Stanley presents first bills in Senate committee

OKLAHOMA CITY – Senator Brenda Stanley presented her first two bills of the Senate term in the Health and Human Services Committee Monday morning, with both measures receiving approval.

Senate Bill 685 authorizes the Board of Podiatric Medical Examiners to review applications by circularization and vote to approve an application in this manner. Circularization is defined as a process by which the full Board may review and vote on licensure applications in between regular board meetings to expedite the licensure process. The vote must be unanimous and approved at a meeting of the Board. The bill also allows licensure applicants to file an electronic application, and applicants are no longer prohibited from having a contagious or infectious disease upon application. The Board need only verify an applicant is legally in the United States instead of verifying an applicant’s loyalty to the United States.

SB 773 creates the Oklahoma Mental Health Loan Repayment Act and places the program under the Department of Mental Health and Substance Abuse Services which shall, depending upon available funding, provide educational loan repayment assistance for mental health or substance abuse treatment providers who provide services in shortage areas. Under the provisions of the bill, the department determines which entities shall receive an award and the amount of the award based on the entity’s performance. A participant in the program must agree to treat Medicaid patients, who shall constitute at least 25% of the participant’s patients. The department is further directed to submit an annual report on the program to the Governor, President Pro Tempore, and Speaker. The measure also creates the Mental Health Loan Repayment Revolving Fund.

“I am excited to be a part of the legislative process and I am enjoying the journey,” Stanley said. “I have been working diligently to represent the citizens of Senate District 42 well and will continue to do so.”

Stanley currently serves on four Senate committees, including Retirement and Insurance, Finance, and Veterans and Military Affairs, in addition to the Appropriations Subcommittee on Education. Prior to her election, she earned her Administration Certification from the University of Central Oklahoma and served as principal at Cleveland Bailey Elementary School in the Mid-Del School District from 1996-2006 and at Westfall Elementary in the Choctaw/Nicoma Park School District from 2006 until her retirement in 2016.