Session
Overview
The first session of the 51st Legislature
convened in January 2007, the year marking
The 2007 session was also remarkable because
it was the first in the history of the state in which both parties held an
equal number of seats in the upper chamber.
The tie resulted in a power-sharing agreement allowing both parties to
share in leadership responsibilities at all levels, from committees to daily activities
on the floor. Under the agreement, Senator Mike Morgan served as Senate
President Pro Tempore and Glenn Coffee served as Co-President Pro Tempore, with
each appointing co-floor leaders and committee co-chairs. Morgan and Coffee will retain those titles
throughout the 51st Legislature, with the exception of the month of
July 2007, when they will alternate titles.
During the 2007 session, the Senate introduced
1130 bills, 32 joint resolutions, 41 concurrent resolutions and 51
resolutions. Of those measures, 185
bills and 2 joint resolutions were signed into law, 5 were vetoed and 1 bill became
law without the signature of the Governor.
Twenty-two concurrent resolutions and 45 simple resolutions were adopted
or enacted.
The Senate remained on the technological forefront
in state government, adding podcasts to the other services available to the
public and the press, including wireless Internet access and live streaming
video and audio from two committee rooms as well as the chamber.
The Senate welcomed eight new members: Senators Joe Sweeden, Brian Bingman,
The following overview details the legislation
approved during the 2007 legislative session.
Appropriation
Overview
SB 334 is the General Appropriation (GA) Bill
for the 2007 legislative session.
Additional operating and capital funds for several agencies were also
included in HB 1105, the Rainy Day Fund Spillover Bill. FY’07 supplemental appropriations totaling
$116,063,211 were provided in HB 1234, HB 1184 and HB 1162. Details concerning each of these bills are
included in this document. The total
amount of spending authorized for FY’07 and FY’08 is summarized in the chart
below and in more detailed spreadsheets on pages 10 through 15 of this
document. Expenditures for FY’07 totaled
$7,132,192,363 including adjustments for one-time capital projects and
supplemental appropriations. Authorized
expenditures for FY’08 including capital projects total $7,071,712,966. Authorized expenditures for FY’08 are
$60,479,397 or approximately one percent less than for FY’07.
Comparison of Funding, FY’07-FY’08
(in millions)
Revised Proposed
FY'07 FY'08 Change
Approp. Approp. $ %
Education 3,556.3 3,752.3 196.0 5.5
Gen. Gov/Trans. 452.8 390.8 (62.0) (13.7)
Health/Soc. Serv. 1,053.3 1,139.6 86.3 8.2
Human Services 677.0 700.3 23.3 3.5
Natural Res. 156.5 158.9 2.4 1.5
Public Safety 763.5 774.3 10.8 1.4
R
Rainy Day Spillover 457.3 139.8 (317.5) (69.4)
Total 7,132.2 7,071.7 (60.5) (0.8)
The “Revised FY’07” totals above include supplemental
appropriations and one-time expenditures.
The Education subcommittee received $68.5 million in FY’07 supplemental
appropriations, all of which were annualized in FY’08. This means the Legislature actually appropriated
a total of $264.5 million more for this subcommittee for FY’08 than was
originally appropriated for FY’07. The
subcommittee will also receive an additional $86.5 million of the $139.8
million in Rainy Day Spillover Funds allocated in HB 1105.
The General Government and Transportation Subcommittee
shows a $62 million decrease. This is
due to the fact that $70 million of the ODOT budget will be apportioned
directly to the ROADS Fund in FY’08. The
overall ODOT budget is not decreasing.
Rainy
Day Spillover Funds
The Constitutional Reserve Fund (Rainy Day
Fund) will reach its constitutional cap of $571.6 million when deposits are
made in July. Constitutionally, any
money that remains once the Rainy Day fund is full reverts to the fund from
which it came unless the Legislature earmarks it for a specific purpose. It is estimated that $175.9 million will
“spillover” from the Rainy Day Fund in July.
The Legislature and Governor have agreed to allocate $139.8 million of
these funds in HB 1105 for the following:
Teachers’ Retirement
System $10,000,000
Teacher Pay Raise $22,000,000
Higher Education
Operations $20,000,000
OU/OSU/Regional & 2-Yr
Capital $16,500,000
UCO Forensics Building $4,000,000
Centennial Commission $15,000,000
State Emergency Fund $10,000,000
Interoperable
Communications $5,500,000
OCAST Seed Capital $500,000
Fire Department
Equipment $2,500,000
Conservation Commission $6,500,000
Private Prison/Halfway
Houses $5,000,000
Educare $5,000,000
Youth Expo $1,000,000
Spaceport Authority $2,000,000
Ag Lab Equipment $250,000
DPS Vehicle
Replacement $1,000,000
Metro Tech $1,200,000
Schools for Deaf and
Blind $2,000,000
Smart on Crime
Initiative $2,000,000
Gang Violence $50,000
Total $139,800,000
Approximately $36,150,000 remains unallocated
but earmarked for the Department of Corrections and other priorities for the
next legislative session.
FY’07
Supplemental Appropriations
Career
and Technology Education (HB 1234)
·
$1,177,720
to cover the costs of legislation concerning the Educational Employees Service
Incentive Plan (EESIP) that passed during the 2006 Legislative Session.
·
$1,580,086
to fund the increase in the costs associated with the Flexible Benefit
Allowance for certified personnel.
Department
of Central Services (HB 1234)
·
$3.2
million for building maintenance, energy, utilities and service contracts. DCS
operates state buildings at $6.25 per sq ft but had only been given $3.00 per
sq ft for upkeep.
Corporation
Commission (HB 1234)
·
$3,100,000
for lost fee revenues due to a change in federal law.
Department
of Corrections (HB 1234 & HB 1162)
·
$32,664,573
for funding the FY’07 state employee and teacher pay rises, plus monies to
cover projected increases in offenders.
Court of
Criminal Appeals (HB 1234)
·
$125,000
to cover FY’07 payroll costs and to restore full staff.
Department
of Education (HB 1234)
·
$18,800,000
for the Ad Valorem Reimbursement Fund.
·
$21,000,000
for the employers’ (school districts’) portion of FICA and Teachers’ Retirement
contributions for the $3,000 certified personnel salary increase from the 2006
Legislative Session.
·
$16,000,000
to fully fund the increase in the costs associated with the Flexible Benefit
Allowance for both certified and support personnel.
·
$1,000,000
for the additional 5% compensation for special education and alternative
education teachers for the $3,000 salary increase from the 2006 Legislative
Session per statute.
·
$3,500,000
to fund the increase in the number of teachers during the 2006-07 school years,
concerning the $3,000 salary increase from the 2006 Legislative Session.
Health
Department (HB 1234)
·
$100,000
for the Nursing Home Board of Examiners.
Regents
for Higher Education (HB 1234)
·
$5,500,000
in order to fully fund the obligations of OHLAP (
Office
of Juvenile Affairs (HB 1234)
·
$3,300,000
for construction of a new 18-bed detention center in
·
$1,000,000
for transportation costs, detention services, medical services and other
costs.
Council
on Law Enforcement Education & Training (HB 1234)
·
$815,832
to fully staff, furnish and operate the new Council headquarters in
Military
Department (HB 1184)
·
$1,500,000
to purchase land on which to rebuild armories.
Department
of Public Safety (HB 1234)
·
$100,000
to help immediately reduce the backlog of trucking permit requests.
Tourism
and Recreation (HB 1234)
·
$1,600,000
to cover costs associated with the Lake Texoma Sale, such as Federal land replacement
costs and employee severance pay.
Agriculture & Rural Development M
SB 161 (Justice/Richardson): Modifies the authorization to include not only
the owner but also the occupant of a property to kill certain animals for the
protection of livestock. Effective 11-1-07.
SB 517 (Wilson/McNeil):
Updates definitions in the Oklahoma Forestry Code, updates reference to forest
fires, expands powers of the officers, specifies circumstances and procedures
for lawful burns and sets fines; also modifies assessments of peanuts.
Effective 5-31-07.
SB 709 (Justice/Hyman): Provides that livestock manure and its
associated nonhazardous commingled materials and process water shall not be
considered a hazardous substance or hazardous waste as those terms are defined
in state law. Effective 11-1-07.
SB 710 (Justice/Hickman):
Adds and deletes definitions to the horticulture regulation laws, also expands
the authority of the Oklahoma Department of Agriculture, Food, and Forestry to inspect
any nursery stock, shipping documents, treatment records, sales records or
other relevant documents to determine the distribution of nursery stock, and
issue notices of violations, citations, compliance orders or other order
authorized pursuant to the Oklahoma Agriculture Code; and clarifies, in the
weights and measures laws, that if a product either intentionally or unintentionally
is mislabeled it is a violation. Effective 11-1-07.
SB 810 (Justice/Armes):
Modifies the powers of the State Board of Agriculture; authorizes the board of
directors to assess and collect a fine from any person or cotton gin that is
determined to have violated any provision of the Boll Weevil Eradication Act;
and deletes certain limitation on carrying firearms by law enforcement agents
of the Oklahoma Department of Agriculture, Food, and Forestry. Effective
11-1-07.
HB 1074 (Braddock/Lamb): Adds an exemption to the Oklahoma Explosives
and Blasting Regulation Act by authorizing any employee of the Oklahoma
Department of Agriculture, Food, and Forestry and the United States Department
of Agriculture Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, Wildlife Service,
who is trained and certified by the United States Department of Agriculture in
the safe handling and use of explosive materials, to be included in the official
duties of the employee. Effective 11-1-07.
HB 1490 (Sullivan/Easley):
Creates the Eucha-Spavinaw Management Act to preserve the court-ordered agreement
in the City of Tulsa court case filed in the United States District Court for
the Northern District of Oklahoma in 2001 (Case No. 01-CV0900). The legislation
directs the State Board of Agriculture and the Oklahoma Department of
Agriculture, Food, and Forestry to implement the phosphorous assessment tool
(phosphorous index) which the
HB 1520
(Dorman/Schulz): Creates the “Oklahoma
Controlled Burn Indemnity Fund” established for the benefit of landowners who
perform controlled burns. The fund shall compensate landowners for losses
incurred from a fire that spreads beyond control of the burner, except for
losses covered by insurance; also, creates the “Incident Command Site
Task Force” which shall study and make recommendations of appropriate incident
command systems including unified command for managing multidiscipline and
multijurisdictional fire incidents occurring in the state; authorizes Oklahoma
State University Fire Service Training to develop a program to educate
firefighters on a unified command protocol for fire incidents occurring in this
state and creates the “Firefighter Training Revolving Fund” for payment of firefighter
training programs through Oklahoma State University Fire Service
Training. Effective 11-1-07.
HB 1527
(Hyman/Garrison): Authorizes the Oklahoma
Department of Agriculture, Food, and Forestry to operate the “Oklahoma Agritourism
Program” for the purpose of stimulating economic growth and visibility in rural
communities by promoting and fostering agritourism ventures within Oklahoma.
This act also creates in the State Treasury a fund to be known as the
“Agritourism Revolving Fund”. Effective
11-1-07.
HB 1695 (Enns/Anderson):
Creates the Oklahoma AgrAbility Project
Act which provides services to disabled farmers. Effective 11-1-07.
HB 1796 (Armes/Wyrick): Reorganizes and recodifies the Oklahoma
Concentrated Animal Feeding Operations Act into two separate acts: one for swine facilities and one for other species. The purpose of the act is to provide less
confusion to both producers and citizens when trying to determine what requirements
apply to an individual operation.
Renames the
Creates a new Oklahoma
Concentrated Animal Feeding Operations Act.
Removes all references
to species other than swine and moves those references to new law.
Cleans up existing
language.
Effective 11-1-07.
HB 1797 (Armes/Myers): Changes current law regarding modification of
licenses for expanding Licensed Managed Feeding Operations (LMFO’S). This bill allows LMFO’s to modify an existing
license without risking their current license.
The modification would require public notice, compliance with hearing
requirements, and ultimate approval by the State Board of Agriculture. Effective 12-1-07.
HB 1914 (Richardson/Ballenger): Creates the Feral Swine Control Act. This act provides aggressive measures to
reduce the number of feral swine in
HB 1915 (Richardson/Justice): Modifies the permission to hunt and fish upon
land of others by excluding land primarily devoted to farming, ranching, or
forestry purposes, and also excluding school land. Also modifies the fine for conviction of
violating the provisions of this act. Also trespassing on land primarily devoted
to farming, ranching or forestry purposes is hereby prohibited. Effective 11-1-07.
Agriculture Funding
SB 334 appropriates $33,678,049 to the Oklahoma
Department of Agriculture, Food, and Forestry.
This amounts to an $863,143 increase over the agency’s FY’07
appropriation. Most of the increase will go to REI to open new sites in Alva
and
The Department will also be receiving a
portion of the Rainy Day spillover funds for the purpose of acquiring equipment
for their new lab ($250,000), vehicles for rural fire departments ($2,500,000)
and establishing an endowment for the Youth Expo program ($1,000,000).
Banking, Finance & Securities M
HB
1543 (Winchester/Corn): Modifies various provisions relating to banks and
banking, including:
·
Increases
the portion of capital a state bank may invest to promote the public welfare;
·
Prohibits
a bank, savings and loan or industrial loan company from establishing a branch
on the premises of an affiliate engaging in commercial activities (defined as
activities which a bank may not engage in);
·
Deletes
prohibition against industrial loan company or bank in a retail store;
·
Broadens
authority of Commissioner to authorize institution affected by an emergency to
open one or more temporary facilities;
·
Extends
current procedures relating to deposits where there is no payable-on-death
beneficiary to credit unions as well as banks;
· Extends procedures relating to deposits in accounts made by husband and wife primarily for business;
·
Clarifies
amount of loan or line of credit which may be made to a credit union member;
·
Authorizes
credit union to become owner and lessor of personal property upon the request
of and for the use of a member;
·
Modifies
various provisions relating to account proceeds payable to a beneficiary upon
the death of the account owner (P.O.D. accounts); and
·
For
purposes of cemetery perpetual care funds, authorizes a fund of less than
$100,000 to be deposited in a CD rather than a trust account and limits withdrawals
from such funds to those approved by Banking Commissioner.
Effective
1-1-08.
HB 1596
(Duncan/Mazzei): Creates the Uniform
Prudent Management of Institutional Funds Act to establish
standards of conduct and procedures for management and investing of
institutional funds. Effective 11-1-07.
Business & Labor M
SB 808
(Leftwich/Wesselhoft): Relates to the
SB 809 (Leftwich/McDaniel (Randy)): Expands exclusion from definition of “Wages”.
Prohibiting reduction in weekly benefit
solely based on retirement benefits if the employee made any contributions to
the retirement plan. Prohibiting certain
benefit wage charge against an employer upon certain notice being received from
another state under a reciprocal agreement.
Provides finality to certain appeals of written orders made by the
Oklahoma Employment Security Commission.
Prohibiting certain uses in other actions of Commission findings of fact
or law, judgments, conclusions or final orders.
Providing deadlines for certain assessments made against nonprofit organizations. Providing how service of process shall be
made. Providing an exception to
confidentiality requirements when providing information to federal or state law
enforcement authorities. Adding a member
to the Worker Safety Policy Council.
Requiring a surety bond for the Oklahoma Employment Security
Commission. Effective 11-1-07.
SB 909 (Crain/Blackwell): Relates to abstracting
and state government. The bill changes
the name of the Oklahoma Abstractors Law to the Oklahoma Abstractors Act. The bill adds and modifies definitions
relating to the Act. The bill creates
the Oklahoma Abstractors Board and provides for certain powers and duties of
the Board, membership, qualifications, appointment and confirmation, terms,
vacancies, removal, meetings, officers and duties, and quorum. Additional powers and duties of the Board are
provided, the Oklahoma Abstractors Board Revolving Fund is created, certain
deposits of funds are provided and a transfer of certain monies from the State
Auditor and Inspector (“200 Fund”) is made.
Provision is also made for certain increases in fees. There are two effective dates for the
bill. Certain provisions relating to the
Board and the revolving funds will be effective July 1, 2007. Other provisions relating to the Board and
the administration of the Act will be effective January 1, 2008. The bill also recodifies the Oklahoma
Abstractors Law (Act) from Title 74 to Title 1.
Effective 6-4-07.
SB 1028 (Laster/Steele): Relates to drug and
alcohol testing of employees.
Establishing prima facie evidence of administration of drug or alcohol
test. Clarifying what constitutes
compliance in an employer’s written drug and alcohol testing policy concerning
substances which may be tested. Effective
11-1-07.
HB 1497 (Sullivan/Aldridge): Making lawful the selling, leasing, renting
etc. of property by the trustees or beneficiaries of any trust. Amending definition of “alcohol and drug counseling”
and defining “scope of practice.” Effective
11-1-07.
Criminal Law & Procedure M
SB 109 (Nichols/Winchester): Modifies the circumstances
when a registered sex offender who has a child enrolled in a school or licensed
child care facility can enter the restricted safety zone. The bill deletes the authority for certain
persons to attend sanctioned activities with another person. Effective 4-18-07.
SB 371 (Aldridge/Joyner): Changes the penalty for a purposefully false
missing child report which causes the activation of an AMBER alert from a
misdemeanor to a felony, punishable by imprisonment in a county jail for up to
one year, a fine of at least $1,000, or both.
Effective 11-1-07.
SB 390 (Barrington/Peters): Allows disclosure of Juvenile Justice agency
records to the U.S. Department of Homeland Security and to employees of the
U.S. Probation Office. Effective
5-31-07.
SB 523 (Paddack/Cox): Requires the Department of Corrections to
refer inmates to the
SB 567 (Bass/Ingmire): Gives victims of identity theft the right to
file an incident report where the victim lives regardless of the jurisdiction
for any investigation or prosecution of the crime. It provides for sharing incident reports with
other law enforcement jurisdictions, and states that incident reports shall not
be open cases for purposes of reporting open case statistics. Effective 11-1-07.
SB 593 (Lamb/Sullivan): Allows issuance of search warrants to
authorize the installation and use of tracking devices in vehicles or other
moveable items, and establishes requirements for such warrants. Effective 7-1-07.
SB 659 (Coates/Duncan): Clarifies the crime of wearing a mask. The bill prohibits wearing a mask during the
commission of a crime or for purpose of coercion, intimidation or harassment. The penalty remained the same. Effective 7-1-07.
SB 677 (Corn/Duncan): Adds aggravated trafficking to the offenses
requiring mandatory 85% minimum sentences.
It extends the district attorney’s period of restitution agreements on
bogus checks to three years and clarifies amounts to be collected for court
costs on criminal cases. It provides
separate types of controlled substances possessed at the same time in violation
of law shall be separate offenses for each substance. It establishes amounts of certain substances
for the offense of aggravated trafficking and sets penalties. It provides a mandatory minimum sentence of
15 years for aggravated trafficking of which 85% must be served before parole
consideration. It prohibits pretrial and
bail release for aggravated trafficking offenses without the use of a Global
Positioning System (GPS) monitoring device and requires the device to remain
until acquittal, dismissal of case, or incarceration. The Department of Corrections is required to
collect certain statistical records on aggravated trafficking offenses. Effective 11-1-07.
SB 678 (Corn/Billy): Increases the Oklahoma Sentencing Commission
from 15 to 17 members. It allows the
Director of State Finance and the director of the Oklahoma State Bureau of
Investigations to appoint designees to the Commission to represent those
agencies. It requires Commission membership
to include the Director or Associate Director of the Department of Corrections,
and a Governor-appointed member from a faith-based organization that
specializes in prison reintegration services for inmates. The bill exempts the Department of
Corrections vehicles designed for use by probation and parole operations from
requirements to affix the words "State of
SB 748 (Mazzei/Terrill): Permits the Commissioner of Public Safety to
designate the portions of the federal-aid primary highways and the state
highway system located in and on the outskirts of a municipality for special
traffic-related enforcement by the Oklahoma Highway Patrol, requires notification
of affected local law enforcement agencies. Prohibits the affected local law
enforcement agencies receiving such notice from enforcing traffic‑related
statutes or ordinances on such portions of highways without prior written
approval of the Commissioner. Creates the Oklahoma License Plate Design Task
Force to choose the design of a new official
SB 868 (Reynolds/Tibbs): Establishes Taylor’s Law which allows family
members of murder victims to wear buttons with the murdered victim’s picture
displayed as a symbol of grief at the criminal trial. Effective 5-9-07.
SB 905 (Nichols/Duncan): Enacts district attorney omnibus bill. It includes urination in public under the
crime of outraging public decency. The
penalty for drive-by shooting and assault and battery with a deadly weapon are
increased to life imprisonment. The bill
authorizes the district attorney to enter into restitution agreements for bogus
checks and to defer prosecutions up to three (3) years. It modifies the statute of limitations for
accessory after the fact and makes the prosecution time limitations the same as
the crime itself. This measure prohibits
judicial review of sentences for plea agreements without the consent of the district
attorney. The bill provides that a
designee of the prosecuting attorney may witness an execution. In criminal actions where the defense of
insanity is raised and the defendant is not acquitted for insanity, the bill
authorizes that the defense may be raised on appeal and the appellate court
shall not modify the judgment or sentence on remand, but may order a new trial
without recommendations for sentencing.
The bill provides anticipatory search warrants under certain
circumstances, and authorizes search warrants necessary under the Security of
Communications Act. The definition of
nonviolent offense is modified to exclude the crime of drive-by shooting. In addition, the bill names the position of
Child Abuse Response Team (CART) forensic interviewer as Child Forensic
Interviewer and requires Agent III pay, benefits, and status for such
position. It directs 100% of the duties
of the CART forensic interviewer be education, training and services to
interview children. Effective 7-1-07.
