The deadline for members of the Oklahoma State Senate to file legislation for the second session of the 53rd Legislature was 4 p.m. Thursday, January 19. A total of 972 bills and 45 joint resolutions were filed with 753 Senate Bills and 41 Senate Joint Resolutions carried over from the 2011 session.

Under Senate rules, appropriations bills are not subject to the deadlines pertaining to substantive (policy) bills. Last year, 976 substantive bills and 45 joint resolutions were filed by the 2011 deadline.

On Wednesday, Sen. Jim Wilson filed legislation to ensure access to individual health insurance for Oklahoma children. The Tahlequah Democrat said his bill is in response to the new rule allowing insurance companies writing policies in Oklahoma to avoid the Affordable Care Act requirement to offer health insurance for all children without regard to the child’s health status or condition.

A bill filed Thursday could help public housing authorities collect debts owed to them by tenants. Senate Bill 1019, by Sen. Earl Garrison and Rep. Jeannie McDaniel, would allow public housing authorities to file claims with the Oklahoma Tax Commission to deduct debts owed to them from tenants’ personal income tax refunds.

Sen. Bryce Marlatt, R-Woodward, has filed Senate Bill 1312. The measure makes it a crime if a person witnesses the sexual assault of child but fails to report the incident to police.

“In Oklahoma, if you witness a child being molested, you are required to report it to the Department of Human Services,” Marlatt said. “That simply isn’t enough. Until the perpetrator is arrested, there’s nothing to stop him from abusing that child or seeking out other victims. My legislation would require the person witnessing such a crime to call the police or local sheriff.”

Every year, millions of taxpayer dollars are doled out to help Oklahoma families in need through public assistance programs. Some of these funds are given to individuals through fraudulent means who do not qualify for them. Sen. Josh Brecheen plans to help address some of the waste through two bills filed this week.

“Media reports of the president's rejection of the Keystone XL pipeline confirms what Oklahomans already know: Obama cares more about his re-election prospects than our nation's energy independence and the hundreds of thousands of jobs this project would create.

“Pandering to far-left environmentalists might please the president's friends at MoveOn.org, but it won't help relieve the glut of crude oil in Cushing,
won't create jobs for Oklahomans, and certainly won't make America's energy future secure."

Sen. David Holt, R-Oklahoma City, has filed legislation to make the Oklahoma Legislature subject to the Open Meetings and Open Records Acts. Those two statutes have long provided transparency to all levels of government, but not the Legislature, which exempted itself.

Sen. Dan Newberry has filed legislation aimed at reducing Oklahoma’s long term fiscal burden by guaranteeing a percentage of spillover funding is dedicated toward paying the state’s pension liability debt.

Senate Bill 1264 would take effect after the state’s Rainy Day Fund is full. The measure would then ensure that 33 percent of any spillover funding is applied toward the reduction of pension liability debt. Once pension liability is funded at 80 percent, the same percentage of spillover funding would be dedicated to reducing the state’s bonded indebtedness.

Sen. Ralph Shortey today issued the following statement in response to criticism of Oklahoma Insurance Commissioner John Doak by Oklahoma Senate Democrats.

Sen. Sean Burrage, D-Claremore, announced Thursday that he cannot accept the emergency rules handed down from Commissioner Doak and Governor Fallin as Oklahoma’s best effort to fix the problems surrounding the child-only insurance market. A pair of bills being filed offer a path forward without leaving newborns out in the cold. Burrage said that as many as 17 other states have faced a similar problem.