The Oklahoma Senate

(Most of the work in the Legislature occurred behind the scenes in budget meetings or conference committee. House and Senate budget writers are trying to reach agreement on the distribution of funding allocations to various agencies. Budget leaders are also meeting with members of the Governor's staff, trying to reach agreements with him. Three weeks remain in the legislative session. Lawmakers must adjourn by 5pm Friday, May 29th)

• The Senate approved legislation which would place new regulations on the poultry industry. In addition to putting new rules in place, SB 1170 will require chicken integrators to pay $150,000 for waste regulation training for growers the first year, followed by $50,000 payments for the next three years. Much of the debate in the Senate focused on whether the poultry industry should pick up the full tab of the regulatory bill. Critics argued successfully that higher fees would simply be passed on to the chicken growers who sell their product to the large poultry processing firms. The measure now goes to the House where approval is expected.
  
  
• The Senate rejected the conference committee report of a measure which would have modified the definition of a bogus check to include child support. Opponents of HB 2337 argued the proposal would create a "debtors prison," with parents being jailed for inadvertently bouncing a check on child support.
  
  
• The Senate approved two companion measures designed to promote cooperative business ventures between the private sector and state colleges and universities. HB 2863 and HJR 1073 would create the Oklahoma Technology Transfer Act, authorizing state higher education institutions to have an ownership interest in technology, business enterprise or private entity if the technology is the result of research conducted by the institution. Because the proposal would change the State Constitution, it must also be approved in a vote of the people.
  
  
• Governor Keating signed a bill into law which will allow retirement checks to be garnished for delinquent child support payments. HB 2568 by Rep. Laura Boyd exempts retirement funds from all other garnishments except court-ordered spousal or child support. Other bills signed by the Governor include:

  - HB 3108 creating a task force to the study the needs of the Dept. of Mental Health;
  - HB 2208, creating the advisory task force for Sooner Care;
  - HB 2948, prohibiting the use of social security numbers on the rear of implements of husbandry;
  - HB 3244, modifying licensing requirements for speech pathology and audiology licensing;
  - SB 1317, relating to the Northeastern Oklahoma Public Facilities Authority;
  - HB 3159, adding the Indigent Defense System under provisions for travel expenditures.

• Members of the Black Legislative Caucus expressed their disappointment again with Governor Keating, citing his failure to appointment an African-American to the State Board of Education. The Governor has instead named a long-time Republican from Stillwater to serve. Rep. Kevin Cox said this is the fifth time Keating has passed up the opportunity to appoint an African-American to the board. The Governor has said it is difficult to find qualified blacks who support his conservative agenda.

• Legislative leaders announced the details of a $40 million pay and benefits package for state employees. Under the terms of the agreement, state employees will get either a $1,250 or 4% pay increase whichever is larger starting January 1, 1999. The maximum pay raise which could be earned would be capped at $2,000. The pay portion of the program will cost $20.2 million.
  
  In addition to the pay hike, the agreement also includes funding for an increase in dependent health coverage. It will total $19.8 million.
  
  For a state worker who is married and has two children and earns $25,000 a year, the State of Oklahoma will pay an additional $172.78 in insurance premiums each month to help provide insurance coverage for the spouse and children. That amounts to an increased benefit of $2,073 per year.
  
  
• The House approved a measure which would crack down on the sale of liquor over the internet. HB 2807 prohibits the sale of alcohol through the internet to minors. The measure originally addressed only the sale of low point beer, but it was upgraded in conference committee to cover liquor and wine as well.
  
  
• The Senate approved six executive nominations. Barbara Conner to the GRDA, Jan Kunze to the Oklahoma Mining Commission, Jack Penner to the Oklahoma Conservation Commission and A.M. Alloway, Tom Hull and Steven Goetzinger to the Commission on Marginally Producing Wells (reappointments).
  
  
• The Senate approved a measure which would allow sheriffs in Oklahoma and Tulsa Counties to hire their own general counsels. Supporters of HB 2245 claim sheriffs need the latitude to hire outside counsel because the local district attorneys don't have the manpower to address all their legal needs. The bill now goes to the Governor.
  