SB 920 (Corn/Duncan): Modifies provisions for the Council on Law
Enforcement Education and Training. It
amends the definition of a security guard to exclude certain employer-employee
and contractual relationships with certified peace officers. It increases the number of continuing
education hours for a licensed private investigator and licensed security
guard. A Private Security Advisory Committee
is established. The bill changes the
training requirements for armed private investigators and exempts an actively
employed certified peace officer and a retired peace officer from the training
and psychological requirements. It
reduces the license fees for an armed security guard or armed private investigator
when the person making application or renewal is an actively employed certified
peace officer. Any peace officer or
security agency not otherwise qualified for a license must forfeit 20% of the
fee as a processing charge. The bill
modifies the CLEET Council membership to include the Commissioner of Public
Safety, the Director of the Bureau of Narcotics, the Director of the OSBI, a
tribal police officer, two sheriffs, two police chiefs, a police training
officer, a representative of East Central University, the past chair of the
CLEET Council, a municipal representative, and a person with accreditation experience
in training programs. It requires any
subsequent Director of CLEET to have a degree with a minimum of five years
active law enforcement experience. There
is created a Curriculum Review Board composed of six members to establish
standards and courses for all CLEET academies and trainings. The bill increases the required basic academy
hours, continuing education requirements, and mental health hours for full-time
and reserve officers. The implementation
of the increased hours of training shall be a phase-in over three years and is
subject to funding. The Council is required
to update the block of training relating to legal issues within 90 days
following adjournment of each legislative session. The Council is authorized to pay for staff to
train in other jurisdictions for the purpose of acquiring additional knowledge. After November 1, 2007, municipalities are
authorized to conduct basic training upon approval of CLEET but shall not
receive state funding unless the municipality conducted basic academies prior
to such date. Effective 11-1-07.
SB 1049 (Anderson/Denney): Provides procedures for seizure of an animal
if a law enforcement officer has reason to believe the animal has been
abandoned or neglected. Effective
11-1-07.
SB 1130 (Lamb/Johnson (Rob)): Requires the Department of Corrections, in
conjunction with the Pardon and Parole Board, to track the success and
recidivism of parolees required to have a two-stage parole consideration for
the first three years following their parole.
The annual and cumulative data to be collected must include offense
type, sentence length, release information, number of persons by offense type
eligible for parole, number of persons by offense type recommended for parole,
re-arrest data, re-incarceration data, employment data, and any other beneficial
information. The bill requires the
collected information to be made available to the Legislature, the Criminal Justice
Resource Center, and the Governor no later than March 1 following the first
data collection period. Effective
11-1-07.
SJR 28 (Nichols/Nations): Recognizes Max R.
Newberry for his dedicated work in developing the correctional industries
operation within the Department of Corrections.
The resolution renames the
HB 1027 (Smithson/Corn): Prohibits convicted felons, persons under
Department of Corrections supervision, or persons previously adjudicated as a
delinquent child or a youthful offender from possessing, carrying in a vehicle
either as the operator or as a passenger, or having in their place of residence
any altered air or toy pistol, in addition to any firearm. The bill extends the same penalty for use of
a firearm while committing a felony to use an altered air or toy pistol while
committing a felony. The bill defines
"altered toy pistol" as toy weapons which have been altered to
resemble real weapons. It defines
"altered air pistol" as air pistols altered from their original
manufactured state. Effective 11-1-07.
HB 1285 (Glenn/Wyrick): Applies the statute of limitations for
certain felonies to accessories of such felonies. Effective 11-1-07.
HB 1327 (Martin (Steve)/Ford): Includes assault and battery with a deadly
weapon in the statutory list of violent offenses, and changes the term
"child beating" to "child abuse". Effective 11-1-07.
HB 1329 (Martin (Steve)/Ford): Adjusts the penalty for identity theft to
imprisonment in the custody of the Department of Corrections for a period of
one year to five years. Effective
11-1-07.
HB 1385 (Ingmire/Lamb): Expands the definition of "allowable
expense" as it applies to the Oklahoma Crime Victims Compensation Act to
include reasonable cost of vehicle impound fees associated with collection and
security of crime scene evidence, limited to violent crimes occurring in a
vehicle owned by the crime victim.
Reimbursement for such fees is capped at $750. The bill expands the definition of "criminally
injurious conduct" as it applies to the Act to include offenses involving
the use of a vehicle with reckless disregard for the safety of others that
results in the death of a victim. It
permits the Administrator of the Crime Victims Compensation Board to determine
claims up to $10,000. It directs the
Board to hear and determine claims of $10,000 or more, while allowing the Board
the option to hear claims under $10,000.
The bill requires health care providers to refrain from debt collection
activities after receiving notice of a person's pending victim compensation
claim to recover medical costs, until the claim is awarded or deemed noncompensable. It requires the statute of limitations for
collection of such debt to be tolled during the period the provider must
refrain from collection activities. It
defines "collection activities" as repeatedly contacting a claimant
and threatening to turn the matter over to a debt collection agency or an
attorney, but excludes routine billing about the status of the claim. It permits the Board, at its discretion, to
extend the claim filing period up to two years from the date of an incident,
and allows the Board to extend the deadline beyond two years in child sexual assault
cases. The bill specifies that the
Sexual Assault Examination Fund shall provide sexual assault victims with forensic
medical examinations. It removes
limitations that previously narrowed such examinations to the procurement of
evidence and the administration of medical care to a one-time basis for immediate
trauma. It removes the requirement of
district attorney approval for authorization of the Crime Victims Compensation
Board to pay for sexual assault examinations.
It raises the amount payable by the Board for sexual assault
examinations to $450, and requires that payments only be made upon claims
signed by the victim or the victim's guardian and a health care
professional. The bill changes the
notice required to be provided to rape victims by investigating officers to
state that the victim has a right to a free forensic medical examination. It states that failure to report sexual
assault crimes to law enforcement may impede investigation and
prosecution. Effective 11-1-07.
HB 1612
(Roan/Barrington): Authorizes peace
officers to collect blood or saliva samples for DNA testing under certain
circumstances. Effective 11-1-07.
HB 1714 (Wesselhoft/Nichols): Authorizes the court at the time of
sentencing to prohibit a registered sex offender from accessing social network
web sites and to require registration of any electronic mail address, instant
message, chat or other Internet communication names or identity
information. Effective 11-1-07.
HB 1760 (Blackwell/Lamb): Provides a term of post-imprisonment
supervisions for any offender sentenced to prison for two years or more for a
sex-related offense. The post-imprisonment
term is at least three years after release from incarceration and the jury is required
to be advised of this requirement for sentencing. The measure provides exceptions for life or
life without parole for sex-related sentences.
The bill amends the safety zone law to prohibit loitering and makes
exceptions for persons receiving treatment at a licensed medical facility or
hospital to be within the restricted area.
It allows church attendance for worship when the religious leader has
been notified and gives written permission to attend. The Department of Corrections is required to
determine a sex offender’s risk level by application of a risk screening
tool. The Department must forward the
risk level and sex offender registration information to the local law
enforcement authority where the person will reside upon release from
prison. If the sex offender receives a
deferred or suspended sentence, the court must provide the risk level on the
day of sentencing. Each time a sex offender moves the Department of Corrections
must verify the risk level and submit it to the local law enforcement
agency. The Department of Corrections is
to establish a risk assessment review committee composed of at least five
members to provide oversight of the risk level process. The committee will select the risk level
screening tool, train staff, monitor use of the risk screening tool, and
analyze other screening tools as others become available. There are three risk levels with level one
being low risk and level three being high risk.
An offender’s risk level may be overridden by the court or the
Department. Aggravated sex offenders
must register for 15 years if the risk level is one; 25 years if the risk level
is two; and for life if the risk level is three. A sex offender registered for ten years
without any additional arrests may petition to remove the risk level and
release the person from the requirements of the Sex Offenders Registration
Act. A sex offender shall not be
prevented from registration if their residence is located within the prohibited
area for sex offenders. The Department
of Corrections shall verify the residence of a sex offender annually if the
risk level is one; semi-annually if the risk level is two; and every 90 days if
the risk level is three. A local law
enforcement agency may require verification at any time. Changes of address for sex offenders may be
sent by electronic transmission between the local law enforcement agency and
the Department of Corrections. The
measure modifies the prohibited living arrangements for sex offenders and
allows sex offenders to be married and living in the same residence or with two
or more blood relatives who are also sex offenders. The bill establishes the Oklahoma Statewide
Gang Intervention Steering Committee until February 1, 2012. The Committee is to be composed of 25 members. It provides appointment of the chair and
vice-chair, meetings, travel reimbursement, and administrative support by the
Criminal Justice Resource Center. The
Committee shall review and assess current efforts to reduce gang activity and
violence in
HB 1816 (Dank/Lamb): Modifies the penalties for certain child
abuse-related and sexual abuse offenses to make the imprisonment terms
comparable to the nationwide Jessica’s Law.
It provides that parents or other persons who engage in child abuse,
sexual exploitation of a child, and solicitation of a child for purposes of
pornography, or lewd molestation, with a child less than twelve (12) years of
age upon conviction are punishable by a mandatory minimum of 25 years
imprisonment. The crimes of child abuse
and sexual exploitation of a child add a fine of $500 to $5,000 in addition to
the imprisonment term. Effective 11-1-07.
HB 1895 (Morrissette/Ballenger): Creates the
HB 2101 (Cargill/Coffee): Creates the Transformational Justice
Act. It establishes a Reentry Policy
Council composed of 11 members. The
Council has the duty to review policies, programs and procedures to ensure
public safety during and after imprisonment, identify gaps in reentry programs,
review policies to recruit volunteers, and report to the Governor and Legislature
on its findings and recommendations. The
Transformational Justice Interagency Task Force is created with 13 members. The bill provides for the Task Force appointment
of a chair and vice chair, meetings, and travel reimbursement. The duties of the Task Force are to establish
goals for reducing recidivism, coordinate reentry programs, seek partnerships
with faith-based services, expand family-based treatment and other programs,
establish collaboration between schools, employment and community corrections,
and include use of victims-offender dialogues.
A revolving fund is created entitled the Reintegration of Inmates
Revolving Fund in the Office of Faith-Based Initiatives for the purpose of
making grants to assist in reintegration.
There is another revolving fund created by this bill entitled the
Transformational Justice Revolving Fund within the Department of Corrections
for the purpose of issuing bonuses to correctional officers who reduce
recidivism rates of offenders based upon performance reviews. Effective 11-1-07.
Corrections
Funding
For FY'08, the Department of Corrections (DOC)
received $477,543,364 in state appropriations.
The appropriation included annualization of the FY’07 supplemental, as
well as funding for projected inmate growth.
DOC also received $5 million from Rainy Day
Spillover funds for per diem increases for private prisons and halfway
houses.
Office
of Juvenile Affairs Funding
The Office of Juvenile Affairs (OJA) was appropriated
$110,060,812 for FY'08. This represents
a 5.6 percent increase ($5,841,227) from the original FY'07 appropriation. Funding changes will be used for the
following:
·
Operating
eight additional detention center beds ($270,000);
·
Increased
operating costs ($1 million);
·
$1,000
pay raise for classified staff in OJA field offices and juvenile institutions
who did not receive a $1,000 targeted pay raise in FY’07 ($163,000);
·
Rate
increase for Level E service providers ($486,180);
·
Increased
funding for Youth Service Agencies ($2 million);
·
Funding
for Community Intervention Centers (CICs) in
·
Providing
a pay increase to OJA facility and field classified staff (Eligible individuals
below their salary midpoint will receive up to $2,000, but will not exceed the
salary midpoint ($1,060,000).
OJA also received $50,000 in Rainy Day Spillover
funds for gang prevention and intervention.
Law
Enforcement Funding
Department
of Public Safety
The Department of Public Safety (DPS) was appropriated
$98,370,391 for FY’08. Included in the appropriation
was $4,400,000 to annualize pay raises enacted in FY’07 for OHP Troopers,
Communications staff, and Driver License Examiners.
Also included in FY’08 funding was annualization
of the $100,000 FY’07 supplemental for trucking permits, plus $300,000 in
additional funding to continue to improve permitting efficiency.
The Department also received funding in the
amount of $2 million for operating costs and $1.2 million to upgrade trooper
headquarters.
Under the DPS umbrella, the Board of Tests for
Alcohol and Drug Influence received $100,000 in additional funds and the
Oklahoma Department of Homeland Security received $100,000.
From Rainy Day spillover money, DPS received
an additional $5.5 million for the statewide interoperable communications
system. DPS also received $1 million to
replace high mileage OHP vehicles.
Bureau
of Narcotics and Dangerous Drugs
The Bureau received additional FY’08 funding
in the amount of $430,000 to annualize agent pay raises and new hires funded
for a half-year in FY’07.
Board of
Medicolegal Investigations
The Board received additional FY’08 funding in
the amount of $226,000 to annualize targeted pay raises funded for a half-year
in FY’07.
Council
on Law Enforcement Education and Training
The Council received $746,000 in additional
FY’08 base funding, which represents annualization of the FY’07 supplemental
appropriation. CLEET was also provided
$380,000 to cover mandated increases in basic academy hours per SB920.
State
Bureau of Investigation
The OSBI received additional FY’08 funding in
the amount of $911,083 to annualize agent pay raises and new hires funded for a
half-year in FY’07. OSBI also received
an additional $2 million for operations, $745,000 for the
Attorney
General
The Office of the Attorney General received additional
funding in the amount of $1,120,747 for FY’08.
Included in the new funding was $400,000 to help pay operating costs of
the new Office headquarters, $500,000 for the Domestic Violence Unit, and
$175,000 for Court Appointed Special Advocates (CASA).
District
Attorneys’ Council
The District Attorneys’ Council received additional
funding in the amount of $827,468 for FY’08.
Funding included $500,000 for operations and $327,468 to fully fund the
state employee pay raise passed in FY’07.
Fire
Marshal
The Office of the State Fire Marshal was given
an additional $200,000 in FY’08 funding to be passed thru to the Council on
Firefighter Training.
Economic Development & Commerce M
SB 623 (Bass/Armes): Clarifies definitions of crew and
above-the-line personnel for film production under the Compete with Canada Film
Act. Waives requirements regarding residency
and employment of Oklahomans where there is a lack of
SB 871 (Gumm/Peterson (Ron)): Modifies requirement that employees
qualifying under Quality Jobs program reside in the state by requiring such
employees be subject to
Commerce Funding
SB 334 appropriates $28,104,894 to the Department
of Commerce. This amounts to a
$3,022,058 increase over the agency’s FY’07 appropriation. Most of the increase
($2,500,000) will be used to pay for increased bond payments associated with
the American Indian Cultural Center.
Historical
Society Funding
SB 334 appropriates $14,687,451 to the Oklahoma
Historical Society. The agency also received
$250,639 in order to cover debt service increase associated with the
Career & Technology Education Measures
HB 1556
(Denney/Bingman): Amends the Oklahoma
Campus Security Act to clarify the definition of public school district
includes all free schools supported by public taxation and includes K-12
schools and technology center schools.
Effective 11-1-07.
Career & Technology Education Funding
CareerTech received a total appropriation of
$154,864,391. This is an increase of
$7,577,033 (5.1%) over the original FY’07 appropriation of $147,287,358. Primary funding changes are as follows:
·
$1,473,318
for the mandated FY’08 Teachers’ Minimum Salary Schedule (During the 2006
Legislative Session, the FY’08 Salary Schedule was changed in order to provide
an additional $600 across-the-board teacher salary increase. This additional funding includes the
employers’ portion of FICA and Teachers’ Retirement Contributions.);
·
$370,000
for annualization of the $0.50 per hour support personnel pay increase that
went into effect on October 1, 2006;
·
$2,000,067
to fully fund the Flexible Health Benefit Allowance for all certified
personnel;
·
$1,113,480
to cover the costs of legislation concerning the Educational Employees Service
Incentive Plan (EESIP) that passed during the 2006 Legislative Session;
·
$800,000
for general operations of the agency;
·
$400,000
for rural firefighter and first responder training;
·
$2,757,806
to annualize the supplemental appropriation that the agency received to cover
the costs of the Flexible Health Benefit Allowance and EESIP; and
·
$4.5
million in lottery funds for capital projects.
CareerTech also received an additional $1.2
million in excess revenue from the Constitutional Reserve Fund for Metro Tech.
Common Education Measures
SB 103 (Paddack/Thomsen): Requires public schools to conduct a minimum
of one lockdown drill each year for the purpose of securing school buildings to
prevent or mitigate injuries or deaths that may result from a threat on or near
the school. Effective 7-1-07.
SB 179
(Crutchfield/Benge): Removes the requirement
for ten middle schools to be selected to receive math labs each year and
instead provides that the number of schools selected will be based on the funds
available and number of computers necessary for a class of students at each
qualifying school. Effective 7-1-07.
SB 376
(Aldridge/Piatt): Requires the Commissioners
of the Land Office (CLO) to utilize certain procedures for obtaining appraisals
and determining fair market value when acquiring real property from a state
agency. Specifies that fair market value
will be the lesser of the average or median values of three appraisals
obtained. Effective 7-1-07.
SB 482
(Wilcoxson/Coody): Modifies district
professional development plans by changing a mandate to authorization for
districts to include certain specific components in the plan. Effective 11-1-07.
SB 496
(Reynolds/Kern): Prohibits public higher
education institutions and technology center schools from entering into
agreements to provide student data to any creditor for purposes of marketing
consumer credit to students. Effective
7-1-07.
SB 586 (Eason
McIntyre)/Pittman): Directs the Oklahoma
Commission for Teacher Preparation to emphasize recruiting efforts and target
more of their scholarship funds for National Board certification to high
poverty and low-performing schools.
Effective 7-1-07.
SB 780
(Wilson/Liebmann): Authorizes the
Economic Development Generating Excellence (EDGE) Fund Board of Investors to
retain investment managers, consultants, auditors, and actuaries, to have the
State Treasurer manage EDGE funds not allocated to investment managers, and to
select custodial banks for EDGE fund transactions and custody of securities in
the EDGE Fund portfolio. Sets out the standard of care for the EDGE Fund Board
of Investors. Authorizes two FTE for the Office of the State Treasurer to
provide staffing of the Board of Investors of the EDGE Fund. Modifies the process
of recommending the seven members of the EDGE Fund Policy Board. The provision
authorizing the use of investment managers and the State Treasurer to manage
EDGE Fund is effective 7-1-07. The remainder of the bill is effective 6-4-07.
SB 921 (Jolley/Jones): Creates the Achieving Classroom Excellence II
Task Force to study the state curricular standards, performance levels and cut
scores and compare to those of other states and the National Assessment of Educational
Progress (NAEP) standards. Effective
7-1-07.
SB 925
(Jolley/Miller): Creates the School
Funding Formula Task Force to review the statutorily created formula for
funding the public schools of this state and make recommendations on
modernization of the formula, the ability to determine how categorical funds
are expended, issues raised by recent school finance litigation, and any other
modifications to the formula that would enhance the state’s ability to provide
every child with quality instruction.
Effective 7-1-07.
HB 1051
(Cargill/Coffee): Provides students who
have been victims of certain felony offenses by other students the right to be
kept separated from the student offender at school and during school transportation. Requires the Office of Juvenile Affairs to
notify school districts when a student is adjudicated for certain sex
offenses. Requires school districts to
notify victims. Allows victims to elect
to be separated from the offender.
Allows offender to transfer to another school or another district. Establishes the Diabetes Management in
Schools Act. Requires a diabetes medical
management plan to be developed by a personal health care team for each student
with diabetes while at school in order to assist students with the management
and care of their diabetes. Permits
diabetic student to perform blood glucose level checks, administer insulin, and
treat hypoglycemia and hyperglycemia while at school or at a school
activity. Effective 7-1-07.
HB 1134
(Benge/Crutchfield): Increases the
minimum teacher salary schedule beginning with the 2007-08 school year for
teachers with ten or more years of experience.
Provides for a $425 increase at the Bachelor’s degree level, $850 at the
Master’s degree level, and $1,700 for a doctorate. Note that these increases are in addition to
the $600 across-the-board teacher pay raise the Legislature committed to last
year. Effective 7-1-07.
HB 1390
(Kern/Wilcoxson): Directs the Oklahoma
Commission for Teacher Preparation to award grants for the purpose of
implementing comprehensive reading reform and systemic change to schools for
the Literacy First reading professional development institutes. Requires all kindergarten through third grade
teachers to participate in all phases of the training program. Requires a literacy resource specialist to be
employed for at least two years after completion of program. Effective 7-1-07.
HB 1476
(Coody/Jolley): Creates the Passport to
Financial Literacy Act. Requires
personal financial literacy instruction which shall include areas such as
understanding credit card debt, responsibilities of renting or buying a home,
retirement planning, bankruptcy, balancing a checkbook, borrowing and investing
money, insurance, taxes, and identity theft.
Requires students entering 7th grade in the 2008-09 school
year to satisfactorily complete all areas of instruction in personal financial
literacy as required in order to graduate from high school. Authorizes school districts to provide
instruction to students during grades 7-12 and allows districts to determine
when each area of instruction shall be presented. Authorizes districts to integrate instruction
into existing courses or provide a separate course. Effective July 1, 2007.
HB 1477
(Coody/Garrison): Modifies requirements
for certification as a school principal by adding building-level leadership
skills to the program in education administration which must be completed. Establishes certification requirements for
school superintendents, which shall include certification as a school
principal, completion of a program in education administration with an emphasis
on district-level leadership skills, instructional leadership, organizational
leadership, education finance, education law, risk management, collaborative
and community leadership, and ethical leadership. Candidates for superintendent certification
must also complete any other professional education requirements fixed by the
State Board of Education, attain a passing score on the subject area competency
examination, and document a minimum of two years of administrative experience
in public or private schools accredited by the Board. Effective 7-1-07.
HB 1556
(Denney/Bingman): Amends the Oklahoma
Campus Security Act to clarify the definition of public school district
includes all free schools supported by public taxation and includes K-12
schools and technology center schools.
Effective 11-1-07.
