Monday, May 8 through Thursday, May 11, 2006

• The Senate met Monday, approving a number of measures in a lengthy session. Among the bills approved were the following:

SB 1089 by Sen. Kathleen Wilcoxson, would prohibit the sale of lottery tickets by check cashing businesses, pawnshops and payday loan centers.

SB 1991 by Sen. Mike Morgan, would create the Oklahoma Interior Designers Act. The bill would mandate licensure of interior designers and prohibit acting as an “interior designer” without meeting specified criteria. The bill adds interior designers to the Board of Governors of the Licensed Architects and Landscape Architects.

SB 1293 by Sen. Johnnie Crutchfield, would authorize the Department of Environmental Quality Board rules to include restrictions relating to the hiring of waste-water operators.

SB 1333 by Sen. Jim Reynolds, would modify the Oklahoma Emergency Response Systems Development Act to allow for stretcher and van transports to be made from state and federal veterans facilities.

SB 1361 by Sen. Debbe Leftwich, would require that members of the United States military are entitled to a leave of absence from civil employment for the period of service without loss of status or efficiency rating when ordered by proper authority to a leave of absence from civil employment.

SB 1390 by Sen. Debbe Leftwich, would allow the board of county commissioners to direct the transfer of unencumbered monies from the county’s account in the County Road and Bridge Improvement Fund to pay for immediate repairs when a county bridge sustains damage requiring immediate attention.

SB 1521 by Sen. Debbe Leftwich, would require certain individuals and agencies to provide ownership documents to wrecker operators.

SB 1539 by Sen. Debbe Leftwich, would remove the authority of the court clerk to collect supervision fees and requires the Department of Public Safety to determine methods for payment of supervision fees.

SB 1795 by Sen. Susan Paddack, would require the Department of Health to make recommendations to the Board of Health regarding vision screening tests for students.

SB 1867 by Sen. Kenneth Corn, would allow maximum security inmates to be housed in private prisons.

• Senate Committees took no action on bills Monday, as the deadline for committee consideration of bills originating in the opposite house passed on April 6.

• The House met briefly Monday, taking action on only two bills. The only measure approved was the following:

HB 2626 by Sen. Jeff Rabon, would modify procedures for beneficiaries of Payable on Death accounts.

• House Committees did not meet Monday.

Tuesday, May 9

• The Senate met Tuesday passing several bills. Measures approved included the following:

SB 1795 by Sen. Susan Paddack, would require the Department of Health to form an advisory committee to make recommendations to the Board of Health for establishing vision screening standards for students.

SB 876 by Sen. Cliff Branan, would create the Commercial Real Estate Broker Lien Act.

SB 1291 by Sen. Cliff Aldridge, would authorize local school districts to draft policies requiring superintendents to live in the school’s district.

SB 1697 by Sen. Glenn Coffee, would allow municipalities to require assurance from cable television providers that certain adequate programming, financial support and facilities will be supplied by the operator.

• Senate committees did not meet Tuesday.

• The House met briefly Tuesday, taking action on several bills. Among the measures passed were the following:

HB 2910 by Sen. Glenn Coffee, would define charges and fees assessed in life, accident and health insurance policies to mean the amount actually paid by or on behalf of the insured to a service provider.

HB 2911 by Sen. Charles Laster, would authorize the Real Estate Appraiser Board, the attorney general and district attorneys to seek injunctive relief against persons falsely representing themselves as certified real estate appraisers.

• House Committees did not meet Tuesday.

Wednesday, May 10

• The Senate met Wednesday, approving several bills. Among the measures approved were the following:

SB 1624 by Sen. Todd Lamb, would modify stretcher aid van services requirements for municipalities. The bill requires communities contiguous to those with populations exceeding 300,000 to provide stretcher aid van services.

SB 1219 by Sen. Johnnie Crutchfield, would appropriate $2.3 million in funding from the Rural Economic Action Plan Water Projects Fund from the gross production tax to the Tourism Revolving Fund for use by Oklahoma’s state parks.

SB 1091 by Sen. Mike Morgan, would provide exemptions for awarding professional services contracts for grants awarded through Tobacco Settlement Trust Fund grant programs.

SB 1877 by Sen. Jeff Rabon, would require the Commission on Consumer Credit to enact certain recommendations by the Mortgage Broker Advisory Committee.

• The House met Wednesday, approving several resolutions before adjourning. Among the resolutions passed were the following:

HCR 1065 by Sen. Johnnie Crutchfield, recognizes the Chickasaw National Recreation Area, Historic Platt National Park Centennial Celebration on June 17, 2006.

HCR 1066 by Sen. Glenn Coffee, honors the Oklahoma Medical Research Foundation on its 60th anniversary.

Thursday, May 11

• The Senate met briefly Thursday, approving two resolutions before adjourning for the week.

SR 103 by Sen. Mike Johnson, recognizes the humanitarian efforts of Dr. Steve Drabek.

HCR 1066 by Sen. Glenn Coffee, honors the Oklahoma Medical Research Foundation on its 60th anniversary.

HCR 1065 by Sen. Johnnie Crutchfield, recognizes the Chickasaw National Recreation Area, Historic Platt National Park Centennial Celebration on June 17, 2006.

• The Senate will reconvene Monday, May 15, at 10:00 a.m.

Other News

• Governor Brad Henry on Wednesday signed legislation to legalize the practice of tattooing individuals over the age of 18. The bill gives oversight of tattooing to the Department of Health. With the signing of Senate Bill 806, authored by Sen. Frank Shurden, Oklahoma became the last of the 50 states to legalize and regulate the practice of tattooing.

• Sen. Gilmer Capps on Tuesday was honored by his colleagues for his 36 years of service in the Senate. Capps is leaving office this year due to term limits. Elected to the Senate in 1970, Capps served as Majority Whip from 1987 to 2001. He was then appointed as Assistant Majority Leader during the 2001 Legislative Session. Senate Resolution 104 lauded Capps as being the “ultimate frontiersman of the Senate both in respect to space, the final frontier, and the wind swept plains of western Oklahoma. Neither his vision nor his legislative agenda have been limited by the boundaries of his district, his state or the cosmos.”

• Oklahoma’s Court Appointed Special Advocates named Sen. Kenneth Corn the 2006 Legislator of the Year at the group’s annual Awards of Excellence Banquet.

• Governor Brad Henry on Wednesday signed the Caitlin Wooten Act into law. SB 1037, authored by Sen. Susan Paddack, contains two major reforms that are tough on crime and smart for Oklahoma families. The bill is aimed at strengthening bail laws by requiring persons charged with the violent crime of kidnapping to prove they are not a public danger before they may post bail. It also allows for an electronic notification system, called Victim Identification and Notification Everyday (VINE) to be put into place statewide in order to notify victims when offenders move through the criminal justice system.