Families of nursing home residents will soon be able to electronically monitor their loved ones thanks to legislation signed into law Monday. Senate Bill 587, by Sen. Ron Justice, will allow nursing home residents to install electronic monitoring devices in their private rooms if that resident or their legal representative pays for the monitoring.

Senate Appropriations Chairman Clark Jolley said the budget agreement announced Thursday by Gov. Mary Fallin and legislative leaders carefully prioritized the allocation of growth revenues for the FY 2014 budget. The agreement itself was reached earlier this session than in past years. Jolley attributed that accomplishment to the hard work of his subcommittee chairs.

Those who participate in agritourism activities such as hayrides and riding horses and get hurt will not be able to sue the agritourism owner as long as a warning is prominently posted on the property about the inherent risks of such activities. Senate Bill 931, by Sen. Ron Justice and Rep. Scott Biggs, will provide agritourism professionals with liability protection for such incidents.

Senate Democratic Leader Sean Burrage issued the following comments in response to the release of the Republican’s budget deal for Fiscal Year 2014.

Sen. Brian Crain, R-Tulsa, and Rep. Doug Cox, M.D., R-Grove, responded Wednesday to a recent press conference calling on the Legislature to follow the Affordable Care Act.

“A ‘one size fits all plan’ offered by the ACA is not the right approach for Oklahoma,” Crain said.

“When it comes to health care access, we need to offer premium assistance like Insure Oklahoma; the health care plan Oklahoma voters approved in 2004,” Cox said.

The state Senate moved Tuesday to abolish Oklahoma’s judicial workers’ compensation system. Senate President Pro Tempore Brian Bingman’s Senate Bill 1062, the Administrative Workers’ Compensation Act, replaces Oklahoma’s adversarial court process with an administrative system. Oklahoma and Tennessee are the only two states left in the nation currently employing a judicial process for the resolution of workers’ compensation claims.

Several members of the state Senate wore pink Tuesday in honor of Breast Cancer Awareness Day at the state Capitol. This year marked the 5th anniversary of the special event started, and chaired each year, by former state senator and breast cancer survivor, Judy Eason-McIntire.

The Senate approved Senate Concurrent Resolution 24, authored by Sen. Jabar Shumate, Rep. Anastasia Pittman and Rep. Kevin Matthews, designating the special educational day at the Capitol.

A bipartisan group of state senators issued the following comments on Tuesday’s passage of Senate Bill 1062, which is the latest attempt at workers’ compensation reform in Oklahoma.

Gov. Mary Fallin’s desk is the next stop for legislation meant to encourage underage drinkers to call for help if one of their friends becomes unresponsive. Senate Bill 1, by Sen. Cliff Branan and Rep. Mike Jackson, was given final passage with a unanimous Senate vote on Tuesday. Branan said the measure would protect an individual from being charged for underage drinking if they call for help for a friend who may have consumed lethal amounts of alcohol.

Under legislation passed by the Oklahoma state Senate on Wednesday, the future maintenance and management of state-owned assets would be prioritized and made more efficient through a central Long-Range Capital Planning Commission.