HB 1557
(Denney/Morgan): Adds two members to the
Oklahoma Partnership for School Readiness Board: a representative of a state association of
federally funded early childhood programs appointed by the Governor and the
Dean of the
HB 1589 (Shumate/Eason
McIntyre): Authorizes sponsorship of
charter schools by certain institutions of higher education. Limits establishment of new charter schools
to three per year in each county with more than 500,000 population. Requires the State Department of Education to
provide ten hours of training for charter school applicants. Extends the maximum length of a charter
school contract from three to five years.
Effective 7-1-07.
HB 1593
(Jones/Williamson): Expands the Academic
Achievement Awards program which provides monetary awards to teachers and administrators
in high performing schools and schools that attain the highest annual improvement
as measured by the Academic Performance Index (API). Provides awards in amounts ranging from
$3,000 to $500 to the top four schools in each category, as well as to all
schools that attain a perfect API score of 1500. Specifies that a school site shall receive
the highest award for which it qualifies, but in no case shall any school
receive more than one award. Effective
7-1-07.
HB 1601
(Hickman/Jolley): Prohibits recess from
counting toward the 60 minutes of required physical education each week for elementary
schools. Creates the Fit Kids Physical
Education Task Force to make recommendations related to physical education and
physical activity requirements for students in the public schools. Effective 7-1-07.
HB 1761
(Blackwell/Laughlin): Directs the State
Treasurer to transfer from the General Revenue Fund an amount equal to all
monies accruing to the Public Building Fund on or before July 15, 2008, and
each year thereafter, to the State Land Reimbursement Fund. Provides for each county to receive a portion
of the reimbursement fund equal to the amount of ad valorem tax revenue which
would have been received by the county if state-owned land was not exempt from
ad valorem taxation. Requires each
county assessor to prepare reports listing the legal description, number of
acres, taxable value, tax rate, and property tax amount for each property
eligible for reimbursement by the fund.
Effective 7-1-07.
HB 1762
(Blackwell/Laughlin): Authorizes eligibility
for the Oklahoma Higher Learning Access Program for students enrolled in a
school district that serves students who reside in both this state and an
adjacent state pursuant to a contract authorized by law. Allows eleventh- and twelfth-grade students
who qualify under this new authorization to enter into program
participation. Effective 6-4-07.
Common Education (K-12) Funding
Common Education received a total appropriation
of $2,480,155,207. This is an increase
of $132,113,952 (5.6%) over the original FY’07 appropriation of $2,348,041,255.
Additional funding was provided for the following:
·
$32,224,500
for the mandated FY’08 Teachers’ Minimum Salary Schedule (During the 2006 Legislative
Session, the FY’08 Salary Schedule was changed in order to provide an
additional $600 across-the-board teacher salary increase. This additional funding includes the
employers’ (school districts’) portion of FICA and Teachers’ Retirement
Contributions);
·
$7,218,750
for annualization of the $0.50 per hour support personnel pay increase that
went into effect on October 1, 2006;
·
$43,691,000
to fully fund the Flexible Health Benefit Allowance for all certified personnel
($31,804,000) as well as for all support personnel (11,887,000);
·
$22,000,000
for annualization of the supplemental appropriation pertaining to the employers’
(school districts’) portion of FICA and Teachers’ Retirement Contributions as
well as the 5% additional compensation for special education and alternative
education teachers;
·
$11,900,000
to cover the costs of legislation concerning the Educational Employees Service
Incentive Plan (EESIP) that passed during the 2006 Legislative Session;
·
$3,025,000
for National Board Certification bonuses that are paid to certified teachers,
school psychologists, speech language pathologists, and audiologists who are
nationally certified;
·
$125,000
for the State/Federal School Lunch Match Program;
·
$5,617,800
to provide required remediation for students who do not score at least at the
satisfactory level on the reading and math tests administered to 7th
graders during the 2006-07 school year;
·
$2,045,000
for Academic Achievement Awards to qualified employees at schools that attain
the highest overall student achievement and improvement as measured by the
Academic Performance Index;
·
$4,500,000
in additional funding for school district operations;
·
$500,000
for math labs for underperforming middle school math classes;
·
$550,000
for a Rise school program that will be designed to serve young children with
physical disabilities from birth to five years of age ($400,000 of this amount
is one-time funding);
·
$350,000
to provide more scholarships for teachers and administrators to attend Great
Expectations training;
·
$350,000
in additional funding for Alternative Education;
·
$500,000
in new funding for the A+ Schools Program in order to provide ongoing support
of the network and allow additional schools to participate;
·
$350,000
in one-time funding to Common Education for capital improvements at the
Omniplex; and
·
$100,000
to fund grants to school districts to establish robotics programs at eligible
districts throughout the state.
Common Education also received an additional
$27 million in excess revenue from the Constitutional Reserve Fund to be
utilized as follows:
·
$22
million to fund an additional $400 average teacher salary increase; and
·
$5
million to fund an Educare Program.
Higher Education M
SB 496 (Reynolds/Kern): Prohibits public higher education
institutions and technology center schools from entering into agreements to
provide student data to any creditor for purposes of marketing consumer credit
to students. Effective 7-1-07.
SB 777 (Leftwich/Terrill): Modifies the requirements for appointment of
members to the Board of Regents for
SB 820 (Morgan/Jones): Creates a permanent funding source for the
Oklahoma Higher Learning Access Program (OHLAP), beginning July 1, 2008. Each year, the State Regents for Higher
Education will provide the State Board of Equalization with an estimate of the
amount of revenue necessary to fund OHLAP awards. The Board will make a determination of that
amount and subtract it from the amount it certifies as available for
appropriation from the General Revenue Fund.
The Director of State Finance will transfer this amount to the OHLAP
Trust Fund on a periodic basis as needed.
Redirects revenues from horse racing and the State-Tribal Gaming Act
that have been deposited to the Oklahoma Higher Learning Access Trust Fund to
the General Revenue Fund, beginning July 1, 2008. Modifies eligibility requirements for OHLAP by
adding a requirement for students to be
HB 1137
(Benge/Crutchfield): Increases the
bonding authority for the endowed chairs program from $50 to $100 million. Effective 7-1-07.
HB 1384 (Ingmire/Johnson
(Mike)): Allows institutions of higher
education to keep information related to donors confidential. Effective
5-31-07.
HB 2103 (Cargill/Johnson
(Mike)): Directs each institution within
the Oklahoma State System of Higher Education to offer to resident students
enrolling for the first time as a fulltime undergraduate beginning with the
2008-2009 academic year, a tuition rate that will be guaranteed for a period of
not less than four consecutive academic years at the comprehensive and regional
universities and for not less than two consecutive years at the two-year institutions. Provides students with the option of
participating or not participating in the guaranteed tuition rate program and
requires students to indicate their election at the time of enrollment. Requires institutions within the Oklahoma
State System of Higher Education to adopt an instructional material policy that
requires bookstores to provide students the option of purchasing textbooks
unbundled with other supplemental instructional materials when possible and
requires publishers and bookstores to inform professors of textbook prices and
the changes made to new editions.
Effective 11-1-07.
Postsecondary
Education Funding
Higher Education received a total
appropriation of $1,053,949,576. This is
an increase of $120,015,696 (12.8%) over the original FY’07 appropriation of
$933,933,880. $85.5 million of this appropriation
increase is to replace one-time Rainy Day Fund Spillover used for operations in
FY’07. Primary funding changes are as
follows:
·
$79,200,000
to replace Constitutional Reserve Fund Spillover funding that was appropriated
to the agency in FY’07 for operational expenditures;
·
$11,005,000
for the FY’08 increase in OHLAP (
·
$18,500,000
for Higher Education Institutional budgets;
·
$2,000,000
for the
·
$2,900,000
for the OSU Agriculture Experiment Station and Cooperative Extension Offices;
·
$2,900,000
for the OU
·
$1,000,000
for the
·
$1,000,000
for capital improvements at OU;
·
$1,200,000
for capital improvements at OSU Tulsa;
·
$300,000
for the OU Center for Education Excellence; and
·
$27,360
for an increase in debt service payments for the Quartz Mountain Arts and
Higher Education also received an additional
total of $42.3 million in excess revenue from the Constitutional Reserve Fund
as follows:
·
$1.8
million for
·
$4
million for a forensics building at the
·
$16.5
million for capital projects – OU ($5.5 million), OSU ($5.5 million), and
regional universities and 2-year colleges ($5.5 million); and
·
$20
million in funding to address operational needs at all of the state’s higher education
institutions.
Arts
Council Funding
The Oklahoma Arts Council received a total appropriation
of $5,150,967. This is an increase of
$708,157 (15.9%) over the original FY’07 appropriation of $4,442,810. The majority of this funding will be used to
fund arts programs throughout the state.
Center
for the Advancement of Science and Technology Funding
OCAST received a total appropriation of
$22,456,507. This is an increase of
$13,891 (0.1%) over the original FY’07 appropriation of $22,442,616. Primary funding changes are as follows:
·
$5,000,000
of one-time funding was removed;
·
$4,000,000
was provided for a
·
$500,000
was set aside for a
·
$350,000
was given to the Oklahoma Medical Research Foundation; and
·
$150,000
in funding for Seed Capital was provided.
OCAST also received an additional $6 million
in excess revenue from the Constitutional Reserve Fund for a
Educational
Television Authority Funding
OETA received a total appropriation of
$8,394,383. This is an increase of
$3,230,033 (62.5%) over their FY’07 appropriation of $5,164,350. $3.2 million of this amount will be used to
allow the agency to complete the nationally required conversion to digital
television before the deadline of February 18, 2009.
Department
of Libraries Funding
The Department of Libraries received a total
appropriation of $7,294,856. This is an
increase of $447,125 (6.5%) over the FY’07 appropriation of $6,847,731. $425,000 of this amount will be used to fund
State Aid to Public Libraries.
Physician
Manpower
Training
Commission Funding
The Physician Manpower Training Commission received
a total appropriation of $5,523,502.
This is an increase of $53,003 (1.0%) over the FY’07 appropriation of
$5,470,499. $50,000 of this amount will
be used to expand the Physician Assistant Scholarship Program.
OSSM received a total appropriation of
$7,585,732. This is an increase of
$355,224 (4.9%) over the FY’07 appropriation of $7,230,508. Primary funding changes are as follows:
·
$20,226
for an increase in the agency’s debt service;
·
$65,000
for the Regional Outreach Program in Poteau; and
·
$225,000
in order to create an additional Regional Outreach Program at a site that is to
be determined later.
Energy,
Environment & Utilities Measures
SB 102 (Myers/DeWitt): Increases the membership of the Storage Tank
Advisory Council from nine members to eleven members. The new members appointed to the council will
represent petroleum storage tank operators, agricultural cooperatives or county
commissioners. Effective 7-1-07.
SB 136 (Crutchfield/Hyman): Amends current statutes governing discovery
gas wells by exempting such wells from the restrictions on the amount of
production allowed by rules of the Corporation Commission. It further increases the size of the drilling
and spacing units allowed for gas wells having initial water saturations at or
above fifty percent, from 160 acres to 640 acres in size. SB 136 amends a statute enacted in 2006 which
authorizes the Corporation Commission to remediate problems of seeping natural
gas by authorizing the Commission to address natural gas leaking from a
pipeline operated by certain regulated utilities. The bill limits expenditures to address these
problems to a maximum of $125,000 from the Corporation Commission Gas Seep
Fund. Finally, the bill increases the
amount of voluntary fees levied on oil and natural gas to fund the activities
of the Commission on Marginally Producing Oil and Gas Wells. The fee increase will be effective
1-1-08. Effective 6-4-07.
SB 509 (Wyrick/Jackson): Amends statues governing solid waste landfill
disposal sites by authorizing the Department of Environmental Quality to
reimburse landfill operators for installing wheel washing equipment on their
sites. DEQ may now reimburse operators
for their capital investments in this type of equipment instead of having the
operators retain the amount from fees collected at the site. Wheel washing systems are used to spray mud
off the tires of trucks leaving the landfill site so mud doesn’t build up on
roadways near the landfill entrance. Additionally,
this bill allows DEQ to utilize a portion of the same funds, collected and
remitted by the landfill operators for the reimbursement of wheel washing
systems, to properly close solid waste landfills that are no longer in operation
and the responsible owner or operator cannot be located and compelled to pay
the costs of such closure. Effective
7-1-07.
SB 609 (Sweeden/Piatt): Modifies the method of accounting systems
used to track fuel or gas removed from utilities storage from the basis of “last
in first out” to a “weighted average cost” method of inventory accounting. This amendment is effective January 1, 2008,
to coincide with utilities fiscal year accounting procedures. The bill became the vehicle used to create
the
SB 734 (Morgan/Adkins): Begins by recapping
the important legislative actions taken on electric industry restructuring in
the past decade and creates a new Joint Electric Utility Restructuring Task
Force to continue studying the issues facing the electric service providers in
this state. The task force is made up of
the members of the Senate Energy and Environment Committee and the House Energy
and Technology Committee and the bill outlines certain specific issues to be
addressed by the task force, including municipal annexation, territorial
boundaries, condemnation of electric facilities, court rulings resulting from
previously enacted legislation and the impact of regional transmission
organizations on the electric generation marketplace. The task force will remain in effect until December
1, 2009 unless they elect to terminate themselves at an earlier date. Effective 5-9-07.
SB 747 (Bingman/McNeil): Modifies the Oklahoma Waste Tire Recycling
Act by modifying the fees collected on tires with a rim diameter greater than
17½ inches but less than 19½ inches to $2.50 per tire. This would add a new category of fees for
tires that would fit a standard size sport utility vehicle. The fee for passenger car tires remains $1
and the fee for large truck tires remains $3.50. The bill redirects some of the duties
relating to approval of claims, inspection of tire dealers and verification of
records to the Department of Environmental Quality from the Tax Commission. The bill authorizes the DEQ to penalize tire
dealers and motor license agents if they determine fees have not been paid
correctly. The bill also creates a Waste
Tire Recycling Task Force to study the waste tire fee structure, compensation
criteria and potential modifications to current law which would enhance the
ability of the state to provide efficient and effective recycling of waste
tires. The task force will consist of 11
members representing end users of waste tires, transporters of waste tires, tire
dealers and legislators and will continue until July 2008. Effective 7-1-07.
HB 1034 (Cox/Wyrick): Attempts to provide a legislative solution to
address problems many adjacent landowners encounter at
HB 1081 (Shoemake/Ballenger): Authorizes a rural water district to levy a
fee on their customers, not to exceed ten cents per 1,000 gallons of water
sold, to be included in their water rates for the purpose of providing funds to
any entity selected by the board for purposes that will assist the board in the
performance of its duties for the district and which will benefit the area
within the district or the members of the district. Effective 4-17-07.
HB 1374 (Schwartz/Bingman): A request bill for the Corporation Commission,
updates the statutes governing their agency’s petty cash fund and allow tax and
fee payers to use debit or credit cards for payment. Effective 4-18-07.
HB 1396 (Adkins/Burrage): Modifies the application of the Oklahoma
Storage Tank Regulation Act to exclude certain small tank systems. It further amends the regulations of the Petroleum
Storage Tank Indemnity Fund by allowing state agencies to access the Indemnity
Fund by paying the same co-payments as other eligible tank owners or operators
are required to pay and by authorizing the Corporation Commission to use monies
from the Indemnity Fund to pay all costs associated with administering the
Compliance and Inspection Department of the Commission. Removes the requirement for expenditures made
in certain emergency situations requiring remediation of leaking storage tanks
to come under the provisions of the Oklahoma Central Purchasing Act. Finally the measure authorizes the
Corporation Commission to promulgate rules to implement the requirements of the
federal Energy Policy Act of 2005 as it relates to the regulation of petroleum
storage tanks. Effective 5-8-07.
HB 1399 (Liebmann/Branan): Attempts to strengthen and update purchasing
practices for scrap metal dealers. The
bill maintains the already required ten-day holding period for copper and
certain other scrap metals and it further requires the buyers of such goods to
keep detailed records when they purchase ten pounds or more of regulated metal
goods. The bill increases multiple fines
and jail penalties for violations of various statutes governing purchases and
sales of regulated metal materials and record keeping requirements. This bill attempts to restrict sales of
stolen materials to scrap dealers. Since
much of this material is stolen from utility facilities and therefore creates
potentially life threatening situations for utility workers this bill
authorizes utility representatives and law enforcement officers to inspect
salvage dealer properties to identify tagged materials during the required
holding period. A new provision of law
included in the bill prohibits junk dealers or salvage dealers from purchasing
a list of restricted materials, including copper or aluminum coils and machinery
or supplies used in drilling oil or gas wells, unless the seller of such goods
can prove he or she owns the property.
To help protect salvage dealers, the bill enacts a new statute requiring
the dealer to pay the seller of any regulated material by check for amounts in
excess of $25. The dealer can choose to
pay the seller at the time of the purchase or by mail if the seller chooses. Effective 7-1-07.
HB 1764 (Blackwell/Laughlin): Creates the Oklahoma Electric Power
Transmission Task Force to conduct an electric transmission study. The task force members are required to be
appointed by June 15, 2007 and the first meeting will take place by August 1,
2007. The task force shall be chaired by
a Corporation Commissioner who shall be selected by the Chair of the
Corporation Commission. The task force shall
remain in effect until thirty days following the completion of an electric
power transmission study for renewable energy in
Corporation Commission Funding
SB 334 appropriates $15,270,533 to the Corporation
Commission.
The agency’s budget was reduced by $1.9 million
in recognition of a federal repayment due next fall. The budget will need to be adjusted back up
by $1.9 million in FY’09.
The agency will be authorized to expend
$3,060,116 from the One-Stop Trucking Fund.
This does not reflect an increase in spending for the agency. This fund was a regular revolving fund last
year, but now is a certified fund subject to legislative authorization.
Conservation Commission Funding
SB 334 appropriates $9,187,084 to the Conservation
Commission. This amounts to a $233,289
increase over the agency’s FY’07 appropriation. Most of the increase will be
used to pay for increased operating costs.
The Commission will also be receiving
$6,500,000 of the Rainy Day Spillover funds for the purpose of water and flood
prevention projects.
Gaming, Sports & Amusements M
SB 513 (Wilcoxson/Denney): Caps the lottery revenue going to the School
Consolidation and Assistance Fund at $5 million with the revenue in excess of
that amount being allocated by the State Department of Education to public
schools for the purpose of purchasing technology equipment in order to conduct
on-line testing as required by the Achieving Classroom Excellence Act of
2005. Requires each person entitled to
any portion of a lottery prize in excess of $600 claimed by a trust to provide
the Oklahoma Lottery Commission with their name, address, social security number
and valid identification prior to the payment of prize; however, such
information shall be confidential and not subject to the Oklahoma Open Records
Act. Establishes a withholding process
for lottery prize winners that owe delinquent state taxes. Effective 7-1-07.
SB 984
(Sparks/Armes): Relates to amusements
and sports. The bill enacts the Interstate
Compact on Licensure of Participants in Live Horse Racing with Pari-mutuel
Wagering for certain purposes relating to the uniform licensing of participants
in live horse racing with pari-mutuel wagering, the growth of the horse racing
industry in each party state, the authorization of the Oklahoma Horse Racing
Commission to participate in the compact, the provision for participation in
the compact by officials of the party states and to permit certain contracts
for the purposes of the compact and the establishment of the compact committee
created by the compact as an interstate governmental entity for certain
criminal history record information purposes. The bill also removes certain smoking restrictions
in the State-Tribal Gaming Act relating to an organization licensee operating a
racetrack location and certain additional player terminals. Effective 11-1-07.
Government M
(County, Municipal, Local)
SB 160 (Laughlin/Blackwell):
Authorizes municipalities with a
population of no more than 2,500, which have a municipal officer or employee
who has a proprietary interest in a business which is the only business of that
type within 5 miles of the corporate limits, to purchase items from such
business if the municipality purchases items that are regularly sold to the
general public and does not exceed the price charged to the general public.
Effective 7-1-07.
SB 379
(Ballenger/Rousselot): Authorizes newly
elected county officials to be reimbursed by their respective counties for
approved training provided before taking office. Effective 11-1-07.
SB 426
(Eason McIntyre/Martin (Steve)):
·
Removes requirement that a municipality
situated in three or more counties which contain large areas of rural land not
served by water or sewer facilities shall accept the dedication, repair and
maintenance of roadways in either platted or unplatted areas.
·
States that municipalities and other local
governments contracting for professional services shall presume attorneys,
engineers and members of other professions to perform their professional
services for local and state governments as independent contractors.
·
Codifies FCCPRB-1 into the
Effective
11-1-07.
SB 437 (Aldridge/Joyner):
Expands the number of prisoners allowed
to be supervised by jailers or other persons in certain types of jail
settings. Effective 11-1-07.
SB 590 (Laughlin/Hickman):
Modifies specification of size for plat
recordings to 8½ x 11 inches; provides for county audits every two years and
shall include a performance audit, a financial audit, agreed-upon procedures,
limited review, or examination of the books and records; makes it unlawful for
a county officer holding elective office and who will not serve a succeeding
term to make any changes to the licensing or source code of county computer software
currently being used; modifies purchasing authority of the county purchasing
agent to the bid limit not to exceed $10,000 requires payment of purchase
orders to be paid after presentation for payment; and modifies fee for
discharging liens. Effective 11-1-07.
SB 639 (Bass/Cox):
Authorizes the State Department of
Health and city-county health departments to enter into contract for professional
services at any time with a physician assistant, registered nurse, advanced
practice nurse, nurse midwife, registered dietician, occupational therapist,
physical therapist, or speech-language pathologist who has retired from state
service. Effective 11-1-07.
