Oklahoma 2011LegislativeAccomplishements

8/6/2019 Oklahoma 2011LegislativeAccomplishements

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OFFICE OF GOVERNOR MARY FALLIN

2011 Legislative Accomplishments: A Historic Session

for Conservative Reform and Governance

Creating Job Growth and Higher Paying Jobs by Promoting a Business-Friendly

Environment

Governor Fallin signed a series of bills this year in support of her goal of bringing higherpaying jobs to Oklahoma by building the best possible environment for business. These measuresinclude landmark lawsuit reform, comprehensive workers’ compensation reform, the creation of a governor’s closing fund to attract businesses to the state, a one-stop-shop for business licensingand permits, among others.

Legislative/Policy Highlights

Comprehensive Tort Reform:

o HB 2023: Requires the actual amount paid by claimants for doctor, hospital,ambulance service, drug and similar bills incurred in treatment to be the amountadmissible at trial in any civil case involving personal injury, not the amountsbilled for expenses incurred in treatment. It states that if no payment has beenmade, the Medicare reimbursement rates in effect at the time of the injury areadmissible.

o HB 2024: Authorizes a court to order that future damages incurred after the dateof judgment that exceed $100,000 be paid in whole or in part in periodic

payments rather than by a lump-sum payment. Such periodic payments cannotexceed seven years from the date of entry of judgment.

o HB 2128: Lowers the recovery limitation for noneconomic damages in a civilaction for bodily injury to $350,000.

o SB 862: Eliminates joint and several liability stating defendants are onlyresponsible for damages that they themselves are responsible for.



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o SB 865: Directs that juries be informed that awards are not subject to taxation.

Workers’ Compensation Reform:

o HB 2038: Authorizes the Workers’ Compensation Court Administrator tocompile annual reports relating to characteristics of cases including amount of

surgeries, length of temporary total disability, permanent partial disability, andother medical treatments and therapies.

o SB 878: Cuts the maximum time to draw weekly temporary total disabilitybenefits from 6 years to 3 years. Mandates that doctors rating permanentimpairment use only criteria found in the AMA Guides. Allows permanentdisability evaluations to be completed only by an MD or DO. Limits discretion of judges by putting more decision-making in the hands of medical experts whichcan be appointed on any issue at any time. Requires for the first time in history,physicians and Courts to be bound by the Official Disability Guidelines (ODG),strict, nationally-recognized treatment guidelines (This will limit unnecessarysurgeries and significantly reduce medical costs). Mandates overall 5% reductionin Fee Schedule for reimbursement for medical treatment. Establishes theElectronic Data Interchange system to gather information to track success orfailure of reforms. Gives more power to the Administrator in effectingsettlements. The Administrator of the Workers Compensation Court can approvesettlements reached in mediation, without the intervention of an attorney or a judge. Ensures injured workers receive proper care and can return to work in atimely manner.

Quick Action Closing Fund:

o HB 1953: Creates a new fund for the Department of Commerce called the

Oklahoma Quick Action Closing Fund. Monies accruing to the fund may bebudgeted and expended by the Governor for the purposes of economicdevelopment and related infrastructure development in those situations whereexpenditures of such funds would likely be a determining factor in locating orretaining a high-impact business project or facility in Oklahoma. Due to budgetconstraints no funding was provided this fiscal year; however, we intend to fundthe program as collections increase.

One-Stop-Shop for Businesses:

o HB 1601: Creates the Oklahoma State Government Business Licensing One-StopProgram and directs the state’s Chief Information Officer to adopt procedures for

state agencies to enter into a shared services arrangement with the Office of StateFinance for the provision of real-time, web-based licensing and permittingservices.

Job Creating Tax Incentives:

o HB 1008: Provides income tax credits to engineers hired by or contracting withaerospace companies between January 1, 2009 and July 1, 2011 until January 1,2015, and the companies that hire them, with the purpose of enhancing the state’s



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ability to attract and retain a top-notch workforce pool for the Oklahomaaerospace industry.

Supporting Oklahoma Energy Producers:

o HB 1909: Modernizes oil and gas statutes to better accommodate technological

advances associated with horizontal drilling in shale reservoirs. PositionsOklahoma to more effectively compete against other shale plays around thecountry, and helps ensure that drilling dollars stay home in Oklahoma.

Building a Smaller, Smarter, More Transparent Government that Better Serves our

Citizens

As Governor Fallin outlined in her State of the State address at the beginning of the 2011legislative session, state government too often operates like “an 8-track bureaucracy in an iPodworld.” To create a more modern, cost-effective government and to save taxpayer dollars,

Governor Fallin asked lawmakers to pass legislation consolidating and modernizing the state’saging Internet Technology (IT) infrastructure, combining various state agencies with overlappingfunctions, and pursuing other reforms that streamline government services. The Legislatureresponded in the final weeks of session, sending those bills to the governor’s desk.

Additionally, Governor Fallin and legislative leaders worked to pass and sign into law aseries of reforms designed to improve the fiscal outlook of the state’s public employee pension

systems, which currently have $16 billion in unfunded liability.