  
• Mental health advocates rallied at the State Capitol in support of SB 1059, the so-called mental health parity bill. The measure would require insurance companies to cover mental illness as they do physical illness. Governor Keating vetoed the bill. It has been overridden in the Senate, but it is still awaiting action in the House.
  
  
• Governor Keating threatened to call the Legislature into special session if lawmakers don't reach a compromise on the truth-in-sentencing law which is set to go into effect on July 1st. The Governor said he either wants the bill strengthened or its implementation delayed. Critics contends the Governor's proposed changes would ultimately cost hundreds of millions of dollars, ultimately robbing education and other vital state services of needed funds.

• The Senate and House approved a $1.72 billion budget for common education, containing $101 million in new funds. The additional cash in SB 901 will finance new classroom technology, fund basic school needs and a teacher pay and benefit package. The details include:

  - All teachers will receive a set sum of money of $57 a month, outside their base salary, which will pay for approximately 1/3 of the cost of health insurance. Cost of $29.45 million
  - All full-time support personnel will receive a set sum of money of $85 a month, outside their base salary, which will pay approximately 1/2 of the cost of health insurance. Cost of $22.97 million
  - Appropriates $40.1 million through the school funding formula with enough funding, $23 million, to adjust the minimum teacher salary to equalize the steps. The remaining money through the formula pays for the new growth in students.
  The remaining is to provide funding for other programs such as alternative education, Reading Sufficiency Act, and other minor programs.
  -There is also an agreement to appropriate $17.0 million from the Rainy Day Fund for Technology in the Classroom.
  The measure goes to the Governor. Although it proposes a greater investment in education than Governor Keating proposed, he is expected to sign it.

• Legislative leaders announced an agreement on a law enforcement pay hike. The $4.8 million pay program will provide salary increases to state troopers, correctional officers, OSBI agents, narcotics agents, lake patrol officers and communications group employees. On top of that, those law enforcement officers will also receive an across the board pay hike for state employees, ranging from $1,250 to $2,000. Under the legislative agreement, average pay raise for law enforcement officers will range from $2,500 to $14,000 depending on their agency, length of service and type of duty.
  
  On average, raises for individual officers should break down as follows:
  
  

  -Highway Patrol.....$ 7,150		Narcotics Bureau.....$11,000
  -Lake Patrol..........$12,313		OSBI...................$12,402
  -Communications....$ 5,000		Corrections............$ 1,230

  
  
• The House approved SB 1170, legislation that would regulate the poultry industry (see Monday). It now goes to the Governor. Governor Keating has indicated he will sign the legislation, although he says he would prefer that it require chicken integrators to pay the cost of their regulation.
  
  
• The House failed to override Governor Keating's veto of the so-called mental health parity bill. The attempted override of SB 1059 failed on a 54-42 vote. The measure would have required insurance companies to cover mental illnesses as they do physical illness. Critics contended the proposal would result in large premium increases, but supporters cited statistics which indicated any hikes would be minimal.
  
  
• Both the House and Senate approved a measure which would require legislative approval before the state could buy railroad trackage. HB 3273 now goes to the Governor. The Oklahoma Department of Transportation currently has the authority to make those purchases, but supporters of the latest bill claim they have made some ill-advised buys recently.
  
  
• The House approved legislation which would give the Governor's office a slight budget increase. HB 3007 contains a 2.4 percent hike for the Governor for a total budget of $3.6 million.

• The Senate continuef budget negotiations and conference committee work after adjourning for the week. It will reconvene at 9:30 a.m. on Monday. Only two weeks remain in the legislative session.

• Revenue collections were up again during the month of April. According to the Office of State Finance, receipts were 17 percent higher than last year and 8.5 percent above the estimate.
  
  
• The Oklahoma Turnpike Authority opened bids to sell $350 million of revenue bonds, garnering an interest cost of 5.16 percent. The bonds will finance the construction of new toll roads in Oklahoma City and Tulsa. Lehman Brothers won the purchase of the bond issuance.

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