SB 658
(Rice/McDaniel (Randy)): Authorizes the
county commissioners of counties to gift, transfer, or assign and execute the
deeds of conveyance of lands that are owned by the counties to nonprofit organizations
to be used for the purpose of affordable housing construction with as long as
these certain requirements are followed:
·
The land is no longer needed for county
purposes to be determined at a public hearing by a vote of the majority of the
commissioners;
·
The nonprofit organization has experience
in affordable housing construction, and has a history of reputable service;
·
A county officer or employee of a county
does not have or acquire a personal interest as may exist with a nonprofit
organization, whether direct or indirect, in any land transaction authorized by
this subsection; and
·
If a nonprofit organization does not begin
construction within two (2) years from the receipt of the land from a county as
authorized by this section, the land shall revert back to the county.
The bill
also clarifies the execution of such authorization by adding an exception for
those counties operating under a public trust.
Effective 11-1-07.
SB 748 (Mazzei/Terrill): Permits the Commissioner of Public Safety to
designate the portions of the federal-aid primary highways and the state
highway system located in and on the outskirts of a municipality for special
traffic-related enforcement by the Oklahoma Highway Patrol, requires notification
of affected local law enforcement agencies. Prohibits the affected local law
enforcement agencies receiving such notice from enforcing traffic‑related
statutes or ordinances on such portions of highways without prior written
approval of the Commissioner. Creates the Oklahoma License Plate Design Task
Force to choose the design of a new official
Provisions relating to the Oklahoma License
Plate Design Task Force and license plate design are effective 6-4-07. Other provisions are effective 11-1-07.
SB 994
(Riley/Benge): Modifies the real property
description relating to the
SB 1021 (Bingman/McCullough):
Requires the notice of filing for
annexation upon a deputy municipal clerk and the mayor; excluding certain
tracts of land from municipal taxation; amends numerous provisions of the
Improvement District Act. The bill includes the following provisions:
·
Expands the definition of cost to include expenses
related to bond financing;
·
Authorizes creation of an improvement district
for offsite facilities if the facilities directly benefit the district;
·
Extends the termination date for improvement
districts to 30 years or the date of final debt payment;
·
Permits developers to contract with improvement
districts to supervise and control the construction of improvements on their
property;
·
Allows for assessments based on estimated
construction costs and allows annual assessments to include cost of
administering the district;
·
Permits interest rates of up to 10 percent
per year on outstanding bonds;
·
Permits use of assessment to replenish debt
service reserves and reimburse bond insurers and other credit enhancement,
other bond related expenses;
·
Permits cities to use public trusts to be
the direct issuer of the bonds;
·
Permits bonds to cover the cost of
issuance, capitalized interest, reserves, reserve surety bond premiums, bond
insurance, and credit enhancement;
·
Allows cities to either administer a
district or retain a third party administrator, allows cities to contract with
banks to act as trustees; and
·
Limits liability for bond issuers acting
within the scope of their authority.
Effective
11-1-07.
HB 1038
(Sherrer/Burrage): Allows public bodies
that provide utility services to keep certain contracts confidential. Effective 11-1-07.
HB 1055 (Gilbert/Eason
McIntyre): Allows the incorporation of a
territory within 5 miles of a municipality of more than 200,000 to incorporate
if it can be proved to the county commissioners by documentation that it has
historically been identified as a compact community. Effective 11-1-07.
HB 1401
(Liebmann/Brannan): Requires any elected
or appointed municipal officer to attend an institute for municipal officials. Effective
11-1-07.
HB 1412
(Joyner/Aldridge): Expands members of
the county excise boards eligible for travel reimbursement; changes the
deadline for filing for exemption from a tax sale; and adds a non-refundable assignment
fee. Effective 11-1-07.
HB 1432 (Hilliard/Laughlin):
Modifies specification of size for plat
recordings to 8½x 11 inches; makes it unlawful for a county officer holding
elective office and who will not serve a succeeding term to make any changes to
the licensing or source code of county computer software currently being used;
modifies entities to whom property can be transferred; modifies purchasing
authority of the county purchasing agent to the bid limit not to exceed Ten Thousand
Dollars; and modifies fee for discharging liens. Effective 11-1-07.
HB 1774 (Thompson/Branan):
Provides that certification of project
completion for work contracted by public agencies is not required if project
progressive payments are based on the departments estimated quantities of
materials provided and work performed and requires that final estimates shall
contain a sworn certification that the work performed and the material provided
conform to the requirements of the contract, plans, specifications, and special
provisions. Effective 11-1-07.
HB 2192 (Cargill/Aldridge):
Modifies the membership of the
metropolitan library commission for any county with a population of more than 600,000
as determined by the latest Federal Decennial Census and provides for the term
of office, vacancies, removal and authorizes the librarian is to be the
secretary of the commission. Effective 7-1-07.
Government M
SB 69 (Bass/Blackwell): Updates the statutory language used in the
Oklahoma Open Meeting Act. It includes
videoconferencing in the definition of "meeting" for the purposes of
the act, and excludes informal gatherings where no business is discussed. It replaces the term
"teleconference" with the term "videoconference" and
specifies that both visual and auditory functions must be used during such a conference. The bill applies this definition of "videoconference"
to any statutory use of the term in relation to the meeting of a public
body. The bill removes from Oklahoma
Open Meeting Act all outdated language relating to teleconferencing. Effective 11-1-07.
SB 407 (Mazzei/Jackson): Clarifies that the Grand River Dam Authority is
authorized to issue revenue bonds of up to $1.4 billion outstanding at any
time. Authorizes the GRDA to enter into interest
rate swaps and other derivative products and financial instruments to hedge
interest rate risk or manage interest rate costs in connection with bonds. Creates the Joint
Legislative Task Force on the Grand River Dam Authority to study its functions,
policies, procedures and expenditures.
Effective 8-25-07.
SB 626 (Brogdon/Denney):
Creates a petty cash fund for the Office
of Personnel Management; changes the pay movement mechanism report from a
calendar year to a fiscal year report; changes archaic language to reflect
“meets standards” as utilized in the evaluations conducted through the Performance
Management Process; reinstates posting requirements for vacancy notices;
deletes the requirement for employees hired through the program with two years
continuous experience on the job to pass an entrance examination before
conversion to permanent classified status; and increases the maximum cash award
amount that can be given to a state employee through the employee recognition
program from $250 to $500 per recognized employee each fiscal year. Effective 7-1-07.
SB 796 (Jolley/Miller): Clarifies the role of the Office of State
Finance in coordinating and implementing application systems for the three
central service agencies of the state and all branches of state government. The bill also updates the reference to
certain applications as being part of the Integrated Central Systems. The Information Services Division of the
Office of State Finance is also authorized to define requirements for a
facility that can be used by any state agency to install certain backup information
technology and enter into a multi-year agreement for a private facility that
meets the defined requirements. Finally,
the bill repeals a section of law that authorized the Office of State Finance
and the Oklahoma Turnpike Authority to enter in a multi-year agreement to
jointly develop and construct facilities necessary for the administration of
the state’s information technology and telecommunication infrastructure and
security. Effective 5-16-07.
SB 929 (Paddack/Thomsen): Made corrections to a legal land description
to a parcel of land owned by the State of
SB 1086 (Wright/Sweeden):
Recreates the Sheep and Wool Utilization, Research and Market Development Commission.
Effective 5-4-07.
HB 1064
through HB 1072 and HB 1318 (Wright/Sweeden):
Recreates the following agencies under the
·
Construction Industries Board;
·
Capitol/Medical Center Improvement and
Zoning Commission;
·
State Accrediting Agency;
·
·
Domestic Violence Fatality Review Board;
·
Advisory Committee on Pedorthics;
·
Advisory Committee on Orthotics and Prosthetics;
·
Public Employees Relations Board; and
·
Archives and Records Commission.
Effective
5-4-07 for HB 1064, effective 4-18-07 for HB 1072 and effective 5-4-07 for HB
1318.
HB 1106
(Benge/Crutchfield): Allows the Office
of State Finance to enter into a multi-year agreement for facilities necessary
to administer the state’s information technology and telecommunications infrastructure
and security, not subject to the Central Purchasing Act. The area of the
facility dedicated for computer-ready space cannot exceed 10% of the total
square footage, up to 9,000 square feet. Effective 9-1-07.
HB 1114 (Benge/Crutchfield):
Updates the minimum salary established
in the Federal Poverty Guidelines for a three-person household; creates the
“Financial Reimbursement for Educational Expenses Act of 2007” which agencies
may reimburse an eligible employee up to $5000 per year for a qualified
education loan expense is owed by the employee; caps the education loan
reimbursement at $15,000. Effective 7-1-07
HB 1383 (Ingmire/Reynolds): Exempts the Oklahoma State Bureau of
Investigation from oversight by the Fleet Management Division of the Department
of Central Services. Effective 11-1-07.
HB 1581 (Peters/Myers):
Authorizes state agencies to enter into
contracts and agreements for the payment of food and lodging expenses as may be
necessary for employees attending an official course of instruction or training
conducted or sponsored by any state agency. Effective 7-1-07.
HB 1646 (Peterson
(Pam)/Ford): Prohibits state employees
from soliciting any part of a benefit or allowance as a gratuity, kickback or
loan from the recipient of such benefit or allowance. Effective 11-1-07.
HB 1669
(Dorman/Barrington): Adopts the watermelon
as the official vegetable of the State of
HB 1708 (Billy/Bass):
Directs the Office of the Secretary of
State to serve as the Oklahoma Chief International Protocol Office.
Effective 7-1-07.
HB 1804 (Terrill/Williamson): Creates the
·
Declares
illegal immigration to be a cause of economic hardship and lawlessness, and
states that practices of issuing public benefits and ID cards to unverified
immigrants and providing harbor and shelter to illegal immigrants impede
enforcement of federal immigration law, undermine border security, and restrict
the privileges and immunities of legal citizens. It declares that the state has a compelling
interest to discourage illegal immigration by requiring state agencies to
comply with federal immigration authorities and by enacting other measures to
ensure the integrity of governmental programs and services.
·
Prohibits
transportation, movement, or attempts to transport any alien in the state knowing
or in reckless disregard of the fact that the alien is illegally present. It prohibits concealing, harboring, or
sheltering from detection any alien in the state knowing or in reckless
disregard of the fact that the alien is illegally present. It provides exceptions for the provision of
emergency medical services protected by federal law and regulated health
services provided by a private charity with private funds. It creates a felony for violating these laws,
punishable by imprisonment for at least one year, a fine of at least $1,000, or
both.
·
Requires
that government-issued documents such as voter identification cards, driver
licenses, nondriver identification cards, passports, birth certificates, and social
security cards, and ID cards issued by public or private education
institutions, only be issued to
·
Requires
jail officials to make a reasonable determination of the citizenship or immigration
status of persons incarcerated for felonies or driving under the
influence. If such statuses cannot be
determined from documents in the person's possession, a query must be submitted
within 48 hours to the Department of Homeland Security. The bill creates a rebuttable presumption
that a person verified as unlawfully present is at risk of flight for the
purpose of determining bond eligibility.
·
Defines
a "status verification system" as an electronic system operated by
the federal government, including the Basic Pilot Program, any equivalent
program designated by the Department of Homeland Security or another federal
agency, any third-party verification system of an equal or higher degree of
reliability, or the Social Security Number Verification System or similar
process implemented by the United States Social Security Administration. It creates definitions for "public
employer," "subcontractor," and "unauthorized alien."
·
Requires
every public employer to register with and utilize a federal status
verification system to verify employment authorization of all new
employees. After July 1, 2008, it
prohibits public employers from contracting for services unless the contractor
or subcontractor registers and participates in a status verification
system. It provides an exception for
contracts entered into prior to the effective date of the bill which involve
the performance of services after July 1, 2008.
The bill declares it a discriminatory practice for an employer to
discharge a legally present employee while retaining an employee who the
employer knows or reasonably should have known is an unauthorized alien hired
after July 1, 2008, working in a job category similar to that of the discharged
employee. It creates an exception for
any employer who used a status verification system to verify employment authorization
of all new employees hired after July 1, 2008.
It prevents any cause of action for a violation of this law from arising
anywhere else in
·
Requires
state agencies to verify the lawful presence of applicants for public benefits
who are at least fourteen years old, without regard to race, religion, gender,
ethnicity, or national origin. It
provides exceptions for any purpose not restricted by law, the provision of
emergency medical services protected by federal law, emergency disaster relief,
treatment for communicable diseases, and community-level services with no
assistance conditions that are necessary for the protection of life or
safety. It requires applicants for
benefits to execute an affidavit of citizenship or lawful immigration
status. Agencies are required to verify
employment eligibility for every applicant who has executed an affidavit
through the Systematic Alien Verification for Entitlements (SAVE) Program. The affidavit is considered proof of lawful
presence until such verification can be made.
The bill makes persons who have knowingly made false claims on their
affidavit subject to criminal penalties.
It allows state agencies to adopt variations to these requirements which
demonstrably improve efficiency or reduce verification delays, and to provide
for unique individual circumstances where verification procedures impose
hardships on legal residents. It
requires state agencies which administer public benefits to provide an annual
report to the Governor and legislative leaders with respect to its compliance
with these laws. It requires state
agencies to provide an annual public report on errors and delays in the SAVE
Program and recommendations to ensure the Program is not erroneously denying
benefits to legal residents. Errors are
also required to be reported to the Department of Homeland Security.
·
Requires
contracting entities who have not received documentation to verify the employment
authorization of individual independent contractors to withhold state income
tax at the top marginal rate as applied to compensation paid to that contractor
which is required to be reported on an Internal Revenue Service Form 1099. Contracting entities who fail to comply with
this requirement will be liable for the taxes not withheld, unless the
contracting entity is exempt from federal withholding with respect to an
individual who has filed an Internal Revenue Service Form 8233. The bill emphasizes that these requirements
do not apply to employer-employee relationships.
·
Authorizes
and directs the Attorney General to negotiate a Memorandum of Understanding
between the state and the Department of Justice or the Department of Homeland
Security concerning the enforcement of federal immigration laws, detention and
removals, and investigations in the state.
The bill requires the Memorandum to be signed by the Attorney General
and the Governor. It prohibits local
governments from enacting any ordinance or policy that limits or prohibits
local officials from communicating or cooperating with federal officials regarding
the immigration status of any person in the state. It prohibits state government entities or
officials from restricting the ability of a public employee to communicate with
the Department of Homeland Security regarding the immigration status of any individual. It prohibits any person or agency from
restricting the ability of a public employee to exchange information regarding
the immigration status of any individual with federal, state, or local
agencies, or to maintain such information.
It allows for a private cause of action by lawful residents for a writ
of mandamus to compel noncooperating local or state agencies to comply with
such reporting laws.
·
Denies
persons not lawfully present in the United States from eligibility on the basis
of residency for postsecondary education benefits, including scholarships and
financial aid, and resident tuition, unless otherwise provided for in law. These restrictions do not apply to students
enrolled in a public postsecondary education institution in the state who
received resident tuition pursuant to other provisions of law during the
2006-2007 school year or any prior year.
·
Directs
the Department of Public Safety, subject to the availability of funding, to establish
a Fraudulent Documents Identification Unit to investigate and apprehend persons
participating in the sale or distribution of fraudulent IDs. It requires the unit to specialize in
fraudulent IDs created for persons who are unlawfully present in the
state. It directs the Department to
employ sufficient employees to investigate and implement the unit.
·
Permits
the State Regents for Higher Education to adopt a policy to allow a student to
be eligible for resident tuition if the student graduated from a state high
school and resided in the state with a parent or legal guardian while attending
a state high school for at least two years prior to graduation. To be eligible for resident tuition, the
student must be admitted to and enroll in a public postsecondary institution in
the state. The bill permits students who
cannot present documentation to verify citizenship or legal immigration status
to provide to the institution a copy of an application filed with Citizenship
and Immigration Services to become legal, or to file an affidavit with the
institution stating that the student will present such an application copy when
a process for legalization becomes available without risk of deportation, but
in no case later than one year after enrollment, or one year after a process
for legalization becomes available. The
bill requires students who file such affidavits to present an application copy
within the specified time frames. It
prevents students who have met residency and admissions requirements, and who
have provided a copy of an application for legalization, from being disqualified
on the basis of immigration status from any scholarships or financial aid. It prohibits the imposition of any additional
conditions to maintain resident tuition on enrolled students who received
resident tuition during the 2006-2007 school year or any prior year.
Effective
11-1-07.
HB 2104
(Cargill/Ford): Creates an entry fee
exemption for minors age 17 years and younger at least one day a week at all
museums and historical sites under the purview of the Oklahoma Historical Society.
This act also directs the Oklahoma Arts Council to be responsible for the
acquisition, exhibition, and management of the state’s art collection and
creates an incentive grant program to establish visual arts programs in
schools. Effective 11-1-07.
HB 2110 (Cargill/Coffee): Makes various changes to the rules of the
Ethics Commission, including the following:
·
Limits
the exemption for gratuities provided at conferences to items available to all
registrants; exempts items under $10 (up to one per year) from the definition
of “anything of value”; and defines “out of state” (Section 1);
·
Requires
contributor statements to state that the contribution is for a campaign in
·
Prohibits
making or accepting contributions in the
·
Allows
candidates to have only one active candidate committee for a given office at
any time (Section 4);
·
Requires
out-of-state committees and persons to make independent expenditures and
electioneering communications from a segregated account which contains only
contributions made in compliance with
·
Corrects
reference to nonapplicability of contributor statement requirements until a
$500 threshold is reached (Section 6);
·
Provides
that contributor statements are not required for funds accepted by out-of-state
committees or persons or advocacy corporations which make independent expenditures
or electioneering communications if the committee, person or corporation does
not coordinate with a candidate, committee or agent (Section 6);
·
Requires
campaign depository information for out-of-state committees to reflect the
segregated accounts required in Section 5 (Section 7);
·
Requires
out-of-state committees to report contributions on a last-in-first-out basis
and all
·
Requires
itemization of contributors making contributions over $200 (rather than $50)
for out-of-state and federal committees (Section 9);
·
Requires
registered committees to report last-minute independent expenditures, and
requires other persons to file the same report for all independent expenditures
(Section 10);
·
Limits
honoraria in the form of cash, checks or cash equivalents for elective officers
to those not related to holding public office (Sections 11 and 12); and
·
Requires
Ethics Commission to conduct annual ethics training for members of the
Legislature (Section 13).
Effective 7-1-07.
HB 2111 (Cargill/Coffee):
Terminates various task forces,
committees, commissions and other governmental entities that are no longer
deemed necessary. Effective 11-1-07.
Department of Central Services Funding
The Department of Central Services received an
FY'08 appropriation in the amount of $16,757,297. This is a 23 percent increase over FY’07. The additional funds are for annualizing the
$3.2 million supplemental for appropriated building maintenance, energy,
utilities and service contracts, and an additional $2.2 million for deferred
maintenance projects.
Health M
SB 98 (Barrington/Richardson): Creates the Fire Extinguisher Licensing Act
to regulate the sale, installation and servicing of portable fire
extinguishers. Creates the Fire
Extinguisher Industry Committee to assist the State Commissioner of Health in
implementing Fire Extinguisher Licensing Act.
Prohibits any person from engaging in the fire extinguisher industry
without a license. Sets minimum
standards for portable fire extinguishers.
Requires persons who service, install, inspect, certify, charge or test
a portable fire extinguisher to affix a tag with specified information to the
unit. Sets minimum requirements for any
person applying for a license to engage in a fire extinguisher industry
business. Specifies information required
for an application for license. Directs
the State Commissioner of Health to issue licenses to applicants who meet the
qualifications, pay a license fee and are approved by the Fire Extinguisher
Industry Committee and authorizes the Commissioner to invoke licensing
sanctions in certain circumstances.
Creates the Fire Extinguisher Industry Revolving Fund to be used to
implement the Fire Extinguisher Licensing Act.
Sets punishments for violation of the Fire Extinguisher Licensing
Act. Extends the Committee of Home
Inspector Examiners until July 1, 2013.
Effective 11-1-07.
SB 139 (Williamson/Hamilton): Requires the State Department of Health to
make a form available to physicians which requests information about abortions
which the physician performs and requires physicians to submit the form to the
Department. Directs the Department to
publish a public report providing statistics from information compiled from the
forms. Prohibits physicians from
performing abortions without obtaining proof that the female is not a minor, is
an emancipated minor or has been given judicial authorization as a minor,
except in a medical emergency. Requires
a parent who consents to an abortion to provide the physician proof of
identification and a notarized statement.
Directs physicians who perform abortions on minors without consent in a
medical emergency to notify the parents.
Requires physicians who perform abortions on minors to submit a form to
the Department. Directs the Department
to publish a public report providing statistics from information compiled from
the forms. Makes it a felony to make a
fraudulent representation in order to obtain an abortion for a minor. Makes it a felony for a physician to
knowingly perform an abortion on a minor in violation of this act. Permits a minor or her parent to maintain a
cause of action against the person who performed an abortion without complying
with this act. States that this act and
other sections of law relating to abortion are effective if any court enjoins,
suspends or delays their implementation.
Makes it unlawful for any person employed by the state to perform or
assist an abortion not necessary to save the life of the mother, except in
cases of rape and incest. Makes it
unlawful for any public institution, facility or equipment controlled by the
state to be used for the purpose of an abortion not necessary to save the life of
the mother, except in cases of rape and incest.
Makes it unlawful for any funds received or controlled by the state to
be used to encourage a woman to have an abortion not necessary to save the life
of the mother and clarifies that a physician may discuss options through nondirective
counseling. Prohibits health insurance
plans from providing coverage for elective abortions except by an optional
rider. Effective 11-1-07.
SB 151 (Crain/R. McDaniel (Randy)): Permits funds from the Community-based Substance
Abuse Revolving Fund to be expended by the Department of Mental Health and
Substance Abuse Services to contract with statewide substance abuse
organizations to provide training and to establish and maintain a collaborative
network of providers. Effective 11-1-07.
SB 399 (Adelson/Cox): Extends the benefits, powers, immunities, and
protections afforded to political subdivisions under the Oklahoma Emergency
Management Act of 2003 to county and city-county health departments. The bill modifies the definition of
"catastrophic health emergency" in the Oklahoma Emergency Management
Act of 2003 to include the appearance of new or previously controlled or
eradicated infections agents or biological toxins. Effective 11-1-07.
