This section contains an example of some of the legislative issues I worked on over the past several years.  For more recent legislative action, please see the tab "2009 Legislative Session."

Legislation I Personally Introduced or Cosponsored:

(All of which were passed and signed into law!)

 LEGISLATION WILL BRING NEW BUSINESSES AND JOBS TO OKLAHOMA  

RETURNING GROWTH REVENUE BACK TO THE TAXPAYERS
Enacting a permanent income tax cut reducing Oklahoma's top marginal income tax rate from 6.65 percent down to 6.25 percent, and the first increase in the standard deduction in over 20 years (2,000 to $4,000) is an important pro-growth action that I believe will pave the way for economic success in our state.  We are in effect returning growth revenue back to the taxpayers. These actions will provide tax relief for nearly every Oklahoma family with $58 million in fiscal year 2006 and more than $150 million in fiscal year 2006 and beyond.

I introduced SB 1176 to help stimulate the Oklahoma economy, create jobs and increase tourism.  This legislation was a priority for the Tulsa City Leaders and the Tulsa Chamber of Commerce.  When implemented, it will allow us to attract very large "destination" type businesses that will bring people to Oklahoma.   Kansas implemented similar legislation with great success.  The bill allows the State of Oklahoma to make matching sales tax payments to local governments for the purpose of attracting new business enterprises to locate in an "enterprise zone."  These "enterprise zones" would be areas currently not generating any sales tax revenue.  Local governments could use a portion of the new sales tax revenue generated to build infrastructure to attract the new businesses. 

GET RID OF METH LABS, AND SAVE TAXPAYERS MONEY AT THE SAME TIME

To deal with the states meth lab problem, I cosponsored HB 2176.  This bill requires pharmacies selling medications such as Claritin-D and Sudafed, medications that contain pseudoephedrine, to remove the products from their shelves.  Stores can still sell these products, but they must be behind the counters, and customers must sign for the medicine.  Pseudoephedrine is a key ingredient in the illegal drug know as "meth."  The bill was signed into law on April 6, 2004 and by the end of May the number of meth labs seized in Oklahoma was down an amazing 71%!!  In Tulsa, police used to find an average of 15 to 20 meth labs a month.  In May that number was down to 3.  Also, for each lab found taxpayers were paying $3,500 per lab to clean up the toxic chemicals left behind.  Besides cleaning our state up, we're saving taxpayers almost $70,000 a month by not having to clean up those sites!

INCREASED PROVIDER RATES SHOULD HELP THOSE IN NEED ACCESS TO HEALTH CARE

Legislation was passed to create sweeping reforms of Oklahoma's Medicaid system, while also providing hospitals and Doctors the money they need to provide coverage.  The plan will secure additional funding for Oklahoma's Medicaid system without raising taxes through a provider tax as was originally proposed. This was accomplished by passing HB 1088, which appropriates $63 million that can be leveraged to gain a federal match, placing nearly $200 million additional dollars into the Oklahoma Medicaid system   

STIFFER PENALTIES TO THOSE WHO IGNORE PROTECTIVE ORDERS

In an attempt to stop stalking, harassment and even physical harm, I introduced HB 2380.  This bill will increase the penalties for repeated violations of protective orders.  The second time an individual violated a protective order, causing physical harm each time, it would be a felony accompanied with prison time.  The third time a protective order was violated, that didn't include violence, would also be a felony.  The bill also requires 52 weeks of counseling for abusive behavior.  I have had first hand experience with this issue.  A fellow employee was killed after her ex-husband continually violated her protective order.  As you can imagine, I had a great deal of passion for this piece of legislation.  I was even more fervent when I learned that almost one-third of those who have protective orders repeatedly ignore them!

THE LACI PETERSON LAW
Seeking to further protect the victims of crimes, I cosponsored HB 1686, which allows prosecutors to charge criminals with the death or injury of an unborn child under existing Oklahoma law.
 

LEGISLATION SHOULD ENCOURAGE INVESTMENT IN OKLAHOMA ASSETS

In an effort to attract capital to Oklahoma, and to encourage investment in Oklahoma assets and financial institutions, I introduced HB 2135.   The bill creates the Family Wealth Preservation Trust Act. The act allows an individual to establish a trust fund for up to $1 million that is exempt from attachment for the payment of debt or bankruptcy.  The assets of the trust must be invested in Oklahoma businesses, stocks, or property and be managed by an Oklahoma bank or trust company.

CHANGE IN SEAT BELT LAW WILL SAVE CHILDREN'S LIVES

In an attempt to save lives, I introduced HB 2138.  This bill increases the age from four to six for having your child "properly restrained" in a child passenger restraint system.  The old law gave a false sense of security to parents that kids were safe in regular seat belts when they turned four.  In fact, this false impression actually caused deaths in Oklahoma because seat belts don't fully protect kids that small without a booster seat. 

STOPPING DEATH TRAPS CAUSED BY UNMOVABLE BURGLAR BARS
The needless deaths of many Oklahoma citizens, including small children, who are trapped each year in house fires motivated me to introduce HB 1278.  This legislation requiring new burglar bars to be designed to be opened from the inside of the house without a key, extra tools, or excessive force when pressure is exerted from inside the house.  Allowing both residents and emergency personnel to escape.  This will allow citizens to keep the bad guys from getting in, while letting the good guys get out.