Government Reform and Modernization:

o HB 1034: Authorizes the State Purchasing Director to use a state purchase cardfor acquisitions with no limit on the amount of the transaction for interagencypayments and certain professional services, to streamline purchasing.

o HB 1035: Requires state agencies to use the Trip Optimizer System for vehiclesused by state employees and requires that the maximum authorized travelreimbursement shall be the lowest cost option determined by the optimizer.

o HB 1086: Requires all State Treasury disbursement payments be electronicallytransmitted. Requires the Chief Information Officer (CIO) to maintain a websiteto allow public access to forms produced by state agencies and requires stateentities to submit their forms to the CIO in a searchable electronic format.

o HB 1207: Authorizes state agencies to accept an electronic signature in theapplication process for any license or permit. Requires a financial services costperformance assessment that documents each appropriated state agency’s cost for

providing financial services. Agencies that rank in the bottom 10% of the costperformance assessment will be required to contract with the Office of StateFinance (OSF) for the provision of shared financial services if the Director of OSF determines that it will result in cost savings to the agency.



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o HB 1304: Requires the transfer and consolidation of agency informationtechnology assets and positions. Currently the State has 56 financial systems, 22unique time and attendance systems, 17 imaging systems, 48 reporting andanalytics applications, 25 different desktop operating systems, 133 email systems,and 27 SQL Server and Oracle systems. This bill normalizes systems, eliminates

redundancy, and creates efficiency and substantial cost savings.o HB 2131: Expands eligibility for community sentencing, allowing more offenders

to qualify for community punishment in lieu of incarceration in a Department of Corrections facility.

o HB 2140: Consolidates various administrative agencies including the Departmentof Central Services, the Office of Personnel Management, the Employee BenefitsCouncil, and the State and Education Employees Group Insurance Board into theOffice of State Finance to create a one-stop shop for benefits, state employee andadministrative services.

o HB 2172: Consolidates all powers, duties and responsibilities of the Indian

Affairs Commission into a single liaison position within the Office of theGovernor as an appointee.

o SB 435: Modifies the membership of the State Board of Education, allowing thegovernor to appoint to the board one member from each congressional district andone member from the state at large, with each appointment serving at the pleasureof the governor. Previously board members served staggered terms and did notserve at the pleasure of the Governor.

o SB 541: Requires all state agencies to submit a report to OSF of all the employeesand resources dedicated to financial services. Requires OSF to publish a ranked,financial services cost-performance assessment on each agency by January 1 of

each year.o SB 763: Consolidates the Oklahoma Human Rights Commission into the Office

of the Attorney general, creating the Office of Civil Rights Enforcement.

Reducing Unfunded Liability for Public Pensions:

o HB 1007: Modifies the method by which dedicated state revenues are transferredto Oklahoma Teachers Retirement System. Contributions into the teachers’

retirement system will be counted in the per pupil spending average.

o HB 1010: Increases the retirement age for new members of the UniformRetirement System for Justices and Judges who started work after January 1 st of

this year. For new members with 8 years of service, the measure increases thenormal retirement age from 65 to 67 years old. For new members with 10 yearsof service, the measure increases the normal retirement age from 60 to 62 yearsold.

o HB 2132: Eliminates unfunded cost of living adjustments by requiring that theyare fully funded.



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o SB 347: Provides for the forfeiture of a municipal officer or employee’s

retirement benefits upon conviction of crimes related to their office (bribery,corruption. etc).

o SB 377: Raises the normal retirement age for new teachers from 62 to 65 years of age and establishing a minimum age of 60 for full retirement benefits for teachers

who meet the rule of 90. Currently, there is no minimum age requirement forthose employees whose age and service equals the sum of 90.

o SB 794: Ensures that elected officials are treated the same as other publicemployees when calculating retirement benefits. Also, applying the sameminimum retirement ages to all new public employees as SB 377 does to newteachers: a minimum age of 60 when the rule of 90 is met and a normal retirementage of 65.

o SB 891: Requires cost of living adjustments to be appropriated by the state ratherthan drawing them out of the pension system itself.

Fighting the Federal Health Care Law While Pursuing Oklahoma Solutions for Better

Health

At the beginning of 2011, Governor Fallin joined Attorney General Scott Pruitt inannouncing a legal challenge to the federal health care law and its unconstitutional mandates.Since then, the governor has also rejected $54 million in federal funds to ensure the state cannotbe tied to “ObamaCare.” In addition to resisting the president’s health care law, the governor has worked to support initiatives that will improve the health of Oklahoma’s citizens and work tocreate a more flexible funding for Medicare and Medicaid in Oklahoma. The Governor alsosigned into law important legislation helping to fund Oklahoma hospitals that otherwise might bein danger of closing.


Fighting ObamaCare:

o Joined Attorney General Scott Pruitt in announcing that the state of Oklahomawould file a lawsuit challenging the constitutionality of the federal health carelaw.

o Refused $54 million in federal grant money to ensure that Oklahoma cannot betied to the federal health care law.

