Senate committees approved the following measures on Tuesday:

-HB 1446 by Rep. George Faught, addresses human smuggling, verification of an individual’s legal status, vehicles stopping to pick up individuals for work and individuals unlawfully present to solicit for work.

-HB 1008 by Rep. Skye McNiel, places an end date on tax credits for tuition reimbursed from a qualified aerospace employer to a qualified employee.

-HB 1321 by Rep. Harold Wright, prohibits Oklahoma Lottery Commission advertisements and promotions from involving children in any manner.

-HB 2117 by Rep. Jeff Hickman, modifies the definition of “increment” in the Local Development Act.

-HB 1666 by Rep. Leslie Osborn, requires the cost associated with signage related to the naming of highways and bridges on the state highway system be paid by the group sponsoring or requesting the sign.

-HB 1232 by Rep. Ben Sherrer, allows for temporary emergency highway closings for flooding by the Oklahoma Department of Transportation.

-HB 1812 by Rep. Danny Morgan, modifies language related to the Public Competitive Bidding Act.

-HB 1226 by Rep. Pat Ownbey, requires any unused portion of real property acquired by a state entity by eminent domain to be offered for resale to the original owner or heirs at the appraised value or original price at which the property was acquired, whichever is less.

-HB 1234 by Rep. Ben Sherrer, authorizes the courts to use videoconferencing between a courtroom and a correctional facility of the Department of Corrections or a juvenile detention facility of the Office of Juvenile Affairs for sentence reviews, post conviction relief hearings, delinquent and deprived actions, custody and adoption proceedings, commitment proceedings and extradition proceedings.

-HB 1322 by Rep. Harold Wright, modifies language regarding embezzlement, stating that the act includes activity related to any property of an estate of a decedent, whether the estate is held in intestate, in probate, in trust or otherwise.

-HB 1520 by Rep. Gus Blackwell, allows a court to dismiss charges without payment of court costs for violation of the Compulsory Insurance Law if proof of security verification is presented to the court by the first scheduled court appearance.

-HB 1549 by Rep. Sally Kern, allows individuals to bring a civil action against the producer, promoter or intentional possessor of child pornography if a criminal offense resulted in a conviction and any portion of the offense was used in the production of child pornography when the person caused personal or psychological injury as a result.

-HB 1564 by Rep. Fred Jordan, creates the Airspace Severance Restriction Act.

-HB 1991 by Rep. Daniel Sullivan, modifies language related to administration of the punishment of death, directing that it be carried out by the administration of a lethal quantity of drug or drugs until death is pronounced.

• The House took no action on Monday.

• House committees approved the following bills on Tuesday:

-SB 348 by Sen. Clark Jolley, requires the State Department of Education to prepare annual reports of the results of the statewide assessment program to describe student achievement in the state.

-SB 42 by Sen. Earl Garrison, prohibits Oklahoma Lottery Commission advertisements and promotions from involving children in any manner.

-SB 445 by Sen. John Ford, modifies language related to charter schools, clarifying that students may be transferred to charter schools on an emergency basis.

-SB 59 by Sen. Ron Justice, modifies language regarding national criminal history record checks on substitute teachers, exempting those who have been employed as full-time teachers by a school district in the state in the previous five years.

Wednesday, March 23

• The Senate took no action on Wednesday.

• Senate committees met Wednesday, approving the following legislation:

-HB 2128 by Rep. Kris Steele, lowers the cap on noneconomic damages for bodily injury from $400,000 to $350,000.

• The House took no action on Wednesday.

• House committees approved the following bills on Wednesday:

-SB 160 by Sen. David Holt, creates the Municipal Motor Vehicle Racing Act.

-SB 96 by Sen. Harry Coates, modifies the Public Competitive Bidding Act, increasing from $2,500 to $5,000 the maximum construction contract amount that may be negotiated with a qualified contractor.

-SB 246 by Sen. Sean Burrage, increases from $5,000 to $20,000 the amount an heir can receive from a bank or credit union in the name of a sole individual without designation of a payable-on-death beneficiary.

-SB 287 by Sen. Clark Jolley, establishes that when a customer’s claim that an item charged against an account is not properly payable accrues when the item is finally paid by the bank without regard to care or lack of care of either the customer or the bank.

-SB 339 by Sen. Cliff Branan, modifies language related to vegetation management.

-SB 648 by Sen. Cliff Aldridge, requires non-resident licensees of the Oklahoma Real Estate Commission to successfully complete Oklahoma’s continuing education requirements for license renewal or reactivation if the non-resident licensee is exempt from the continuing education requirements in the states where the non-resident licensee holds a license.

-SB 774 by Sen. Cliff Aldridge, allows the Oklahoma Real Estate Appraiser Board to deny the issuance or renewal of a registration after a hearing.