USELESS AND COSTLY BLOOD TEST FOR A MARRIAGE LICENSE IS ELIMINATED

HB 2134 repeals the requirement for a $50 blood test as a requirement for obtaining a marriage license.  Currently the state only test for syphilis, and this is not the population where that is found.  In fact, over the last five years, there have only been 5 cases found out of 500,000 tests.  This legislation was supported by the State Department of Health.

BOAT OWNERS NOW HAVE THE OPTION OF BUYING A THREE-YEAR BOAT LICENSE

To save trips to the tag agency for boat licenses, I introduced HB 2132. The bill gives individuals the option of registering their boat for a 3-year period instead of going to the licensing agent every year.  It also provides a 10% discount to the purchaser of a three-year license. 

'DEAD CALLS' LIMITED
Ever wonder why your phone rings, you answer it, and there is nobody on the line.  It could be caused by telemarketers who use equipment that allows them to call as many as 10 households at the same time.  The first person to answer receives a sales pitch, and the rest get dead lines.  Legislation to discourage telemarketing 'dead calls' is now the law.  House Bill 2837, which I co-authored, bans the use of commercial telephone equipment that automatically dial and engage the telephone numbers of more than one person at a time, if they result in an extraordinarily high volume of abandoned calls.

IF YOU WERE GOING TO ADDRESS CHILD ABUSE AND NEGLECT, WOULDN'T YOU FOCUS ON THOSE AT HIGHEST RISK OF ABUSING CHILDREN ?

The Oklahoma Child Abuse Prevention program provides services through private, non-profit organizations.  However, these services are provided only to clients that are at low or moderate risk of abusing or neglecting their babies/children.  The population that was not being served were those judged to be at the highest risk of committing child abuse or neglect.  Meanwhile, forty-eight of Oklahoma's children died from abuse last year alone.

In my opinion, if you are trying to address a serious problem, you start with those most likely to cause the problem.  As a result, I authored and passed legislation, HB 1143, that provides a two-year pilot program, to develop services to address the needs of this High Risk population.  The services will be delivered by private, non-profit agencies. 

MINUTE OF SILENCE IN SCHOOLS

I co-authored a measure that would mandate a moment of silence each day in all public schools in Oklahoma.  Senate Bill 815 would require every local school board to "ensure that the public schools within the district observe approximately one minute of silence each day..."  The pause would be "for the purpose of allowing each student, in the exercise of his or her individual choice, to reflect, meditate, pray, or engage in any other silent activity that does not interfere with, distract, or impede other students in the exercise of their individual choices."

TAX CONCESSIONS FOR PARENTS, CHILDREN, EMPLOYERS  
  I was the House Author of Senate Bill 1256.  This legislation increases the tax break given to employers who provide child care services for their employees.  The bill provides employers a 40 percent tax credit for expenditures related to the provision of child care services for employees.  Unfortunately, there are too many single parent families where the parent has no choice but to enter the work force.  Similar legislation in place in other states, has demonstrated that workers are more productive when their children are close by in a safe nurturing environment.

I was the co-author of House Bill 2613, which doubles the state income tax deduction that can be claimed for expenses involved in adopting a child.  The deduction doubles from $10,000 to $20,000.

PROTECTING VICTIMS OF DOMESTIC VIOLENCE

Persons attempting to escape from domestic violence, sexual assault, or stalking frequently establish new addresses to prevent them from being found.  To better protect these people, I co-authored House Bill 2921, which protects abuse victims by keeping their addresses confidential. The bill also calls for interagency cooperation in keeping the addresses confidential.  The Secretary of State would designate substitute mailing addresses to enable state and local agencies to contact victims, and would forward all first class mail to program participants.   

PRIVATE SECTOR INVESTMENTS ENCOURAGED AT STATE PARKS

I sponsored and passed legislation that would encourage private sector investments in our State Parks.  We currently aren't funding state parks at a level that even covers maintenance much less new investment.

METH LAB FIRES CAN NO LONGER BE RULED ACCIDENTAL

I also introduced, and was able to get legislation signed into law, that makes it a felony if you are responsible for starting a fire in the process of operating a meth lab.  Prior to this, Fire Marshall's had to rule the fire "accidental," and insurance companies had to pay to re-build the structure.

TAX CUT RESURRECTED
Unemployment insurance contribution rates paid by thousands of Oklahoma companies should be slashed in half.  A fiscal analyst with the House of Representatives estimated the 50 percent tax cut would save Oklahoma companies $60 million to $80 million in 2003. A previous rate reduction authorized by the Legislature expired Dec. 31, 2001.   A caveat in HB 2633 is that the proposed unemployment insurance contribution rate cut would be suspended if "conditional factors" were imposed because the economy stagnated.  Unemployment insurance taxes for employers, as well as benefit payments to jobless workers, are indexed to "conditional factors" -- the ratio between the five-year average benefit payment and the trust fund balance.

Conditional factors that trigger rate hikes will not kick in until the balance in the Unemployment Insurance Trust Fund drops to $410 million. The end-of-year balance has not been that low for a decade, since 1992, ledgers reflect.  The balance in Oklahoma's Unemployment Insurance Trust Fund stood at almost $491 million at the end of last year, and had climbed to $511 million by the end of April.