Improving Oklahoma’s Health:

o Worked with the Health Department to unveil the “Shape our Future” campaign,encouraging schools, businesses and communities to embrace healthy livingoptions.

o Included additional funding in budget for rehabilitation programs for thosesuffering from drug/alcohol addiction.



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Improving Oklahoma Schools and Delivering Quality Education

Building a better and more prosperous Oklahoma requires strong schools and universitiesthat produce the kind of educated, highly skilled work force that can compete in today’s global

economy. The reforms enacted will help to ensure that schools are delivering the kind of education that will help our children compete in the 21

stCentury.

Legislative/Policy Highlights Education Reform, Teacher Quality and Student Performance:

o HB 1380: Reforms the due process system by eliminating “trial de novo” and allows locally elected school boards get rid of in-effective teachers without a longand costly appeals process.

o HB 1456: Creates an A-F grading system for public schools. Directs the StateBoard of Education to prepare annual reports of the results of the OklahomaSchool Testing Program that describe student achievement in the state, each

school district and each school site. Requires the reports to include the medianscores of all eligible students who scored at or in the lowest 25th percentile of thestate in the previous school year.

o HB 1744: Amends The Lindsey Nicole Henry Scholarships for Students withDisabilities Program Act, originally passed in 2010, to ensure that students withphysical and mental disabilities are eligible to receive scholarships to attendprivate schools. The Act allows students with disabilities who have anindividualized education program (IEP) to qualify for a scholarship to attend anypublic or private school that meets the accreditation requirements of the StateBoard of Education. Authorizes the State Department of Education to administerthe program rather than local school districts to increase consistency andreliability for students and parents who choose to participate in the program.

o HB 2139: Empowers the independently elected State Superintendent of PublicInstruction with control over the State Department of Education, instead of theBoard of Education.

o SB 346: Ends social promotion for students going from third to fourth grade.States that if the reading deficiency of a student, as identified by assessments, isnot remedied by the end of the third grade, as demonstrated by scoring at theunsatisfactory level on the reading portion of third grade criterion-referencedtests, the student must be retained in the third grade.

o SB 969: Creates the Oklahoma Equal Opportunity Education Scholarship Act, enabling school choice by providing tax credits to businesses and individuals fortheir contributions to educational scholarship organizations which providevouchers to low income children wishing to attend private schools.



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Protecting Children and the Lives of the Unborn

Governor Fallin believes that one of government’s most important responsibilities is toprotect our children and the lives of the unborn. The 2011 legislative session produced importantlaws that will continue to affirm Oklahoma’s culture of life and defend our children from thosewho would do them harm.


Protecting the Lives of the Unborn:

o HB 1888: Prohibits an abortion from being performed or induced unless thephysician has first made a determination of the probable post-fertilization age of the unborn child. It states that failure to make such a determination constitutesunprofessional conduct. Prohibits a person from performing or inducting anabortion on a woman when it is determined by the physician that the probablepost-fertilization age of the woman's unborn child is 20 or more weeks, unless in

reasonable medical judgment it is determined the life of the mother is in danger.o HB 1970: Requires a medical examination and scheduling of a follow-up

appointment before the prescribing of an abortion-inducing drug. Expandscurrent statutory restrictions on the administration of RU-486 (mifepristone) toinclude any drugs with abortion-inducing properties that are prescribed with theintent of causing an abortion. It requires physicians who provide such drugs to doso according to FDA protocol and as authorized by the drug label.

o SB 547: Prohibits inclusion of elective abortion coverage in any health insurancepolicy offered by the state's health exchange, as established by the federal PatientProtection and Affordable Care Act. Prohibits elective abortion coverage in any

plan not offered by the exchange but offered within the state, except bysupplemental coverage with a separate premium. Requires any insurer offeringsuch a plan to calculate the premium for such coverage so that it fully covers theestimated cost of covering elective abortions per enrollee as determined on anaverage actuarial basis.

Protecting Oklahoma’s Children:

o HB 2136: Requires the Department of Human Services to conduct criminalbackground checks on all adults living in a home before a foster child is reunitedwith a parent.

o SB 576: Authorizes the Department of Human Services to release a delinquent ormissing parent "Most Wanted" type list of individuals who are in arrears in theirdistrict or administrative court-ordered child support obligations or who aresought for the purpose of establishing a child support order.



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Expanding Gun Rights and Defending the Second Amendment

Governor Fallin is serious about gun rights and protecting the Second Amendment. Thebills Governor Fallin signed into law this year will help to expand rights and protections for lawabiding citizens who own guns.


Protecting Gun Owners and the Second Amendment:

o HB 1439: Expands the right to use deadly force when in fear of imminent peril of death or great bodily harm to a person’s place of business. A person or owner,

manager or employee of a business is presumed to have held a reasonable fear of imminent peril of death or great bodily harm to themselves or others when usingdefensive force that is likely to cause death.

o HB 1652: Allows gun owners with conceal and carry permits to leave guns inlocked vehicles while on Career Technology campuses. Gun owners already have

that right on college campuses, sporting events and most other locations in thestate.

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Oklahoma 2011LegislativeAccomplishements