News

‘Caller ID spoofing’ bill

March 5, 2020

The House Utilities Committee passed legislation to prevent telemarketers from replicating phone numbers and misrepresenting the origin of a phone call. House Bill 3081, authored by Rep. Kyle Hilbert, R-Bristow, would prohibit callers from tampering with information displayed on caller IDs to disguise their identities. This practice is known as “caller ID spoofing” and is…

Revising the Constitution

March 5, 2020

Sen. Joe Newhouse, R-Tulsa, thinks the Oklahoma Constitution is well overdue for an upgrade. Newhouse, who authored Senate Joint Resolution 31, which would give power to the people to decide if the state should call a Constitutional Convention to propose alterations, revisions and amendments to the document. Although it has been amended over the years…

Filling teacher vacancies

March 5, 2020

The Senate Education Committee approved legislation to help fill the large number of teaching vacancies in the state. Retired teacher Sen. Ron Sharp, R-Shawnee, said his Senate Bill 1115 is desperately needed to help decrease classroom sizes by extending emergency teaching certificates. “We currently have hundreds of teaching vacancies that districts are desperate to fill….

State questions

March 5, 2020

The process for state questions would be more transparent and modernized under two bills passed by the House Rules Committee. House Speaker Charles McCall, R-Atoka, authored House Bills 3826 and 3827 to improve the initiative and referendum petition processes used to place state questions on the ballot. “Petitions for state questions are increasingly popular, and…

Domestic violence

March 5, 2020

A pair of bills aimed at increasing accountability for those convicted of domestic violence have been approved by the full Senate. Sen. Rob Standridge, R-Norman, is the author of both measures. Senate Bill 1103 deals with domestic violence attacks that deal with strangulation, a crime that is often a precursor to domestic homicide. Senate Bill…

Child safety bill

March 5, 2020

The full Senate approved a child safety bill with the passage of Senate Bill 1303. Authored by Sen. Roland Pederson, R-Burlington, the measure would require any child under the age of 17 to wear a seat belt while riding in the back seat of a vehicle. Current Oklahoma law only requires children under the age…

Human resources

March 5, 2020

The House Government Efficiency Committee passed legislation to modernize Oklahoma’s human resources model for state employees. House Bill 3094, by Rep. Mike Osburn, R-Edmond, creates the Civil Service and Human Capital Modernization Act. The act places all new hires into a newly-modernized civil service system called Human Capital Management Administration (HCMA), beginning Jan. 1, 2021….

Rural doctors’ bill

March 5, 2020

The House of Representatives passed a bill to address doctor shortages in rural areas. House Bill 3823, by House Speaker Charles McCall, R-Atoka, authorizes a $25,000 tax credit for doctors who move to a rural community to practice. It passed 84-3 and heads to the Senate. Doctors who are new to the rural area and…

Kids penalized for grandmother’s care

March 5, 2020 Ray Carter

Born in 1952, Linda Lewis did not envision being a caretaker for two young children during her golden years. But when her grandson was incarcerated and the mother of her great-grandchildren ran afoul of the Department of Human Services, the Oklahoma City resident became the legal guardian for two of her great-grandchildren: a seven-year-old great-granddaughter…

State Health Dept. offers information on the coronavirus

March 5, 2020

The Oklahoma State Department of Health (OSDH) joined 29 other states last week in Washington, D.C. working with federal partners on the monitoring and response to COVID-19. To date, there are two persons under investigation in Oklahoma. While testing is pending, the routine process of investigating suspected infectious disease events is to identify contacts who…