SB 424 (Adelson/Cox): Creates the All Kids Act. Directs the Oklahoma Health Care Authority to
establish and maintain a program to provide medical coverage assistance to
children 18 or younger whose family incomes are between 185% and 300% of the
federal poverty level. Sets eligibility
for the program and directs the Authority to provide assistance to families
with children in the program by offering a voucher and/or subsidy toward the
cost of privately sponsored health insurance.
Permits the Authority to allow applicants to purchase access to the
state-administered premium assistance program if privately sponsored health
insurance is not available. Authorizes
the Authority to offer partial coverage to children who are enrolled in a
high-deductible private plan or to offer limit benefits to children who are not
covered for certain benefits. Subjects
families of children in the program to certain cost-sharing requirements. Specifies that funding for the act shall be
provided by unused funds from the O-EPIC program. Directs the State Department of Health to
contract with an organization in order to expand the Postponing Sexual
Involvement (PSI) for Young Teens program to reduce the incidence of teen
pregnancies in the state. Specifies that
funding for the program shall be provided by unused funds from the O-EPIC program. Effective 6-4-07.
SB 455 (Adelson/Martin (Scott)): Creates the Dental Health Service within the
State Department of Health to coordinate dental pubic health programs, advise
the Department on matters involving oral health and implement oral health
programs within the Department. Creates
the Dental Loan Repayment Revolving Fund to be used for the purpose of repaying
dental student loans. Effective 11-1-07.
SB 473 (Branan/Cox): Adds all parts of a zoo to which the public
may be admitted to the list of places in which the possession of lighted tobacco
is prohibited. Effective 11-1-07.
SB 494 (Rice/Worthen): Consolidates language prohibiting the
Department of Mental Health and Substance Abuse Services (DMHSAS) from entering
into contracts with non-certified entities.
Adds exemption from requirements for licensed hospitals for
certification of eating disorder treatment programs and gambling addition
treatment programs. Expands list of eligible
services for which the Community-based Substance Abuse Revolving Fund may be
used. Removes requirement that
facilitators for 24-hour alcohol and drug substance abuse courses have a minimum
amount of experience. Changes the
renewal period for the certification of DUI assessors to every three years and
adjusts the fee accordingly. Permits
mechanical restraints to be used in emergencies under the consent and
examination of a physician or physician’s assistant. Clarifies language permitting persons in
detention or lockup to be admitted to a facility for treatment if safety precautions
are taken. Provides penalties for intentionally
falsifying evaluations or giving evaluations in a negligent manner. Clarifies definition of “person” for purposes
of act. Removes requirement that a
notice of a hearing on a petition be given to DMHSAS. Adds the exclusion of holidays and weekends
to the time limit within which a minor must be discharged if minor or parent of
minor revokes consent. Permits a
court-appointed guardian to apply for voluntary treatment for an alcohol or
drug dependent person and deletes obsolete language permitting a minor to apply
for such treatment without approval of parent or guardian. Effective 11-1-07.
SB 499 (Rice/Steele): Creates the Oklahoma Task Force on Hunger to
expire on December 31, 2007. Directs the
task force to make recommendations on coordinating services, extending
programs, involving schools, connecting eligible people to existing programs,
requiring provider accountability and implementing recommendations. Sets membership at 15 and directs the
Department of Human Services to provide staff support. Requires that a report be submitted by
December 31, 2007. Effective 7-1-07.
SB 620 (Rice/Steele): Deletes the educational requirement for
licensed professional counselors which states that all degrees must be earned
from a program accredited by the Master’s in Psychology Accreditation Council
and extends the deadline by which a licensed professional counselor must
acquire an additional number of graduate credit hours in order to earn a
professional specialty designation area.
Extends the volunteer medical license to physicians who are actively
licensed in another state and who wish to donate their expertise to the medical
care of indigent persons in this state.
Exempts out-of-state physicians that participate in the free medical
care given through telemedicine with the Shriner's Hospitals of Children
national network from provision prohibiting indirect compensation. Effective 11-1-07.
SB 738 (Morgan/Blackwell): Modifies definition of “assisted living
center”. Permits residents of an assisted
living center to receive home care services, nursing care and hospice home services
through a home care agency or other authorized entity. Directs the assisted living center to monitor
and assure the delivery of such services.
Permits a resident of an assisted living center to privately contract or
arrange for private services. Directs a
physician, representative of the assisted living center and the resident to
develop a plan of accommodation for a resident of an assisted living center who
develops a condition which is consistent with the facility’s discharge
criteria. Permits a long-term care
facility to choose to participate in a pilot program in which an alternative to
the informal dispute resolution may be utilized. Directs the State Department of Health to establish
and maintain the pilot program and report its findings. Sets procedures for alternative informal
dispute resolutions. Allows the State Department
of Health to authorize long-term care administrators to be the administrator of
record for more than one facility. Requires
a member of the Oklahoma State Board of Examiners for Long-Term Care Administrators
to recuse himself from voting on matters which involve an entity with which the
member is affiliated. Prohibits
unsubstantiated complaints on long-term care facilities from being published on
the Board’s website. Directs the Board
to promulgate rules governing the employment of assistant administrators. Effective 11-1-07.
SB 787 (Rice/Steele): Removes child abuse and neglect prevention
planning districts and district child abuse prevention task forces. Removes requirement of the Office of Child
Abuse Prevention to assist the Training Council. Authorizes the State Board of Health to promulgate
rules to implement the duties of the Office of Child Abuse Prevention. Removes certain components of the
comprehensive state plan for the prevention of child abuse and neglect. Requires the Office of Child Abuse Prevention
to provide adequate opportunity for citizens and entities to participate at the
local level in the development of the state plan. Modifies membership and duties of the
interagency child abuse prevention task forces.
Modifies duties of the Director for the Office of Child Abuse
Prevention. Permits members of the Child
Abuse Training and Coordination Council to assign a designee. Repeals section of law which establishes
district child abuse prevention task forces.
Effective 7-1-07.
SB 833 (Sparks/Steele): Requires that all information and records
which identify a person who has participated in a public health investigation
or who may have reported a communicable or non-communicable disease remain confidential. Effective 11-1-07.
SB 889 (Crain/Cox): Creates the Oklahoma Medicaid False Claims
Act to establish procedures for investigation and prosecution of certain false
or fraudulent claims. Effective 11-1-07.
SB 890 (Crain/Sullivan): Modifies provisions related to third party
liability for medical expenses. Effective
11-1-07.
SB 903 (Crain/Cox): Creates the Twenty First Century Health
Education and Research for Oklahoma Task Force to expire on January 31,
2008. Directs the task force to explore
methods of long-term care financing to double the number of health care workers
in
HB 1297 (Derby/Crain): Expands scope of certain exception relating
to payment of court costs. Adds
oxycodone to the list of Schedule II controlled substances. Changes “dextropropoxyphene” to “propoxyphene”. Permits money taken or detained by a peace
officer to be deposited into an interest-bearing account at the direction of
the district attorney and directs the interest to be returned to the claimant
or forfeited with the money. Prohibits filing fees assessed by the court clerk
for the filing of any forfeiture action.
Defines “legitimate costs” in certain context. Effective 6-4-07.
HB 1375 (Schwartz/Adelson): Requires an ambulatory surgical center to
have a formal transfer agreement with a general hospital or requires all
physicians performing surgery in the ambulatory surgical center to have
admitting privileges at a general hospital.
Creates health care districts to promote efficient administration of
health care service delivery for counties with a population of less than
100,000 and specifies duties of health care districts. Permits health care districts to be
established by local communities wherein locally generated tax dollars are
received for the benefit of local health care services or by the governing
boards of hospitals located within such tax area. Allows health care districts to certify funds
to the Oklahoma Health Care Authority for the purpose of applying for federal
matching funds. Effective 11-1-07.
HB 1580 (Peters/Ford): Provides definition for “companion”, “sitter”,
and “agency” for purposes of the act. Authorizes
the State Board of Health to create a second level of licensure, with the
advice and consent of the Home Health Advisory Board, to promulgate rules to
cover agencies offering “companion” or “sitter” services, and to assess license
fees. Requires the State Department of Health to
investigate all complaints concerning agencies that provide “companion” or “sitter”
services in the state. Requires persons
providing these services to meet certain requirements and maintain certain
records. Provides a penalty for
violations. Effective 11-1-07.
HB 1631 (Joyner/Aldridge): Directs the State Department of Health to
provide payroll and employee benefit administration and travel reimbursement
services for the Oklahoma Professional Boxing Commission. Requires the Department to process and make
payment for a requested expenditure from Commission funds within 15 business
days. Makes employees of the Commission
unclassified employees of the Department for the purpose of administrative
support and makes such employees under the direct supervision of the Commission
administrator. States requirements for
exemption from sanctioning permit for amateur boxing matches. Effective 11-1-07.
HB 1884 (Cargill/Lamb): Creates the Healthcare Consumer Transparency
Task Force to expire on December 31, 2008.
Sets membership at 19 and directs the State Department of Health to
provide administrative support. Directs
the task force to make recommendations regarding a system for hospitals,
ambulatory surgical centers and physicians to disclose to consumers the average
charges for the treatment of common medical diagnoses and/or procedures. Modifies the membership of the Twenty-first
Century Health Education and Research for Oklahoma Task Force. Effective 7-1-07.
HB 1933
(Steele/Johnson (Constance)): Extends
the Strategic Planning Committee on the Olmstead Decision until July 1, 2010. Modifies purpose of the Committee. Reduces the number of appointed members from 17
to 15. Modifies membership
requirements. Modifies and expands
duties and responsibilities of the Committee.
Extends date for submission of report.
Requires certain agencies to develop, in cooperation with community
stakeholders, a prescreening process to be utilized upon admission to a nursing
facility. Lists components of
prescreening process. Authorizes the
Board of the
Health
Care Authority Funding
The Oklahoma Health Care Authority (OHCA) received
$771,709,298. This is a 9.9 percent
increase over the agency's FY'07 appropriation.
This budget assumes the Health Care Authority will have $57.5 million in
carryover for FY’08.
Major funding items include:
·
$19.9
million needed due to a decrease in federal matching fund (FMAP);
·
$23.4
million for growth in enrollment/ utilization (The agency historically trends a
9 to 10 percent annual growth/utilization rate.
This budget includes money for a growth/utilization rate of 7 percent.);
·
$13.3
million to annualize hospital rates up to the Upper Payment Limit (UPL);
·
$12.4
million for a 7% rate increase for nursing homes;
·
$9.3
million for a 3.5% increase in hospital reimbursement rates;
·
$2.5
million for a doctor reimbursement increase; and
·
$2.6
million for an anesthesiologist rate increase.
Public
H
The appropriation for the Department of Health
is $73,786,143. This is 3.6 percent more
than the agency received in FY’07. This
budget takes out $100,000 for one-time funding of two mobile dental units and
$500,000 for a flu vaccine stockpile.
The Department received $247,000 for FY’08 contractual services with the
Oklahoma State Board of Examiners for Long Term
Care Administrators. The Department was
also provided $310,308 to provide for 16 newborn screening machines throughout
the State. The Ryan White Drug Program received
$300,000 to help pay for medications for FY’08.
The residency programs at OU and OSU also received funding in the
Department’s appropriation. OU’s
residency program received $400,000 for its indigent care program in the
Mental H
The Department of Mental Health and Substance
Abuse Services received an appropriation of $207,529,129. This is a 6.6 percent increase over the
agency’s FY'07 appropriation. Major
funding items are as follows:
·
$3.375 million for annualizations including the
Adolescent Drug Program ($1.375 million), FY’07 provider rate increases
($750,000), and
·
$1.4
million for loss in federal funds;
·
$2.5
million for Core Services;
·
$100,000
for increased law enforcement transportation costs;
·
$1
million for 200 new
·
$1.9
million for operations at
Additionally, the Department received $2 million
from the spillover from the Rainy Day Fund for the Smart on Crime Initiative.
Human Services M
SB 42 (Jolley/Cargill): Permits the Office of Administrative Hearings
to allow electronic transmittals of documents and electronic signatures with
safeguards. Effective 11-1-07.
SB 485 (Lamb/Enns): Authorizes the Commission for Rehabilitation
Services to use Social Security reimbursement funds for a direct service
delivery staff incentive program.
Effective 11-1-07.
SB 938 (Laster/Jett): Permits the Department of Human Services, the
State Department of Health and the State Fire Marshall to enter into an
agreement with an Indian tribe which elects to apply for a license pursuant to
the Oklahoma Child Care Facilities Licensing Act in order to allow the state to
conduct inspections as required by the Act.
Permits the state and Indian tribe to agree to a reasonable fee to be
paid to the state for such inspections.
Effective 11-1-07.
HB 1084 (Wesselhoft/Wilcoxson): Changes “Office of Handicapped Concerns” to
the “Office of Disability Concerns” and extends the Electronic and Information
Technology Accessibility Advisory Council until July 1, 2008. Effective 11-1-07.
HB 1510 (Ellis/Rabon): Permits the Commissioner of Health to waive
any provision of the Nursing Home Care Act and applicable rules in order to
foster the development of resident autonomy and individualization in nursing
homes. Effective 7-23-07.
HB 1545 (Winchester/Johnson (Mike)): Title changes from the “Division of Juvenile
Services” to “Division of Juvenile and Treatment Services”. Removes the Division of Residential and
Treatment Programs and transfers duties to the Division of Juvenile and
Treatment Services. Permits the
Executive Director of the Office of Juvenile Affairs (OJA) to establish other
divisions within OJA. Effective 11-1-07.
HB 1645 (Peterson (Pam)/
HB 1926 (McDaniel (Jeannie)/Riley): Creates the Advantage Waiver and
Developmental Disability Services Rate Review Committee to review reimbursement
rates and make recommendations regarding an increase in funding for services to
persons not currently receiving services.
Directs the Committee to submit a report. Sets membership of the Committee. Effective 7-1-07.
HB 1927 (Steele/Leftwich): Requires that employees of a court-appointed
advocate program, or persons volunteering to become court-appointed special
advocates for children to undergo criminal history background checks by the
Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation, as well as any other background check
required by the Oklahoma Court-Appointed Special Advocates Association. The bill requires that if the prospective
employee or volunteer has lived in
HB 2078 (Jackson/Anderson): Modifies membership of the Greer Center
Admissions Committee. Removes provision
requiring the Admissions Committee to notify the Department of Mental Health
and Substance Abuse Services of the decisions of the Committee. Requires that progress have been made in
order for the interdisciplinary team of the Greer Center Facility to recommend
a person for discharge. Requires that a
referral to discharge be made to the Greer Center Discharge Committee and that
the Committee make the final decision to discharge. Directs the Greer Center Discharge Committee
to have certain membership and to review discharge referrals. Effective 11-1-07.
Human Services Funding
The Department of Human Services (DHS) was
appropriated $557,107,190 for FY'08.
This amount represents a 4.0 percent increase ($21,309,866) from the
FY'07 appropriation. Funding changes
will be used for the following:
·
Replacement
of federal funds lost due to the reduction in
·
Increased
funding for foster care for children who have been removed from their homes due
to abuse or neglect ($969,231);
·
Increased
funding for adoption assistance and subsidies for families adopting
special-needs children ($701,725);
·
The
ADvantage program, which provides home health care services as an alternative
to nursing home care ($12.5 million);
·
Expanding
2-1-1 call centers in two additional communities which provide a single point
of access for Oklahomans in need of social services and financial assistance
($130,000);
·
Increased
funding for Level C specialized residential care to be used to operate 12
additional beds ($167,000) and provide a rate increase ($150,000);
·
A
mileage rate increase and increased total reimbursed miles for Senior Volunteer
Programs ($240,820);
·
Grants
to organizations assisting in the reintegration of persons released from Department
of Corrections custody ($100,000); and
·
Completion
of research and reporting on the High Risk Child Abuse Project by the
Department of Rehabilitation Services Funding
The Department of Rehabilitation Services
(DRS) was appropriated $29,474,679 for FY'08.
This amount represents a 0.9 percent increase ($261,429) in state funds
from the FY'07 appropriation. Because
the FY’07 appropriation included $224,000 in one-time funding for vehicle
replacement, a total of $485,429 is available to DRS in FY’08 to perform a
number of functions. They include:
·
Ensuring
that salaries for teachers at the Oklahoma School for the Blind and the
Oklahoma School for the Deaf conform to the State Public School Minimum Teacher
Salary Schedule ($102,000); and
·
Meeting
increased debt service costs on bonds outstanding for both the
DRS also received FY’07 Rainy Day Spillover
funds for the following:
·
HVAC
replacement at the
·
Fencing
and security at the
The
Commission on
Children and Youth Funding
The Oklahoma Commission on Children and Youth
(OCCY) was appropriated $2,334,473 for FY'08.
This amount represents an 11.1 percent increase ($232,864) from the
FY’07 appropriation. This funding
increase will be used for replacement of federal Title IV-E fund ($221,000).
Office of
Handicapped Concerns Funding
The Oklahoma Office of Handicapped Concerns
(OHC) was appropriated $412,769 for FY’08.
This amount represents an 8.1 percent increase ($30,956) from the FY’07
appropriation. This funding will be used
for printing and distribution of materials for consumer and public outreach
($15,000) and other operational increases ($13,000).
Insurance
M
SB 560 (Sparks/Sullivan): Allows the Insurance Commissioner to contract
with nongovernmental entities to collect fees and taxes. Allows for electronic notification by
insurers in cases of defective claims.
Effective 7-1-07.
SB 1016
(Bass/Thompson): Relates to the
HB 1928 (Steele/Adelson): Allows the maximum deposit in a health
savings account to be the maximum contribution amount allowable under the
Internal Revenue Code. Eliminates
certain restrictions on expenditures from a health savings account. Requires OSEEGIB to make the health savings account
available by offering a high deductible health plan to all persons who are
eligible for health care insurance offered through or under the supervision of
OSEEGIB. Effective 6-4-07.
HB 1960 (Peterson (Ron)/Brown): Provides for the Oklahoma Insurance
Department annual omnibus bill. Requires
property and casualty insurers to make loss runs or claims history available to
policyholders within 30 days upon a written request by the policyholder. Provides the provisional license requirements
for producers. Adds fee of $40 for
provisional license. Modifies requirements
relating to continuing education requirements.
Adds commercial marine and commercial automobile lines to cancellation
requirements. Increases penalty for
violations of funeral pre-need contracts.
Specifies requirements of a non-resident adjuster license. Changes notice requirement to only when there
is an increase in premium or reduction in coverage. Authorizes the Insurance Commissioner to
enter into contracts for the payment of food, lodging and other expenses as may
be necessary to host or conduct a conference or seminar. Effective 7-1-07.
HB 2118 (Jett/Aldridge): Specifies that sales at a salvage pool or
salvage disposal sale shall be opened only to certain specified persons. Eliminates the buyer’s identification card
used to bid or buy at salvage pools or salvage disposal sales. Requires certain payments to be made based on
certain transactions. Provides
additional fines for violation of the Automotive Dismantlers and Parts Recycler
Act. Repeals section of law relating to
salvage dealers in other states and reciprocity. Effective 11-1-07.
Intoxicating Liquor, Smoking & Tobacco Laws M
SB 1078 (Nichols/Worthen): Relates to the Oklahoma Alcoholic Beverage
Enforcement Commission and to low-point beer.
The bill authorizes the Commission to revoke or suspend certain licenses
for licensees that have been found to have accepted certain inducements from
wholesalers of alcoholic beverages. The
bill also adds a new penalty relating to injury for those who violate certain
prohibitions against permitting minors to possess or consume of low-point
beer.
Effective 11-1-07.
HB 1753
(Worthen/Rabon): Relates to intoxicating
liquors and provides legislative intent regarding the alcoholic beverage
industry. The bill also allows
Judiciary/Courts M
SB 145 (Crain/Sullivan): Allows district judges to carry weapons in
courthouses when acting in the course and scope of employment and expands time
period for renewal requirements for concealed handgun license. Effective 11-1-07.
SB 398 (Adelson/Sullivan): Modifies the Protective Services for
Vulnerable Adults Act by adding a definition of “financial neglect”, by adding
persons required to make reports of suspected abuse of a vulnerable adult, and
by allowing court to order certain actions with respect to property of a
vulnerable adult. Effective 11-1-07.
SB 469 (Easley/Peters): States legislative intent to place children
in guardianship proceedings in the custody of a family member and defines
“support” for the purposes of consent to adoption. Effective 11-1-07.
SB 553 (Sparks/Peters): Modifies procedures related to the placement
of children. Effective 7-1-07.
SB 634 (Lerblance/Sullivan): Establishes procedures for transfer of a
case, modifies certain service requirements when a party has failed to appear in
an action, provides for dismissal of any action in which no pleading has been
filed or other action taken for one year, modifies subpoena procedures for
actions pending outside of this state, and establishes procedures for service
by a third party commercial carrier and for electronic service. Effective 11-1-07.
SB 664 (Leftwich/Peters): Modifies procedures related to domestic abuse
and batterers intervention programs certified by the Attorney General. Effective 11-1-07.
SB 665 (Nichols/Ingmire): Prohibits amendment of victim impact
statements and prohibits exclusion of such statements from the court
record. Effective 11-1-07.
SB 790 (Leftwich/Steele): Creates the Letha Kay Louise Slate Act to provide parents, guardians, and legal custodians access to all
reports considered by the court in any custody or visitation proceeding,
provides for the release of certain information upon the death or near death of
a child when a person has been charged with committing a crime that lead to the
death or near death, and modifies the definition of “neglect” for purposes of
the Oklahoma Child Abuse Reporting and Prevention Act. Effective 6-4-07.
SB 825 (Crain/Sullivan): Modifies examination, transcription and
salary requirements for certified shorthand reporters. Effective 11-1-07.
