The first session of the 59th Legislature was held from February 6 till May 26. While in session, several new bills were passed.
The first session of the 59th Legislature was held from February 6 till May 26. While in session, several new bills were passed.
One of the bills will help Oklahoma children establish permanency more efficiently. Senate Bill 706 by Sen. Roland Pederson, R-Burlington will require a jury trial for parental rights termination proceedings to have a scheduling order issued sooner than they have in the past.
The new bill requires the order to be issued within 30 days of the demand for a trial. Once the order is issued, the trial must take place within a six-month time frame, unless exceptional circumstances warrant a delay, or all parties involved agree to the extension.
“In Fiscal Year 2022, over 3,300 children in Oklahoma entered out-of-home care such as foster care, trial reunification or other settings,” Pederson said. “The goal with SB 706 is that having a set time frame for these jury trials will help these cases move through the process more efficiently and get children in safe, permanent placements as soon as possible.”
“I greatly appreciate all who supported this legislation, including my Senate colleagues, the bill’s House principal author, Representative Randleman, as well as the governor for signing it into law,” Pederson said. “I hope that this will help many kids across the state in their journey to reunification or adoption.”
Senate Bill 100, introduced by Sen. Dewayne Pemberton, R-Muskogee, was one of the top recommendations of the bipartisan Scholl Safety Working Group. This bill is set to ensure all school districts in Oklahoma meet certain safety standards to better protect students and staff.
The new bill requires all 2000 plus Oklahoma school sites to undergo a risk and vulnerability assessment from the Oklahoma School Security Institute (OSSI) or a nationally qualified assessor by July 1, 2026. They also must renew it every five years.
“After visiting with school administrators and visiting numerous school sites, it became alarmingly apparent that we needed to create a uniform system of safety standards and protocols to ensure all our students and staff are fully protected during an emergency. It shouldn’t matter if it’s a rural or urban, poor or affluent district, all schools should be safe havens where learning is the focus and students can thrive,” Pemberton said. “I’m grateful for Representative Lowe’s help in getting this across the finish line and for the overwhelming support of our legislative colleagues and Governor Stitt.”
Rep. Dick Lowe, R-Amber, a co-author of SB 100, said this bill should ease the minds of school staff and parents.
"Security is the last thing children and teachers should ever have to worry about while they are involved in the process of learning,” Lowe said. “This bill will help us ensure our schools are as safe as they can be with the proper staff, security features and protocol in place to protect our children and those who work to educate them. I'm grateful to Senator Pemberton for authoring this measure and the governor for signing it into law."
The state Department of Education was allocated $1.4 million for the OSSI to be able to hire ten additional staffers to help conduct all the risk assessments in the allotted time frame.
House Bill 2903 and House Bill 2904 was also signed. It creates a three-year school safety pilot program providing each district with $96,000 to hire a school resource officer to assist with the security upgrades. It also provides a one-time appropriation of $150 million to fund the program.
Senate Bill 513 focuses more on health and testing. The bill, authored by Sen. Paul Rosino, R-Oklahoma City, said this measure was at the top of his list for the 2023 legislative session.
“Biomarker tests help doctors determine the best treatment for a patient from the very beginning,” Rosina said. “They’re predominately used in cancer care but are increasingly important for other diseases like arthritis and other autoimmune conditions and rare diseases, with additional research underway for Alzheimer’s and more. These tests save time, money and improve survivorship and quality of life. This is a tremendous step forward as we work to improve health outcomes in Oklahoma.”
Rosino quoted a survey where over 65 percent of oncology providers noted that insurance coverage has been a significant barrier to biomarker testing for their patients. Yet, the largest insurance group for state employees estimated the cost would only be approximately 20 cents per employee. Biomarkers would allow medical providers to identify the most effective treatment from the start, avoiding unnecessary and ineffective treatments, and reduce costs.
“Most importantly, by removing barriers to biomarker tests, we’re going to save lives,” Rosino said.
Co-author Rep. Nicole Miller, R-Edmond said she knows the importance of getting diagnosed as soon as possible.
“As a cancer survivor myself, I know firsthand that the one thing a cancer patient doesn’t have is time. With cancer being the second leading cause of death in Oklahoma, we must remove barriers to biomarker testing to ensure all patients benefit from the best possible care,” Miller said. “I’m happy to be a part of the effort to deliver targeted therapies and precision medicine for the highest level of effectiveness for the thousands of Oklahomans in the cancer battle, survivors and previvors.”
There were also multiple bills passed concerning Medical Marijuana.
- HB 1004X: Makes general appropriations for FY-24. It was authored by Rep. Kevin Wallace.
- HB 2095: Forbids the employment of undocumented workers by licensed medical marijuana growers, revokes licenses for medical marijuana tax noncompliance and establishes various provisions for cooperation with OMMA and law enforcement. It was authored by Rep. Jon Echols.
- HB 2282: Provides for the annulment of regulations related to controlled dangerous substances and expands regulations governing the seizure and disposal of such substances when entities are stripped of the right to possess them. It was authored by Rep. Jon Echols.
- HB 2289: Replaces references to OSDH with OMMA regarding contract with Oklahoma Tax Commission to assess, collect and enforce tax on retail medical marijuana sales. It was authored by Rep. John Pfeiffer.
- SB 15X: Increases the registration fee for manufacturers, wholesalers and distributors of certain controlled dangerous substances for scientific purposes; EMERGENCY. It was authored by Sen. Roger Thompson.
- SB 18X: Creates a Medical Marijuana Tax Fund under the control of the Legislature to accrue medical marijuana tax revenue, funds to be appropriated to the Medical Marijuana Authority; EMERGENCY. It was authored by Sen. Roger Thompson.
- SB 475: Enhances and clarifies the authority of the Bureau of Narcotics to seize assets and issue orders for misconduct. It was authored by Sen. Lonnie Paxton.
- SB 813: Authorizes the Medical Marijuana Authority to operate a quality assurance lab, allows for greater testing of final products and inspections, and adjusts other operational powers of OMMA; EMERGENCY. It was authored by Sen. Jessica Garvin.
- SB 913: Requires applicants for a commercial grower license to file a bond with their application, deems it unlawful to operate without acquiring a bond. It was authored by Sen. Darcy Jech.