-SB 798 by Sen. Clark Jolley, allows for a motion to protect and preserve abandoned or vacated property that is subject to suit, action or proceeding to foreclose or otherwise enforce the remedies in the mortgage, contract for deed or deed of trust.

-SB 856 by Sen. Steve Russell, states that any person who knowingly solicits, persuades, encourages or entices a licensed dealer or private seller of firearms or ammunition under circumstances which the person knows would violate the laws or Oklahoma or the United States or who provides materially false information with the intent to deceive the dealer or seller about the legality of a transfer is guilty of a felony.

-SB 408 by Sen. Susan Paddack, implements a $150 reinstatement fee for any person seeking reinstatement as a police or peace officer whose CLEET certification was revoked, suspended or voluntarily suspended for any reason, including failure to comply with mandatory education and training requirements.

-SB 263 by Sen. Susan Paddack, establishes minimum requirements for mandatory continuing education for licensed private investigators and security guards to include 24 clock hours of required attendance during the licensing period at accredited education functions.

-SB 131 by Sen. Clark Jolley, directs CLEET to conduct a hearing in accordance with the Administrative Procedures Act to consider the suspension or revocation of the CLEET certification of a peace officer.

-SB 157 by Sen. Clark Jolley, modifies the exemption for any person who is certified by the Council on Law Enforcement Education and Training and has undergone a required psychological evaluation from having to be reevaluated.

-SB 187 by Sen. Harry Coates, allows a sheriff or CLEET-certified deputy sheriff to accompany a reserve force deputy sheriff in the performance of duties.

-SB 257 by Sen. Harry Coates, creates a zone of safety around parks that are established, operated or supported in whole or in part by city, county, state, federal government or a tribal government prohibiting a person from loitering within 500 feet of the park.

-SB 282 by Sen. David Holt, requires any person subject to the Sex Offenders Registration Act or the Mary Rippy Act who has an out-of-state conviction that requires registration to provide law enforcement agencies where the offender intends to reside with a certified copy of the offender’s judgment and sentencing report within 30 days of the offender’s initial registration with Oklahoma.

-SB 162 by Sen. Ron Justice, allows a retired district attorney who receives a statement for the appropriate retirement system to carry a firearm on his or her person anywhere in the state for personal protection if he or she has completed approved firearm training.

-SB 137 by Sen. John Ford, allows an inmate to earn 200 credits for completing his or her bachelor’s degree and 100 credits for completing an associate’s degree.

-SB 179 by Sen. Brian Crain, modifies language under the Uniform Controlled Dangerous Substances Act, clarifying that the sale of items packaged by a manufacturer in glass containers or tubes to facilitate the sale of the item and not for other prohibited purposes is allowed.

-SB 443 by Sen. Andrew Rice, adds language concerning bicycle and motorcycle safety to the knowledge of traffic laws portion of the examination for Class A, B, C or D driver’s licenses.

-SB 857 by Sen. Charles Laster, authorizes the commissioner of public safety to direct the Department of Public Safety to develop a proposal for an intergovernmental cooperative agreement between the department and all tribal governments that issue tribal license plates and maintain ownership and registration information.

-SB 844 by Sen. Patrick Anderson, requires an individual or entity to have the appropriate Oklahoma license or permit to conduct outdoor fireworks displays.

-SB 928 by Sen. Dan Newberry, requires an applicant for a roofing contractor registration certificate to pay a fee of $75.

-SB 666 by Sen. Bryce Marlatt, establishes that state employees who are reserve municipal police officers or reserve deputy sheriffs and who miss work in the performance of their duties in cases of emergency will not have to use any accrued leave or need to make up any time.

-SB 10 by Sen. Cliff Aldridge, exempts county treasurers who also serve as school district treasurers from the requirement that school district encumbrance clerks and treasurers must complete at least 12 hours of instruction on school finance laws.

-SB 16 by Sen. Don Barrington, modifies language related to the salary of county officers, allowing rather than requiring that they be increased from the basic salary.

-SB 90 by Sen. Gary Stanislawski, modifies language related to municipal sinking funds, decreasing from one-third to one-fifth the amount that may be used for outstanding judgments against the municipality.

-SB 420 by Sen. Eddie Fields, states legislative intent that an international airport in Oklahoma apply and receive approval from the U.S. Department of Agriculture and the U.S. Customs and Border Patrol to allow domestic livestock and livestock products to be imported and exported internationally.

-SB 92 by Sen. Ron Justice, modifies requirements for poultry waste applicators to attend educational courses on poultry waste handling and management.

Thursday, March 24

• The Senate took no action on Thursday.

Other News

• Enid-based energy company Continental Resources this week announced it would relocate to Oklahoma City, headquartering its operations in the current home of Devon Energy. The company expects to triple its work force in the next five years. The company employs approximately 250 in Enid.