SB 917 (Nichols/Terrill): Provides for admissibility of evidence of a
defendant’s prior commission of certain offenses in a criminal case in which
the defendant is accused of sexual assault or child molestation. Effective 4-30-07.
SB 930 (Paddack/Cox): Extends coverage of the Governmental Tort
Claims Act to certain persons and entities and allows the State Department of Health or a city-county health department to contract with
charitable health care providers to provide free medical services to indigent
persons and allows such providers to be considered employees of the state for
purposes of the Governmental Tort Claims Act.
Effective 11-1-07.
SB 943 (Williamson/Duncan): Modifies procedures for child support lien
and requires DHS to develop an insurance industry data match reporting system
to determine if an insurance claimant owes past due child support. Effective 11-1-07.
SB 944 (Williamson/Duncan): Prioritizes allocation of payer income when
responding to notice of income assignment and National Medical Support
Notice. Effective 11-1-07.
SB 945 (Williamson/Sullivan): Provides for enforcement by indirect contempt
of orders for child support arrearages and orders for genetic testing in cases
where paternity has not been established.
Effective 11-1-07.
SB 990
(Corn/Worthen): Creates the Judicial and District Attorney Redistricting
Task Force to study the redistricting of judicial districts and district
attorney districts. Effective 7-1-07.
SB 1054 (Williamson/Peter): Allows court to receive an investigation and
report regarding background and home of prospective guardian of incapacitated
person and each member of the prospective guardian’s household. Effective 6-04-07.
HB 1282 (Duncan/Lerblance): Permits a court clerk to accept other
electronic payment methods in addition to debit or credit cards for any lawful
purpose, including, but not limited to, payment for fees, fines, forfeiture payments,
costs, penalty assessments, or other assessments to be collected by the court
clerk. The bill prohibits court clerks
from collecting a fee for accepting a credit or debit card. It requires court clerks, prior to the
distribution of fees, to apportion on a pro rata basis costs for administration,
acceptance, processing, and verification of credit or debit cards among all
state, municipal or other government entities or funds entitled by law to
receive payment from court clerk collections.
It requires all credit and debit card costs to be deducted from court
clerk collections before transmittal is made to state, municipal or other
government entities or funds entitled by law to receive payment from court
clerk collections, so that each entity entitled to payment will receive only
its statutory share less its prorated share of the credit or debit card
costs. The bill removes a previous requirement
that a nationally recognized credit card be accepted by over one thousand merchants
in this state before a court clerk can accept it. It removes the authority of the court clerk to
determine which nationally recognized credit or debit cards will be accepted,
and authorizes the Administrative Office of the Courts to negotiate and
organize statewide contracts for the acceptance and processing of credit and
debit cards and related equipment. The
bill requires court clerks to assess a fee of $25 to be credited to the Oklahoma
Court Information System Revolving Fund and a fee of $3 to be credited to the
Office of the Attorney General Victim Services Unit in addition to flat fees collected
for civil cases. It requires court
clerks to assess a fee of $25 to be credited to the Oklahoma Court Information
System Revolving Fund, a fee of $3 to be credited to the Office of the Attorney
General Victim Services Unit, and a fee of $3 to be credited to the Child Abuse
Multidisciplinary Account in addition to flat fees collected for certain
criminal cases. Effective 7-1-07.
HB 1284 (Sherrer/Burrage): Prohibits property owners from damaging or
removing fences or authorizing certain improvements until notice has been given
to adjacent property owners. Effective 11-1-07.
HB 1340
(Piatt/Crutchfield): Modifies procedures
related to title of manufactured homes.
Effective 11-1-07.
HB 1579
(Peters/Barrington): Modifies procedures
related to preliminary inquiry and petition for juvenile proceedings. Effective 11-1-07.
HB 1682 (Johnson
(Dennis)/Garrison): Modifies provisions
related to grandparental visitation rights, including requiring a grandparent
seeking visitation to show that the grandparent had a preexisting relationship
with the child that predates the filing for visitation and prohibiting a court
from granting such visitation if the parents of the child are married and
object to such visitation. Effective
5-7-07.
HB 1927 (Steele/Leftwich): Requires background checks for
court-appointed special advocates and modifies certain appellate procedures. Effective 11-1-07.
Courts Funding
The Legislature appropriated to the Supreme
Court an additional $1,077,682 to fund the increased debt service payments the
Court will incur to complete renovations of the
The Workers’ Compensation Court received additional
funds in the amount of $353,699 to annualize the court reporter pay raises
enacted in FY’07 and fund increases in benefit and retirement costs.
The Court of Criminal Appeals received
$125,000 in additional funding in FY’08, which represents annualization of the
Court’s FY’07 supplemental. The Court
also received $258,000 for benefit and retirement costs, as well as operations.
The District Courts received additional appropriations of $3,271,506, which covered benefit and retirement costs, as well as operations.
Motor Vehicles, Water Vessels & Licensing M
SB 410 (Corn/Thompson): Requires that all proceeds in excess of
$1,216,000 collected by the Department of Public Safety for size, weight, and
load permits, including overweight permits, be directed to the Weigh Station Improvement
Fund, to be used for motor carrier permitting systems and motor carrier safety
and enforcement. Effective 7-1-07.
SB 464 (Johnson (Constance)/Key): Declares the federal REAL ID Act of 2005 to
be inimical to the security and well-being of the people of Oklahoma, as it
will cost the state more than $8,000,000, and was adopted by the United States
Congress in violation of the Tenth Amendment.
It declares that
SB 739 (Myers/Dank): Prohibits knowingly and intentionally
destroying, removing, covering, altering, or defacing trim tag plates on motor
vehicles manufactured from 1953 to 1977.
Prohibits affixing counterfeit trim tag plates to motor vehicles. Prohibits manufacturing, selling, offering
for sale, introducing, delivering or importing counterfeit trim tag
plates. Certain exceptions are provided
for persons engaged in the repair of a motor vehicle and the removal of trim
tag plates from junk vehicles for historical documentation purposes. A first offense is a misdemeanor. A second or subsequent offense is a
felony. The bill authorizes civil actions
by defrauded persons against convicted violators, allows such defrauded persons
to seek treble their compensatory damages, and allows courts to award
reasonable costs and attorney fees to the prevailing party. Effective 11-1-07.
HB 1016
(Carey/Coates): Requires person possessing an agricultural tax exemption
permit and owning an all-terrain vehicle or off-road motorcycle to have a title
as proof of ownership, if ownership is transferred on or after 7-1-08. HB
1016 also makes provisions for security interests in ATVs perfected before 7-1-05.
Effective 11-1-07.
HB 1288 (Glenn/Ballenger): Creates misdemeanor for persons failing to
stop after an accident involving certain property. Effective 11-1-07.
HB 1306 (Enns/Branan): Requires traffic control devices used to warn
and guide the public regarding an upcoming highway merge to display the words
"Merge Now". Effective
11-1-07.
HB 1606 (Shannon/Coates): Changes the specifications of an all-terrain
vehicle as defined in the Oklahoma Vehicle License and Registration Act to
specify vehicles with a width of 48 inches or less, a weight of 800 pounds or
less, a seat designed to be straddled, and handlebars for steering. Effective 11-1-07.
HB 1686 (Nations/Rice): Prohibits persons under 18 from operating or
riding as passengers on ATVs without wearing a crash helmet. It prohibits ATV operators from carrying
passengers unless the ATV has been specifically designed for them. The bill sets a fine of $25 for violations,
and authorizes any peace officer of the state, including park rangers, to issue
citations. All money collected from such
citations is directed to the Oklahoma Tourism and Recreation Department
Revolving Fund for credit to the park where the citation was issued. The bill requires a parent or guardian or the
owner of an ATV who has allowed a person under 18 to operate an ATV in
violation of the bill's provisions to be liable for the penalty. The applicability of the bill is limited to
the use of ATVs on public lands. Effective
11-1-07.
HB 1702 (Morgan/Bingman): Authorizes rubber-tired road construction
vehicles carrying no other load than safely secured component parts and their
own weight, but which may be overweight by other provisions of law, to move on
state highways. Effective 11-1-07.
HB 1777 (Thompson/Lamb): In the place of previous statutory exceptions
for overweight vehicles, the bill directs the Commissioner of Public Safety to
issue annual overweight permits at no cost to municipalities and rural fire
districts for transporting firefighting apparatus, to owners of implements of
husbandry, and to retail implement dealers while hauling implements of
husbandry. Department of Transportation
research vehicles are no longer exempted from vehicle size, weight, and load
limits. The bill prohibits the
Department of Transportation from preventing sign placement by contract in any
county with a population of less than 500,000.
Effective 7-1-07.
The bill adds vehicles transporting flour to
the list of vehicles operating under size, weight, and load exceptions that
must purchase $100 annual special overload permits. Effective 11-1-07.
HB 1798 (Armes/Schulz): Permits farm tractors, self-propelled farm equipment
units, and implements of husbandry to be equipped with a flashing strobe light
that is visible at least five hundred feet from the front or rear of the vehicle. Effective 11-1-07.
Professions & Occupations M
SB 60
(Ford/Sears): Relates to the State Architectural
and Interior Designers Act. The bill
modifies a certain Code Use Group exempted from the Act. The bill also changes a requirement for
registration that may be waived. Effective
4-24-07.
SB 996
(Crain/Terrill): Relates to bail bondsmen
and to the forfeiture procedure. The
bill modifies a certain time limit for when a bond shall be exonerated by
operation of law. It also modifies a
certain time to return a defendant to custody and for a request for remitter. Effective 11-1-07.
SB 1006
(Rabon/Martin (Steve)): Relates to the
SB 1032 (Easley/Adkins): Relates to the
HB 2152
(Armes/Rabon): Relates to the Elevator
Safety Act. The bill modifies the
definition of elevator to exclude certain elevators, conveyances, manlifts or
similar devices in grain elevators, grain warehouses, seed processing facilities,
feed mills and/or flour mills not accessible to or used by the general public. Effective 6-1-07.
Public Finance M
SB 1 (Brogdon/Wesselhoft): Creates the “Taxpayer Transparency Act” to
require the Office of State Finance to develop and operate a website which
provides information on all state expenditures, incentive payments and tax credits. The website will be operational by 1-1-08 and
searchable by 1-1-09.
Effective 11-1-07.
SB 447
(Bingman/McNeil): Provides for distribution of funds under the Rural
Economic Action Plan (REAP) apportioned to associations of local governmental
jurisdictions. Under current law, such funds are deposited into ten
separate accounts, one of which is divided equally between associations
containing municipalities of over 350,000 persons (
SB 751 (Bass/Armes): Creates the Military Base Protection and
Expansion Incentive Act. The bill authorizes the Oklahoma Development Finance
Authority to issue bonds to fund loans for capital projects to political
subdivisions experiencing growth due to military bases. States legislative
intent to appropriate the interest on the loans for the first five years. The bill also amends the Oklahoma Quality
Jobs Incentive Leverage Act to authorize the approval of a single, 12-month
extension for establishments that receive incentive payments to meet their
investment requirements. Effective 6-4-07.
Public Safety & Homeland Security M
SB 35 (Crain/Tibbs): Prevents any person with a learner's permit
who has been convicted of a traffic offense from graduating to an intermediate
Class D license until they have held their permit for at least six months
beyond the date of the offense. Any
additional offenses cause the six-month period to be recalculated to start at
the date of the last offense. The bill
prevents any person with an intermediate Class D license who has been convicted
of a traffic offense from graduating to a Class D license until they have held
their intermediate Class D license for either one year, or six months if they
have completed certain driver education and training, as applicable, beyond the
date of the offense. Any additional
offenses cause the applicable time period to be recalculated to start at the
date of the last offense. The bill
directs the Department of Public Safety to develop a procedure whereby a
registered sex offender, designated by the Department of Corrections as an
aggravated or habitual offender, applying for a driver license or ID card,
shall be issued a license or card bearing the words "Sex Offender”. It requires the Department of Public Safety
to notify every person subject to such registration who currently possesses a
license or ID card to surrender their card within 180 days of the notice. Upon surrendering their card, the person may
apply for a "Sex Offender" card.
Failure to comply results in cancellation of the current card, effective
for one year, after which time the person may apply for a "Sex Offender"
card. Continued use of a cancelled card
results in a misdemeanor and a fine of $25 to $200. The bill allows a person to apply for a
standard card once they are no longer required to be registered with the
Department of Corrections as a sex offender.
The bill prevents any liability or cause of action against the Department
of Corrections for failing to designate a sex offender as aggravated or
habitual. Effective 11-1-07.
SB 129 (Corn/Peterson (Ron)): Authorizes the Commissioner of the Department
of Public Safety to establish a procedure for reviewing and compiling a report
of the driving records of state residents who have committed traffic violations
or have undergone certain status changes within a certain period of time. The bill permits the Department to sell this
report to insurance companies licensed to operate in this state at a fee to be
set by the Department. The bill requires
that the fee be sufficient to recover all costs incurred by the Department in
producing such report. Deposit of the
fee is directed to the Department of Public Safety Revolving Fund. Effective 11-1-07.
SB 633 (Lamb/Duncan): Authorizes the Department of Corrections to
design and install high-voltage electric fence systems at all existing and
proposed medium and maximum security prisons.
The bill requires that signs be posted on all sides of such fence
systems displaying the warning "Deadly Voltage". The bill specifies where such fence systems
shall be installed relative to perimeter fences. Exemptions are created for electricity
providers or providers of parts for fence construction from liability for any
accident, injury or death occurring as a result of fence construction or operation,
unless caused by wanton misconduct on the part of such providers. Effective 11-1-07.
SB 1130 (Lamb/Johnson (Rob)): The bill requires the Department of
Corrections, in conjunction with the Pardon and Parole Board, to track the
success and recidivism of parolees required to have a two-stage parole consideration
for the first three years following their parole. The annual and cumulative data to be
collected must include offense type, sentence length, release information,
number of persons by offense type eligible for parole, number of persons by
offense type recommended for parole, re-arrest data, reincarceration data, employment
data, and any other beneficial information.
The bill requires the collected information to be made available to the
Legislature, the Criminal Justice Resource Center, and the Governor no later
than March 1 following the first data collection period. Effective 11-1-07.
HB 1027 (Smithson/Corn): Prohibits convicted felons, persons under
Department of Corrections supervision, or persons previously adjudicated as a
delinquent child or a youthful offender from possessing, carrying in a vehicle
either as the operator or as a passenger, or having in their place of residence
any altered air or toy pistol, in addition to any firearm. The bill extends the same penalty for use of
a firearm while committing a felony to use an altered air or toy pistol while
committing a felony. The bill defines
"altered toy pistol" as toy weapons which have been altered to
resemble real weapons. It defines
"altered air pistol" as air pistols altered from their original
manufactured state. Effective 11-1-07.
HB 1090 (Sherrer/Burrage): Adjusts the penalty for impersonation of a
peace officer to a misdemeanor punishable by imprisonment in the county jail
for up to a year, a fine of up to $100, or both. The bill creates a misdemeanor for affixing
an insignia to a vehicle that causes people to yield right-of-way under the
belief that the vehicle is an authorized emergency vehicle. The penalty is imprisonment
in the county jail for up to a year, a fine of up to $1000, or both. It allows privately owned vehicles designated
by a sheriff as support vehicles for the sheriff's office to be equipped with
sirens and flashing lights. The bill
allows courts to waive certain court fees associated with crimes committed
while driving with a license that has been suspended, revoked, canceled, denied
or disqualified. Effective 11-1-07.
HB 1579 (Peters/Barrington): Allows a district attorney to defer filing a
petition alleging a juvenile to be a delinquent or in need of supervision for
up to six months if the juvenile participates in a program approved by the juvenile
court and the distract attorney. If the
district attorney defers filing a petition, the juvenile may be required to pay
a fee equal to the court costs for such a petition being filed. The fee is directed to the agency responsible
for supervision of the juvenile, or if the agency is a juvenile bureau, the fee
is directed to a
HB 1616 (Roan/Lamb): Requires that municipal police department
members be commissioned officers of that municipality before they are eligible
for service as law enforcement officials for any other municipality, a
sheriff's office, the Oklahoma Highway Patrol, or as deputies of a county
sheriff. The bill requires that any
person adjudicated as a delinquent child or youth offender be prohibited from
driving with a firearm or imitation firearm for ten years after that
adjudication, whether or not the firearm is easily concealable. The bill prohibits aiding or assisting a
person in bypassing a security checkpoint by holding open a secured entryway or
by passing items through a secured entryway.
It requires all persons approaching a security checkpoint to obey the
requests of security staff. The bill
creates an exception for the Department of Transportation or the Oklahoma Turnpike
Authority in soliciting business or engaging in highway remediation and cleanup
without obtaining a license from the Department of Environmental Quality. It requires that any person appointed to the
Oklahoma Highway Patrol Division on or after July 1, 2010, have a bachelor's
degree, or an associate's degree plus two years of law enforcement service or
two years of military service. It authorizes
the Commissioner of Public Safety to permit employees of the Department of
Public Safety to use state-owned vehicles and a fuel-purchasing card while
attending certain training. Department
of Public Safety employees attending the
The bill repeals Sections 565.1, 565.2, and
565.3 of Title 19, which relate to the establishment, administration, and
superintendent qualifications of county bureaus of identification. The bill repeals Section 607 of Title 37,
which relates to prohibited acts in relation to
HB 1617 (Roan/Corn): Amends the definition of "recipient's identification
number" in the Anti-Drug Diversion Act to include the number from a valid
passport or military ID. Effective
11-1-07.
HB 1618 (Roan/Corn): Requires that in the psychological evaluation
required for any police or peace officer, the employing agency must use a
psychological instrument approved by CLEET.
The employing agency shall administer such instrument according to the
standards within the test document. The
bill requires the employing agency to provide to the psychologist a statement
confirming the identity of the tested person, and that it administered the
psychological instrument according to the standards in the test document. The psychologist is required to report back
to the agency the results of the assessment and may include additional
recommendations. The bill prohibits any additional
procedures or requirements from being imposed for the purpose of psychological
evaluation. Effective 11-1-07.
HB 1650 (Peterson (Pam)/Paddack): Requires CLEET, by January 1, 2008, to
include in its required courses of study a minimum of six hours of
evidence-based sexual assault and sexual violence training. It requires a portion of the training to
include instruction from a certified sexual assault services provider. The bill requires every CLEET-certified,
full-time active peace officer to attend and complete the training by January
1, 2012. It directs CLEET to promulgate
rules to enforce the development and administration of the training, and requires
CLEET to use the assistance of a certified sexual assault services provider in
developing the curriculum. Effective
11-1-07.
HB 1707 (Billy/Corn): Exempts Department of Corrections vehicles
designed for use by probation and parole operations from requirements to affix
the words "State of Oklahoma" to state vehicles along with the name
of the state department. Effective
11-1-07.
HB 1742 (Duncan/Lamb): Creates an option for any person applying for
a concealed handgun license or renewing such a license to request that the
license be valid for ten years. The bill
requires the fee for such a license to be doubled. Effective 11-1-07.
HB 1795 (Armes/Justice): Requires Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation
rangers to enter into a bond executed by a surety company in the sum of
$500,000 to indemnify against damages accruing as a result of any unlawful acts
on the part of the ranger. Effective
11-1-07.
HB 1868 (Tibbs/Paddack): Requires determination of the eligibility of
a motor vehicle accident prevention course to reduce a policyholder's auto
insurance premium to be made by the insurance company of the policyholder rather
than the Department of Public Safety.
The bill changes the administrative structure of the Department of
Public Safety to remove the Driver License Administration, to rename the Driver
Improvement Division as the Driver Compliance Division, and to remove the Financial
Responsibility Division. The bill
strikes sections of statute that require all current Department of Public
Safety investigation records to be confidential and closed to the public, provide
limited exceptions, and establish a misdemeanor penalty for unauthorized
disclosures. The bill prohibits protestation
of any notice served by the Department of Public Safety relating to motor
vehicle operation on the grounds that the person failed to receive the notice
due to failure to notify the Department of an address change. It requires excessive users of alcohol or
other substances with license suspensions to abstain from such substances for
either 12 or 18 months (as determined by Oklahoma Administrative Code) before
their license can be reinstated. It requires
driver license applicants to provide on their application a mailing address to
be maintained by the Department of Public Safety for giving notice as necessary. It requires that all classes of driver
license bear a residential address rather than a mailing address. It creates a misdemeanor for failing to carry
a driver license while operating a motor vehicle or failing to display a
license upon the demand of a peace officer.
Violators may present a license to the court on or before their court
date which was valid at the time of their arrest to be entitled for a charge
dismissal without payment of court costs and fine. The bill requires persons who have moved to a
residential address other than that which appears on their license to notify
the Department of Public Safety within 10 days of their address change and
provide their license number and old and new residential addresses. It requires the Department of Public Safety
to maintain an index containing names, driver license numbers, and mailing
addresses of every licensed person for the purpose of giving notice as necessary. It requires repeat license revocations for certain
offenses to be for a period of 1 or 3 years, dependent upon the type of
offense, if committed within 10 years of the first offense, and prevents those
revocation periods from being modified.
The bill exempts insurance policies covering commercial motor vehicles
from being subject to the Department of Public Safety's online verification system
for motor vehicle insurance. In addition
to a fine of $25 to $250, the bill requires that a counterfeit insurance
verification form be punishable by a suspension of driving privileges for 2
months on a first offense, 6 months on a second offense, and 1 year for a third
or subsequent offense. These suspensions
will remain in effect until the offender shows proof of valid insurance to the
Department of Public Safety. Any person
convicted of this violation must surrender within 30 days of conviction their
driver license and the license plate of any vehicle registered in their name
that is not covered by an insurance policy. Failure to surrender on time results in a $50
fine. The bill puts taxis operating outside
of corporate city limits under the jurisdiction of the Corporation Commission
rather than the Department of Public Safety.
The bill adds complications due to pregnancy to the list of
eligibilities for a handicapped parking placard. It requires selling dealers of new or used
motor vehicles, travel trailers or commercial trailers to place a temporary license
plate on any vehicle or trailer sold, made of a weatherproof
plastic-impregnated substance approved by the Used Motor Vehicle and Parts
Commission, and require that the temporary plate be placed at the location for
the permanent plate. It directs the Used
Motor Vehicle and Parts Commission to develop a temporary plate design to
incorporate these requirements so as to permit law enforcement personnel to
readily identify the dealer license number and date of vehicle purchase. The bill removes the titles of Highway Patrol
Major and Director of Alcohol and Drug Countermeasures Unit from the list of unclassified
Department of Public Safety employees.
It removes an unclassified Department of Public Safety employee's right
of return to a previously held vacant classified position with the department. The bill adds the following positions to the
Office of State Finance's list of eligible unclassified employees: Security
Technicians; Enterprise Communications and Network Administrator; Server Support
Specialists; Senior Server Support Specialists; Systems Support Specialists;
Senior Systems Support Specialists.
Effective 11-1-07.
Public Employees – Retirement/
Insurance/Pay/Benefits M
SB 63 (Crain/Hickman): Provides that for county retirement systems (
SB 357 (Crutchfield/Benge): Phases-in over a three-year period an
increase in the employer contribution rate of employers participating in the
Teachers’ Retirement System of Oklahoma.
Specifies that such rate increase will only become effective if funding
is provided to cover the additional costs.
Provides procedures to make sure that the portion of the sales, use and
income taxes earmarked for teachers’ retirement is not reduced below a baseline
amount in the case of economic downturns or tax cuts. Effective 11-1-07.
SB 674 (Nichols/Armes): Brings the Oklahoma Firefighters Pension and
Retirement System into compliance with Internal Revenue Service requirements as
it relates to the direct payment of qualified health insurance premiums and the
rollover of distributions of a nonspouse beneficiary. Effective 7-1-07.
SB 691 (Adelson/Peterson (Ron)): Authorizes in
SB 695 (Corn/Hickman): Brings the Oklahoma Police Pension and
Retirement System and the Oklahoma Law Enforcement Retirement System into
compliance with Internal Revenue Service requirements as it relates to the
direct payment of qualified health insurance premiums and the rollover of
distributions of a nonspouse beneficiary.
Effective 7-1-07.
SB 859 (Barrington/Joyner): Modifies the definition of “volunteer
firefighter” to clarify that a person who is a salaried public safety employee
of a municipality shall not serve as a volunteer firefighter of a volunteer
fire department unless the person is off duty and such service is not a
condition of employment. Specifies
distribution of pension benefits for members who lose their life under certain
circumstances. Allows the pension to
continue for physically or mentally disabled children of members who lose their
life and specifies how the benefits will be held and administered for such
disabled child. Effective 6-4-07.
SB 1092 (Mazzei/Jones): Clarifies the process of funding the
Teachers’ Retirement System of Oklahoma employer contribution rate increase.
Requires the State Board of Equalization to make certain determination
regarding tax revenues earmarked to the Teachers’ Retirement System of Oklahoma. Effective 11-1-07.
SB 1112 (Mazzei/Jones): Allows the Executive Director of the Oklahoma
Public Employees Retirement System to waive the sixty-day notice requirement
for retirement. Specifies date when
benefit reduction becomes effective.
Modifies various procedures relating to the implementation and
administration of the Oklahoma Pension Legislation Actuarial Analysis Act. Effective 7-1-07.
HB 1122 (Benge/Crutchfield): Increases the number of full-time-equivalent
employees for the Oklahoma Student Loan Authority and the Employees Benefit
Council. Increases the maximum annual
salary for the director of the Board of Governors of the Licensed Architects,
Landscape Architects and Interior Designers of Oklahoma. Modifies the unclassified register by adding
unclassified positions for the Corporation Commission, Office of State Finance,
Office of Personnel Management, Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation,
Department of Transportation,
HB 1619 (Johnson (Rob)/Leftwich): Increases the salary schedule for the Agent I
and Agent II positions at the Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation. Effective 11-1-07.
HB 1674 (Thomsen/Lamb): Provides for payment of the flexible benefit
allowance for the remainder of the current benefit term in cases where the
employee of a school district fulfills the terms of their contract and
terminates employment for the subsequent year.
Effective 5-31-07.
HB 2070 (Benge/Mazzei): Subjects the Oklahoma Firefighters Pension
and Retirement System, Oklahoma Police Pension and Retirement System and
Oklahoma Law Enforcement Retirement System to the provisions of the Oklahoma
Pension Legislation Actuarial Analysis Act.
Clarifies the definition of a nonfiscal retirement bill as it relates to
a bill providing for a cost-of-living adjustment. Specifies the determination of concurrent
funding as it relates to a fiscal retirement bill containing a cost-of-living
adjustment. Specifies that a member of
the Teachers’ Retirement System will not be able to remove capped employment
service pursuant to the Education Employees Service Incentive Plan if the
funding is not provided to cover the cost of the employer contribution rate
increase. Effective 7-1-07 for Section
4. Effective 11-1-07 for Sections 1-3.
State
Employee Pay Raise Funding
The Legislature approved SB 82XX last
year. It provided a five percent across
the board pay raise for most state employees.
Some law enforcement personnel were excluded from this raise, but given
a larger salary adjustment in SB 82XX in order to get them closer to the regional
average salary. The five percent raise
became effective on October 1, 2006.
This year, the Legislature was required to fund the remaining
three-month cost of the raise to state agencies. Approximately $18,231,229 was appropriated
for this purpose.
Revenue & Taxation M
SB 72 (Crain/Jordan): Provides that when improvements to
residential real property straddle a taxing jurisdiction boundary line, the improvements
are assessed for ad valorem purposes in the taxing jurisdiction in which the
physical majority of the improvements are located. Effective 1-1-08.
SB 119 (Bingman/Adkins): Modifies the sales tax exemption for
electricity used on enhanced recovery projects in the production of oil. The bill
clarifies that to be eligible for the tax exemption, oil recovered after the
enhanced recovery cannot exceed 1 percent by volume. Effective 7-1-07.
SB 149 (Crain/Peters): Requires the Oklahoma Tax Commission to
include on income and corporate tax return forms the opportunity for the
taxpayer to make a donation from a tax refund for Oklahoma Silver Haired
Legislature Alumni Association activities. Effective 11-1-07.
SB 368 (Laughlin/Liebmann):
Requires the Office of State Finance to develop a multi year trend analysis
of the state’s budget outlook. Creates the Task Force on Dynamic Revenue
Forecasting to study and develop recommendations for the Oklahoma Tax
Commission regarding the use of dynamic revenue forecasting to analyze proposed
tax legislation. Requires the Tax Commission to use a dynamic revenue
estimating model to develop revenue estimates of proposed legislation. Effective 11-1-07.
SB 685 (Mazzei/Terrill): Modifies various tax provisions, including:
·
Clarifies
the sales tax exemption status of certain corporate asset transfers;
·
Modifies
dates and references for the income tax rate “trigger” for purposes of conforming
to the acceleration of the tax rate reduction;
·
Clarifies
the income tax exemption for certain capital gains;
·
Clarifies
that certain funds appropriated to the Tax Commission are intended for expenses
associated with county assessor accreditation and training; and
·
Clarifies
certain deadlines associated with the “
Effective 11-1-07 for Section 2. All other sections are effective 1-1-08.
SB 798 (Gumm/Piatt): Reinstates an expired 5-year ad valorem tax
exemption for qualified warehousing and distribution facilities. Effective 11-1-07.
SB 806 (Mazzei/Terrill): Modifies various tax provisions, including:
·
Reduces
license fee for distiller and rectifier of alcoholic beverages until 2010;
·
Modifies
definition and certain procedures relating to 9-1-1 wireless emergency service
fee;
·
Modifies
definition of “sale for resale” as it relates to goods with a point of sale
outside the
·
Reinstates
sales tax exemptions for sale of certain advertising by Oklahoma Department of
Tourism and Recreation, sales of food boxes by certain charitable organizations
and sale of construction materials used for certain church construction contracts;
·
Creates
sales tax exemptions for certain nonprofit organizations benefiting the developmentally
disabled, certain youth shelters, certain childcare facilities and specified
contractors to such facilities and certain military service organizations;
·
Requires
out-of-state agricultural permit holders who purchase goods with a point of
sale outside the
·
Exempts
churches with federal nonprofit income tax status from the requirement to
obtain a sales tax special event permit;
·
Modifies
regulatory requirements for certain federally regulated investment companies
under the Small Business Capital Formation Incentive Act and the Rural Venture
Capital Formation Incentive Act;
·
Creates
income tax deduction for certain expenses associated with organ donation;
·
Requires
a checkoff on the income tax form for the donation of an income tax refund to
regional food banks; and
·
Permits
the buyer of certain delinquent tax sale property to use certified funds rather
than cash.
Effective 7-1-07 for Section 1. Effective 11-1-07 for Sections 2 through 9
and 12. Effective 1-1-08 for Sections 10
and 11.
SB 814 (Williamson/Sullivan): Modifies procedures relating to tax refund
intercept where Department of Human Services is attempting to provide for child
support payments. Effective 7-1-07.
SB 854 (Wilson/Liebmann): Makes certain types of contributions to the
Oklahoma College Savings Plan ineligible for an income tax deduction. Effective 7-1-07.
SB 861 (Barrington/Terrill): Modifies various tax provisions, including:
·
Provides
franchise tax exemption for taxpayers owing $250 or less;
·
Provides
a sales tax holiday for the sale of clothing or footwear with a sales price under
$100 during the first weekend in August each year. Requires cities and counties to be reimbursed
for the loss of sales tax revenue;
·
Accelerates
the reduction in the top marginal income tax rate for 2008 (to 5.5%) and 2009
(to 5.25% if revenues are adequate); and
·
Provides
an income tax deduction which may be claimed if a taxpayer: 1) is a parent of a
dependent child; 2) does not claim the Oklahoma child care expense credit; and
3) has an annual adjusted gross income of $100,000 or less.
Effective 7-1-07 for Sections 2 through 6
(sales tax holiday). Effective 1-1-08 for
Sections 1, 7 and 8.
SB 922 (Leftwich/Terrill): Authorizes incentive levies made by college
technology center school districts or technology center school districts to
apply to certain overlap territory. Limits such levies to one district
making an incentive levy in the overlap territory at any given time. Effective 7-1-07.
SB 1076 (Wilson/Terrill): Modifies various tax
provisions, including:
·
Modifies
statutory reference relating to county excise board procedures;
·
Modifies
numerous provisions relating to the application of sales tax on telecommunications
for purposes of conformity under the Streamlined Sales Tax Agreement;
·
Modifies
the date after which certain sales tax sourcing rule applies to florists;
·
Modifies
dates relating to electronic filing of income tax return and claim filing under
Sales Tax Relief Act; and
·
Modifies
Tax Commission procedure relating to rebate of certain workers’ compensation
assessment.
Effective 11-1-07.
HB 1094 (Piatt/Crutchfield): Provides charity
games tax exemption for sales of bingo equipment to group homes for the
mentally disabled. Effective 7-1-07.
HB 1485 (Adkins/Bingman): Provides for a specific
method of assessing the taxable value of personal property used in the
exploration of oil, gas and other minerals.
Clarifies the right of a taxpayer to appeal an order of a board of
equalization. Permits gas producers to
deduct certain marketing costs when computing the gross value of gas for
purposes of gross production and petroleum excise taxes. Defines what constitutes marketing costs and
how such costs are determined. Effective
1-1-08.
HB 1513 (DeWitt/Myers): Modifies income tax
credit for qualified ethanol and biodiesel facilities by extending sunset and
other dates. Effective 11-1-07.
HB 1544 (Winchester/Branan): Creates sales tax exemption for specified
businesses primarily engaged in repair of consumer electronics. Effective 7-1-07.
HB 1562 (Denney/Laughlin): Modifies an existing
ad valorem tax exemption for “continuum of care” communities by eliminating a
county population threshold, dependent on date of construction. Effective 1-1-08.
HB 1718 (Miller/Gumm): Extends the sunset date
to 2010 for the 3-tier gross production tax on oil and gas and for certain
gross production tax exemptions for economically at-risk oil or gas
leases. Effective 7-1-07.
HB 1916 (Richardson/Justice): Exempts certain aboveground fuel storage
tanks from the requirements of Corporation Commission rules which were to
become effective in July of 2007.
Requires the Corporation Commission to amend existing rules to allow
storage tanks designed and built for underground use to be used as aboveground
storage tanks if they are used with secondary containment. Exempts from motor
fuel tax biofuels or biodiesel produced by an individual with crops grown by
the individual and used in a vehicle owned by the individual. Modifies certain dates relating to income tax
credit for qualified biodiesel facilities.
Emergency for Section 1. Effective 1-1-08 for Sections 2 and 3.
HB 2051 (Glenn/Garrison): Permits those with a
special license plate for an antique or classic vehicle to obtain a 10-year
registration at the cost of $75. Tag agents would receive the full portion of
the 10-year fee during the initial registration. Effective 11-1-07.
Telecommunications & Technology M
SB 712 (Williamson/Tibbs): Creates the Anti-Caller ID Spoofing Act to
prohibit callers from knowingly inserting false information into a caller ID
system. Effective 11-1-07.
HB 1017
(Carey/Jolley): Requires address of the
manufacturer of a sound recording or audiovisual work to be displayed on such
item if it is offered for sale, rental or other distribution. Effective 11-1-07.
Tourism & Wildlife M
SB 470 (Wilson/Piatt): Allows the Department of Tourism and
Recreation to keep confidential business plans, feasibility studies, financing
proposals, marketing plans, financial statements or trade secrets submitted by
a person or entity seeking economic advice from the Department; allows the Tourism
and Recreation Commission to transfer property known as “Tsa La Gi” to the
Oklahoma Historical Society; directs royalty payments to be deposited in the
State Parks Trust Fund and allows the Fund to be invested with the State
Treasurer; creates the “Lake Murray Area Infrastructure Support Act”; gives
directions to the Oklahoma Tax Commission on state sales tax revenue collected.
Effective 7-1-07.
SB 558 (Sparks/Richardson): Modifies costs of deer archery hunting license
and primitive firearms licenses for legal residents under 18 years of age to $9
and modifies the requirements for waiver of bond or cash deposits for license
dealers. Effective 11-1-07.
HB 1042 (Smithson/Wyrick): Modifies age requirement for hunter safety
certification by:
·
Exempting
a youth hunter under 16 years of age from hunter safety certification if they
are accompanied by a licensed hunter 21 years of age or older who possesses a
certificate of hunter safety;
·
Stating
a youth hunter who possesses a certificate of hunter safety may hunt small game
without an accompanying hunter as long as the youth hunter carries the certification
on their person; and
·
Allowing
a resident without hunter safety certification to purchase an apprentice lifetime
license which will allow them to hunt only
if they are accompanied by a licensed hunter 21 years of age or older who possesses
a certificate of hunter safety. Effective 7-1-07.
HB 1393 (Richardson/Ford): Redefines the definition of “resident” for
the purpose of purchasing a license, permit, stamp or any other issue of the
Department of Wildlife Conservation.
Also authorizes a person who is not otherwise a resident and is a member
of the Armed Forces of the
HB 2064 (Richardson/Barrington): Authorizes the Department of Wildlife
Conservation to issue permits to certain persons to control nuisance or damage
by any species of wildlife including beaver, coyote, deer, bobcat, raccoon and
crow. These permits will be valid to control the wildlife at night to protect
marketable agricultural crops, livestock, or processed feed, seed or other
materials used in the production of an agricultural commodity. The permits are
for a period of up to one year from the date the permit was issued and persons
with a valid permit shall be required to have a current agricultural exemption
permit issued by the Oklahoma Tax Commission.
Persons with such permit may use a headlight carried on the person while
hunting at night and any hunting with a headlight mounted on a vehicle or from
a public roadway shall be illegal. Effective 11-1-07.
Tourism
Funding
SB 334 appropriates $27,826,991 to the Department
of Tourism and Recreation. This is a
$753,617 increase over the agency’s FY’07 appropriation.
The agency will receive $191,000 to operate
the new Visitor’s Center being built in the State Capitol and an additional
$150,000 for multi-county organizations.
J.M.
SB 334 appropriates $535,403 to the J.M. Davis
Memorial Commission. This is a $153,237
increase over the agency’s FY’07 appropriation. Most of the increase will be
used for capital needs such as roof repair and resurfacing.
Will
SB 334 appropriates $1,083,702 to the Will
Rogers Memorial Commission. This is a
$158,506 increase over the agency’s FY’07 appropriation. Most of the increase
will be used for maintenance and repairs.
Transportation M
SB 86 (Myers/Peterson (Ron): Modifies the definition of “motorized bicycle”. The bill also amends the definition of
“personal information” relating to vehicle registration records maintained by
the Tax Commission. The bill authorizes
the Tax Commission to sell certain information for use in connection with matters
of motor vehicle or driver safety and theft, motor vehicle emissions, motor
vehicle product alterations, recalls or advisories for a reasonable fee. Effective 6-4-07.
SB 140 (Bass/Schwartz): Authorizes the Highway Construction Materials
Technician Certification Board to govern the training of construction
inspectors, first line construction supervisors, and other highway workers who
are not registered materials technicians.
Effective 4-18-07.
SB 378 (Ballenger/Rousselot): Modifies the current statutes to allow boards
of county commissioners to join together with other counties to create a
circuit engineering district and a statewide board. This bill modifies the powers of the
Statewide Circuit Engineering District and amends the name of their revolving
fund. SB 378 also requires the State
Auditor and Inspector to audit the Statewide Circuit Engineering District
annually at the board’s cost. Effective
7-1-07.
SB 533 (Garrison/Rousselot): Names a portion
of SH 69 to honor Colonel Albert Hill of Muskogee, a portion of the Muskogee
Turnpike to honor the 929th Troop Carrier Group of US Air Force
Reserve and the Alton M. Ashworth US Army Reserve Center, a portion of SH 270
and 271 in Wister to honor Danny Martinez, an overpass located on SH 59 and 271
to honor Sergeant Buddy Hughie of Poteau, and designates SH 20 between Pryor
and Salina to honor PFC John Reece, Jr.
Effective 5-18-07.
SB 563 (Aldridge/Banz): Modifies the retention of monies, by the
Oklahoma Department of Transportation, in the Public Transit Revolving Fund by
amending current statutes to provide payments for new public mass transportation
programs at a rate of Seventy-five cents ($0.75) per passenger mile instead of
per vehicle revenue mile. Effective
5-14-07.
SB 622 (Anderson/Jackson): Modifies certain agreements between aircraft
manufacturers and their dealers located in this state. This bill would limit certain contractual
agreement practices to contracts or agreements which were in place prior to
July 1, 2007. Effective 7-1-07.
SJR 14 (Brown/Adkins): Urges the US Department of Transportation to
include the
HB 1346: (Rousselot/Garrison): Designates a portion of SH 51B in Porter as
the
HB 1443 (Banz/Aldridge): Designates a portion of Interstate 40 near
Midwest City as the “Freedom Freeway” and a portion of the Broken Arrow
Expressway in Broken Arrow as the “Disabled American Veterans Highway”. Effective 11-1-07.
HB 1754 (Worthen/Myers): Requires highway authorities to notify the
operators maintaining utility facilities such as lines, poles and pipelines
prior to conducting design surveys for proposed improvement, construction or
reconstruction of a highway. Upon
receipt of such notice, the operators of any utility facility would have 10
days to locate and mark their facilities.
Effective 11-1-07.
HB 1819 (Martin (Scott)/Branan): Amends the law relating to bidding
requirements of highway contracts. The
change allows for bidding on surface treatment road projects in twenty-mile
sections. Emergency.
HB 1872 (Johnson (Dennis)/Garrison): Relates to the exceptions for complying with
the Public Competitive Bidding Act of 1974 in case of emergency. The change adds the Oklahoma Turnpike
Authority to the exceptions for notice and bids on contracts of less than
$35,000 and not to exceed $500,000.
Effective 11-1-07.
HB 1941 (McMullen/Ivester): Provides for the naming of state highway and
bridges. A clarification to the “
HB 2087 (Jackson/Leftwich): Modifies the law on calculations of vehicle
excise tax. The change adds a requirement
to include the number of tires and tire rim diameters on a vehicle bill of sale
to be furnished by the seller to the purchaser.
Effective 11-1-07.
Veterans
& Military Affairs M
SB 17 (Barrington/Coody): Designates the week in which Veterans Day
falls as "Celebrate Freedom Week".
The bill requires that by December 31, 2007, all public school districts
in the state must include as part of their social studies curriculum during
Celebrate Freedom Week or any other full week appropriate instruction
concerning the Declaration of Independence, the United States Constitution, and
the Bill of Rights. The bill prohibits
censorship of religious references when teaching these documents. It directs a study of the ideas expressed in the
Declaration of Independence as they relate to subsequent American history, the
immigrant heritage of the nation, the American Revolution, the formulation of
the Constitution, the abolitionist movement, and the women's suffrage
movement. The bill requires that students
in grades three through twelve be taught to recite a specific passage in the Declaration. The bill provides exceptions from student recitation
in the cases of objecting parents, conscientious objection by the student, or
if the student is the child of a representative of a foreign government to whom
the
SB 158 (Bass/Jordan): Prohibits a court from making a final order
modifying custody of a child if the custodial parent is required to be
separated from the child due to military service until the completion of the
term of duty. Effective 4-18-07.
SB 1026 (Bass/Duncan): Creates the
Veterans
Funding
The Department of Veterans Affairs received an
appropriation of $40,282,600. This is a
2.4 percent increase over the agency's FY'07 appropriation. The Department received $94,000 for increased
debt service payments and $103,000 for increased medical supplies costs.
Military Department Funding
The Military Department received an FY'08 appropriation
in the amount of $13,654,939. $372,638 was added for deferred maintenance on
BRAC-Retained facilities to bring all BRAC armories up to full compliance with
all building codes.
Senate and House Concurrent Resolutions
SCR 4 (Branan/Dank): Commending the life of Mex L. Frates and offering
condolences upon her death. Adopted
3-28-07.
SCR 5 (Garrison/Pruett):
Designating February 14, 2007,
SCR 6 (Crain/Steele): Medicaid; urging reauthorization of the State
Children's Health Insurance Program.
Adopted 5-17-07.
SCR 7 (Wilson/Brown): Honoring the life of the late Congressman Ted
Risenhoover. Adopted 4-2-07.
SCR 8 (Ivester/Wesselhoft): Designating February 17, 2007 as Vets for Victory
Day. Adopted 2-20-07.
SCR 10 (Brogdon/Key): Urging
SCR 12 (Corn/Brannon): Commending the service of the late Sgt. Buddy
Hughie. Adopted 3-5-07.
SCR 13 (Leftwich/Steele): Supporting the goal of eliminating suffering
and death due to cancer by 2015. Adopted
5-2-07.
SCR 14 (Leftwich/Thompson): Commemorating United Parcel Service's 100th
anniversary. Adopted 3-26-07.
SCR 17 (Leftwich/Terrill): Authorizing Board of Regents of Oklahoma City
Community College to issue revenue bonds.
Adopted 5-10-07.
SCR 20 (Morgan/Ingmire): Commending the
SCR 21 (Mazzei/Peterson
(Pam)): Commending ONEOK upon their
100th anniversary. Adopted 3-21-07.
SCR 22 (Wilson/Brown): Mourning the loss of U.S. Army Sgt. William
J. Beardsley. Adopted 5-7-07.
SCR 24 (Sparks/Winchester): Honoring the life and career of the Reverend
Dick Virtue. Adopted 4-3-07.
SCR 25 (Eason
McIntyre/Shelton): Designating October
15, 2007, Pregnancy and Infant Loss Remembrance Day in the State of
SCR 27 (Johnson
(Constance)/Joyner): Congratulating the
Midwest City High School Bombers boys basketball team upon winning the 2007
Class 6A State Championship. Adopted 4-17-07.
SCR 28 (Garrison/McPeak): Authorizing the Board of Regents for Oklahoma
A&M Colleges to issue revenue bonds on behalf of Connors State College. Adopted 5-15-07.
SCR 31 (Wilson/Hoskin): Commending the military accomplishments of
Sergeant Billy Walkabout. Adopted 5-15-07.
SCR 32 (Schulz/Braddock): Dedicating the
SCR 34 (Corn/Smithson): Commending the life of the late Corporal Josh
Pickard, USMC. Adopted 5-17-07.
SCR 35 (Easley/Rousselot): Commending the career of Bill Secrest;
designating May 8, 2007, Bill Secrest Day.
Adopted 5-23-07.
SCR 41 (Morgan/Cargill):
Setting date and time of sine die
adjournment of First Session of 51st Oklahoma Legislature. Adopted 5-25-07.
HCR 1010 (Peterson
(Ron)/Paddack): Concurrent Resolution
creating the Core Health Benefit Task Force.
Adopted 5-7-07.
HCR 1014 (Pittman/Eason
McIntyre): Recognizing the seventh
annual observance of the National Black HIV/AIDS Awareness Day on February 7,
2007. Adopted 3-14-07.
HCR 1015 (Murphey/Anderson): Requiring the original Great Seal of Oklahoma
to be moved to
HCR 1020 (Lamons/Adelson): Recognizing the importance of finding the
cause and cure for multiple sclerosis; expressing appreciation to the Oklahoma
Chapter of the National Multiple Sclerosis Society (NMSS) for its work; proclaiming
March 2007, Multiple Sclerosis Awareness Month.
Adopted 3-28-07.
HCR 1022 (Martin
(Scott)/
HCR 1023 (Sullivan/Williamson): Praising Colonel James E. Swett for his
leadership and service; expressing appreciation. Adopted 3-22-07.
HCR 1025 (Lamons/Adelson): Recognizing the 400th Anniversary of the
founding of
HCR 1027 (Dorman/Justice): Declaring May 9, 2007, to be Meningitis
Awareness Day. Adopted 5-14-07.
HCR 1028 (Worthen/Adelson): Establishing the Task Force on Juvenile
Offender Substance Abuse Assessment.
Adopted 5-24-07.
HCR 1034 (Lamons/Adelson): Congratulating The
HCR 1036 (Liebmann/Laster):
HCR 1037 (Jackson/Bingman): Relating to the rules of the Oklahoma
Aeronautics Commission. Adopted 5-22-07.
HCR 1038 (Wesselhoft/Adelson): Supporting Nation of Israel and
congratulating
HCR 1039 (Hyman/Crutchfield): Declaring November to be Lung Cancer
Awareness Month. Adopted 5-23-07.
HCR 1040 (Proctor/Brogdon): Requesting federal government to reinstate
buyouts of private property around airports from willing private property owners. Adopted 5-22-07.
HCR 1041 (Jett/Aldridge): Recognizing importance of international
education at institutions of higher education.
Adopted 5-23-07.
Senate and House Resolutions
SR 2 (Branan): Praising the life and accomplishments of the
late Edward C. Joullian. Adopted
2-19-07.
SR 3 (Branan): Commending
SR 4 (Coffee): Commending the public service of the late
President Gerald R. Ford. Adopted
2-5-07.
SR 5 (Leftwich): Congratulating Aaron Ross upon his selection
as the 2006 Jim Thorpe Award winner.
Adopted 2-12-07.
SR 6 (Johnson (
SR 7 (Schulz): Designating February 20, 2007, Oklahoma
Emergency Management Day at the state capitol.
Adopted 2-20-07.
SR 8 (Rabon): Commending B.J. Thomas for his many contributions
to
SR 9 (Lerblance): Congratulating the McAlester Lady Buffs for
winning the Class 5A State Volleyball Championship. Adopted 2-21-07.
SR 10 (Jolley): Commending the public career of former State
Senator Bryce Baggett. Adopted 2-21-07.
SR 11 (Jolley): Mourning the loss of Dr. Garland Godfrey. Adopted 3-19-07.
SR 12 (Mazzei): Commending the 2006 Jenks High School
Football team for winning the State Class 6A Championship. Adopted 4-11-07.
SR 14 (Nichols): Commending Col./Chief Jerry N. Cason upon the occasion of his retirement
from the Oklahoma Highway Patrol.
Adopted 3-13-07.
SR 15 (Reynolds): Designating March 15, 2007, Red Cross Day at
the State Capitol. Adopted 3-15-07.
SR 16 (Rice): Welcoming Ken Burns to the Oklahoma State
Capitol; designating March 15, 2007, Ken Burns Appreciation Day. Adopted 3-15-07.
SR 17 (Gumm): Welcoming Pastor Alva Gumm as Chaplain of the
SR 18 (Crain): Congratulating Lindsey Miller upon being
crowned Miss
SR 19 (Lerblance): Commending the Red Oak Lady Eagles Fastpitch
Softball Team. Adopted 3-21-07.
SR 21 (Morgan): Commending Boys and Girls Clubs across
SR 22 (Corn): Praising the law enforcement career of the
late Danny Martinez. Adopted 3-28-07.
SR 23 (Branan): Commending the
SR 25 (Justice): Designating April 4, 2007, 4-H Day at the
SR 26 (Riley): Congratulating Melissa Soto upon her
selection as Mrs. Sand Springs 2007.
Adopted 4-3-07.
SR 27 (Brown): Congratulating Chastity Anderson upon her
selection as Mrs. Oklahoma 2006. Adopted
4-3-07.
SR 28 (Nichols): Commending the governmental career of Gary W.
Gardenhire. Adopted 4-4-07.
SR 29 (
SR 30 (Sweeden): Endorsing the Housing America 2007 goals. Adopted 4-12-07.
SR 31 (Jolley): Congratulating the Oklahoma Christian School
Saints for winning the Class 2A
SR 32 (Johnson (Mike): Declaring April 2007, Autism Awareness Month. Adopted 4-26-07.
SR 33 (Rabon): Memorializing Congress to keep Farmer Service
Agencies in
SR 34 (Sparks): Praising the accomplishments of the
SR 35 (Jolley): Designating May 1, 2007, Science and Technology
Day at the State Capitol. Adopted
5-1-07.
SR 36 (Lamb): Designating May 2007, Arthritis Month in the
State of
SR 37 (Morgan): Commending the public service of Samuel
Jackson. Adopted 5-7-07.
SR 38 (Morgan): Praising the memory of
SR 40 (Ivester): Honoring the heroism of Trooper Shawn Laughlin. Adopted 5-10-07.
SR 41 (Garrison): Honoring Trooper Tom Taylor for his humanitarian
effort. Adopted 5-10-07.
SR 42 (Nichols): Declaring May 10, 2007,
SR 43 (Burrage): Commending Sequoyah High School football team
for winning the 2006 State Class 3A Championship. Adopted 5-16-07.
SR 44 (Paddack): Commending the cement plant in
SR 45 (Laster): Praising the Department of Human Services for
hosting the 2007 Southwest Regional Support Enforcement Association Training
Conference. Adopted 5-17-07.
SR 46 (Crain): Promoting access to capital markets and business
development. Adopted 5-23-07.
SR 48 (Laster): Providing for property and supplies of
Senate; specifying duties of President Pro Tempore. Adopted 5-24-07.
SR 49 (Johnson (
SR 50 (Rabon): Commending all those who have contributed to
the McCurtain County Veteran's
SR 51 (Johnson (
HR 1002 (Cargill): Resolution providing for temporary employees
of House of Representatives. Adopted
2-5-07.
HR 1003 (Cargill): Rules of the 51st
HR 1005 (Covey): Resolution designating February 20, 2007,
"Oklahoma Emergency Management Day" at State Capitol; commending and
welcoming emergency managers; distribution.
Adopted 2-20-07.
HR 1006 (Blackwell): Resolution proclaiming March 2 as Read Across
America Day. Adopted 3-5-07.
HR 1007 (Wesselhoft): A Resolution honoring prisoners of war. Adopted 3-12-07.
HR 1009 (Sullivan): Resolution honoring Lindsey Miller as Miss
Oklahoma 2006; commending her accomplishments; distribution. Adopted 3-19-07.
HR 1010 (Morgan): Resolution celebrating 85th birthday of Bob
Rousselot; honoring his service; expressing condolences; distribution. Adopted 3-19-07.
HR 1011 (Coody): Resolution honoring Lauren Nelson of
HR 1013 (Jett): House rules; establishing a special rule for
House Bill 1234; termination. Adopted
3-21-07.
HR 1015 By (Steele): Resolution proclaiming April 28, 2007, as the
second annual Kelsey Briggs Day. Adopted
4-19-07.
HR 1016 (Rousselot): Concurrent Resolution recognizing service of
members of the Civil Air Transport and Air
HR 1017 (Jones): Resolution commending Boys & Girls Clubs
of Oklahoma for outstanding service; distribution. Adopted 3-28-07.
HR 1018 (Steele): Resolution designating
HR 1019 (
HR 1020 (Armes): Resolution designating April 4, 2007, as
"4-H Day"; urging people to become more aware of program. Adopted 4-4-07.
HR 1021 (Shannon): A Resolution condemning the U.S. House of
Representatives leadership for their plan to relocate terrorists to Fort Sill,
Oklahoma, or anywhere else in the continental United States; distribution. Adopted 4-10-07.
HR 1022 (Denney): Resolution observing May 3, 2007, as the
National Day of Prayer. Adopted 5-3-07.
HR 1023 (
HR 1024 (Denney): Resolution observing April 25, 2007, as
Malaria Awareness Day. Adopted 4-25-07.
HR 1025 (Dorman): Resolution declaring first week of May 2007
as Suicide Prevention Week; distribution.
Adopted 5-3-07.
HR 1026 (Murphey): Resolution encouraging retirement systems
managed by State of
HR 1027 (Gilbert): Resolution declaring May 2007 as Autoimmune
Disease and Scleroderma Awareness Month; distribution. Adopted 5-9-07.
HR 1028 (
HR 1029 (Morgan): Resolution congratulating the StableRidge
Winery; expressing appreciation; distribution.
Adopted 5-10-07.
HR 1033 (Enns): Resolution commending President George W.
Bush and members of Congress for efforts to derive stem cells by nondestructive
means; expressing appreciation for President's leadership; distribution. Adopted 5-14-07.
HR 1034 (Ellis): Resolution expressing confidence in Oklahoma
Attorney General; encouraging him to defend water resources; distribution. Adopted 5-24-07.
HR 1035 (
HR 1036 (Faught): Resolution commending Trooper Tom Taylor; distribution. Adopted 5-10-07.
HR 1037 (Peterson
(Pam)): Resolution declaring the week of
May 7 through 11, 2007, as Christian Heritage Week; expressing appreciation to
Founding Fathers. Adopted 5-10-07.
HR 1038 (Mullen): Resolution commending
HR 1040 (Blackwell): Resolution declaring May 2007 to be Arthritis
Month; urging citizens to support activities and educational programming. Adopted 5-10-07.
HR 1041 (Hyman): Resolution recognizing final graduating class
of Oklahoma Agricultural and
HR 1042 (Banz): Resolution recommending support of
legislation to reduce age at which member of United States Armed Forces Reserve
Component can receive military retirement pay; distribution. Adopted 5-21-07.
HR 1045 (McNiel): Resolution memorializing Congress to
reinstate humane slaughter of horses; distribution. Adopted 5-23-07.
HR 1046 (McPeak): Resolution urging Congress to reauthorize Indian
Health Care Improvement Act; encouraging Congress to extend eligibility to
rural areas; supporting access to residential treatment centers for Native
American youth; distribution. Adopted
5-25-07.
Vetoed Bills
SB 95 (Corn/Richardson): Removes the requirement that land must be
posted “No Hunting” or “No Fishing” and the person hunting or fishing without permission on land
used for farming, ranching or forestry would lose their hunting and fishing
license.
Vetoed 5-21-07. Veto message states: that “I have vetoed this
bill because it is overly broad in its application and prohibits long-standing
outdoor recreation and hunting practices and traditions. In addition, because of the overbroad impact
of this legislation, well-intended persons could be deemed criminals when they
enter land belonging to another for some legitimate and innocent purpose.”
SB 507 (Branan/Johnson
(Rob)): Provides comprehensive lawsuit
reform, including but not limited to, provisions modifying calculation of
attorney fees, dismissal of actions, expert opinions, pre and postjudgment
interest, appeal bonds, joint and several liability, limitation on damages,
peer review and volunteer immunity.
Vetoed 4-28-07. Veto message states: “I have vetoed this bill primarily because several provisions are unconstitutional,
and the measure unduly restricts the ability of Oklahomans to seek equal
justice through the civil justice system. The measure also makes it virtually
impossible for the state to pursue a legal course of action designed to protect
its citizens and valuable resources. Finally, the legislation does little to
curb frivolous lawsuits.”
SB 698 (Laster/Sullivan): Limits requests for production of documents
to 30.
Vetoed 4-23-07. Veto message states: “I have been informed by one of the principal authors that this bill contains
an error, and the author has requested I veto this bill.”
SB 714
(Williamson/Wright): Requires the State
Department of Health to make a form available to physicians which requests
information about abortions which the physician performs and requires
physicians to submit the form to the Department. Directs the Department to publish a public
report providing statistics from information compiled from the forms. Prohibits physicians from performing abortions
without obtaining proof that the female is not a minor, is an emancipated minor
or has been given judicial authorization as a minor, except in a medical
emergency. Requires a parent who consents
to an abortion to provide the physician proof of identification and a notarized
statement. Directs physicians who
perform abortions on minors without consent in a medical emergency to notify
the parents. Requires physicians who perform
abortions on minors to submit a form to the Department. Directs the Department to publish a public report
providing statistics from information compiled from the forms. Makes it a felony to make a fraudulent
representation in order to obtain an abortion for a minor. Makes it a felony for a physician to
knowingly perform an abortion on a minor in violation of this act. Permits a minor or her parent to maintain a
cause of action against the person who performed an abortion without complying
with this act. States that this act and
other sections of law relating to abortion are effective if any court enjoins,
suspends or delays their implementation.
Makes it unlawful for any person employed by the state to perform or
assist an abortion not necessary to save the life of the mother. Makes it unlawful for any public institution,
facility or equipment controlled by the state to be used for the purpose of an
abortion not necessary to save the life of the mother. Makes it unlawful for any funds received or
controlled by the state to be used to encourage a woman to have an abortion not
necessary to save the life of the mother.
Prohibits health insurance plans from providing coverage for elective
abortions except by an optional rider.
Vetoed 4-18-07. Veto message states: “the measure is flawed
in that it does not include exceptions for cases of incest and rape”. It further states that “this bill would
severely compromise healthcare in our state by placing undue restrictions on
the sacred relationship between doctor and patient.”
SB 1019
(Sykes/Johnson (Dennis)): Specifies requirements
relating to notice and ballot titles for county ballot measures.
Vetoed 6-4-07. Veto message states:
“Although the legislation established uniform guidelines for county ballot
questions, it also reduced the amount of public notice provided to county
voters before a regular or special election. State law should seek to foster a
better informed electorate and thus should provide voters with adequate notice
of a coming election.”
HB 1145 (Benge/Crutchfield): Makes an appropriation to the Oklahoma Department
of Libraries.
Vetoed 4-27-07. Veto message states: “I have vetoed this bill because there is not yet an overall budget framework.
Moreover, approving this legislation would be a meaningless gesture even if a
budget framework was in place since this individual agency appropriation does
not include an emergency clause and would not go into effect when the fiscal
year begins on July 1, thereby causing a budget gap and fiscal chaos for the
agency. Therefore, this bill cannot be used to implement a timely budget, and
it would be irresponsible to approve and sign it.”
HB 1219 (Benge/Crutchfield): Makes an appropriation to the Oklahoma Tax
Commission.
Vetoed 4-27-07. Veto message states: “I have vetoed this bill because there is not yet an overall budget framework.
Moreover, approving this legislation would be a meaningless gesture even if a
budget framework was in place since this individual agency appropriation does
not include an emergency clause and would not go into effect when the fiscal
year begins on July 1, thereby causing a budget gap and fiscal chaos for the
agency. Therefore, this bill cannot be used to implement a timely budget, and
it would be irresponsible to approve and sign it.”
HB 1223 (Benge/Crutchfield): Makes an appropriation to the State
Treasurer.
Vetoed 4-27-07. Veto message states: “I have vetoed this bill because there is not yet an overall budget framework.
Moreover, approving this legislation would be a meaningless gesture even if a
budget framework was in place since this individual agency appropriation does
not include an emergency clause and would not go into effect when the fiscal
year begins on July 1, thereby causing a budget gap and fiscal chaos for the
agency. Therefore, this bill cannot be used to implement a timely budget, and
it would be irresponsible to approve and sign it.”
SB 1234 (Benge/Crutchfield): Makes general appropriations for state
government.
Line item Veto 3-28-07. Veto message states: “I have VETOED one hundred thirty-five (135) items in House Bill 1234. I
have approved items in this bill that relate to supplemental funding for
agencies which require emergency funding to maintain vital services. I have
vetoed the supplemental funds earmarked for the Legislative Services Bureau.
This appropriation duplicates the work of existing state authorities and
contains no accountability measures to ensure it will be spent responsibly. For
those reasons, this appropriation is not in the best interest of
HB 1241 (Benge/Crutchfield): Makes an appropriation to the Oklahoma Human
Rights Commission.
Vetoed 4-27-07. Veto message states: “I have vetoed this bill because there is not yet an overall budget framework.
Moreover, approving this legislation would be a meaningless gesture even if a
budget framework was in place since this individual agency appropriation does
not include an emergency clause and would not go into effect when the fiscal year
begins on July 1, thereby causing a budget gap and fiscal chaos for the agency.
Therefore, this bill cannot be used to implement a timely budget, and it would
be irresponsible to approve and sign it.”
HB 1271 (Benge/Crutchfield): Makes an appropriation to the Oklahoma
Conservation Commission.
Vetoed 4-27-07. Veto message states: “I have vetoed this bill because there is not yet an overall budget framework.
Moreover, approving this legislation would be a meaningless gesture even if a
budget framework was in place since this individual agency appropriation does
not include an emergency clause and would not go into effect when the fiscal
year begins on July 1, thereby causing a budget gap and fiscal chaos for the
agency. Therefore, this bill cannot be used to implement a timely budget, and
it would be irresponsible to approve and sign it.”
HB 1776 (Thompson/Lamb): This measure allows a jail booking fee for a
person admitted to a jail facility and subsequently convicted of a violation of
state law. The jail booking fee is to
defer any costs of processing the defendant.
The court is prohibited from waiving the jail booking fee. The jail booking fee is $15 and the court
clerk may retain 5% of the monies collected with the remainder deposited in the
Sheriff’s Service Fee Account or the general fund of the jail trust
authority. The bill adds cellular
phones, electronic devices, cigarettes, cigars, chewing tobacco and other
tobacco products to the contraband items in prisons and jails. It provides for the testing of an inmate for
disease when an officer or employee comes into contact with inmate bodily
fluids. The test results are to be
provided to the officer or employee in writing and a referral made for health
care and support services if exposed to disease.
Vetoed 6-4-07. Veto message states: “While I support tough restrictions on contraband, a felony and penalty
of 5-20 years for possession of tobacco is excessive.”
HB 1930
(Steele/Laster): Includes a person who
is licensed to practice medicine and is acting within the scope of an Oklahoma
Health Care Authority administrative professional services contract under the
Governmental Tort Claims Act.
Vetoed 6-7-07. Veto message states: “While I support including under the Oklahoma Governmental Tort Claims
Act doctors who contract with the Oklahoma Health Care Authority to perform
administrative duties such as reviewing medical charts, this legislation is
overly broad and ambiguous and is covered elsewhere in the Act.”
