SB 1252(1) (Robinson/Ervin): Authorizes not-for-profit hospitals to receive, free of charge, one telecommunications line or wireless connection sufficient for providing whatever telemedicine services the hospital is equipped for. The company that provides the line or connection is authorized to obtain reimbursement for its cost from the Oklahoma Universal Services Fund. Effective 6-5-00.

SB 1506(1) (Brown/Eddins): Exempts individuals who are developmentally disabled from the requirement to develop managed care plans for participants who are institutionalized. Further allows the Department of Human Services, until June 30,2000, to sell surplus equipment to day care contractors. Effective 6-7-00.

SB 1520(1) (Cain/Blackburn): Modifies income assignment procedures as they relate to executions on judgments for child support. Requires child support payments be made through the Centralized Support Registry in certain cases. Provides for immediate income assignment in all child support cases in which state services are being provided. Includes medical support provided by Department of Human Services as a debt owed to state. Expands cases in which the Department is a necessary party. Modifies language relating to child support judgment and lien on real and personal property. Modifies certain notice contents and requirements. Provides for state representation by attorneys contracting with the Child Support Enforcement Division. Requires obligor of child support to pay child support services fee under certain circumstances. Provides for liability of payor of income assignment for failure to withhold monies or notify specified persons and entities. Clarifies authority of Department to collect child support without a court order. Provides for nonissuance or nonrenewal of obligor's driver license for noncompliance with a support order. Excepts financial institutions from liability for disclosure to account holder that the Child Support Enforcement Division has issued a levy if disclosure occurs after the institution has frozen the account. Authorizes income assignments by notice. Repeals specified provisions of law. Effective 11-1-00

SB 1585(1) (Monson/Cox): Postpones State Department of Health hospital and ambulatory surgical center licensure actions for one year to assess the efficacy and sufficiency of the health care information system, including a requirement to include in the system information submitted by ambulatory surgical centers. Effective upon signature.

HB 1338(1) (Davis/Cain): Authorizes human embryo transfers and donations. Requires transfers be performed only by persons licensed to practice medicine in Oklahoma. Requires physician to obtain written consent of the husband and wife receiving the embryo transfer and the husband and wife donating the embryo. Provides for filing and confidentiality of consent. Specifies legal status of a child born as a result of embryo transfer, primarily by considering the child naturally conceived by the recipients of the transfer and relieving the donating persons of all responsibility for the child. Prohibits transfers and donations to be construed as trafficking in children when the embryo is donated by the biological parents of the embryo and is not at anytime offered for sale or sold and the transfer and donation is made pursuant to statute. Effective 5-8-00.

HB 1918(1) (Boyd/Robinson): Tells the State Board of Health, which was given responsibility for telemedicine and the network known as the Oklahoma Telemedicine Network in 1999, to promulgate rules for implementation of teleradiology responsibilities by the State Department of Health. Effective 11-1-00.

HB 1983(1) (Worthen/Snyder): Modifies the circumstances in which a court "may" grant grandparental visitation rights. Authorizes grandparental visitation rights independent of either parent. Provides for process for cases of denial or interference of grandparental visitation rights. Effective 11-1-2000.

HB 2019(1) (Taylor/Benson): Creates the Oklahoma 2001 Healthcare Initiative, consisting of several components as follows:

• a program to increase Medicaid provider reimbursement rates
  
  
• creation of a $4/bed/day quality assurance fee for nursing facilities that will also be an allowable cost for purposes of Medicaid reimbursement
  
  
• creation of a task force to study and evaluate alternative funding mechanisms under Medicaid
  
  
• establishment of minimum direct-care staff to resident ratios according to a schedule and requires monthly staffing reports
  
  
• a $1.50 increase in the minimum salaries of certain direct-care staff at nursing facilities and intermediate care facilities for the mentally retarded
  
  
• contracted employment of school nurses to provide tobacco prevention and cessation instruction in schools
  
  
• creation of the Tobacco Prevention and Cessation Revolving Fund within the State Department of Health

The Bill also addresses various nursing facility regulatory procedures as follows:

• failure to promptly report Medicaid fraud
  
  
• penalties for bribery or solicitation
  
  
• requirements to resolve conflicts of interest by Health Department employees
  
  
• disclosure requirements related to a long-term care certificate of need application
  
  
• restores the authority of the Commissioner of Health to refuse to issue a certificate of need to an applicant with a previous felony conviction or who has had a previous facility license revoked, rescinded, canceled, terminated, involuntarily suspended, or refused in the last 5 years instead of 3 years
  
  
• a requirement to establish uniform nursing facility inspection protocols
  
  
• penalties for disclosure of information regarding an unannounced nursing home inspection by a Health Department employee to any unauthorized person
  
  
• penalties for failure of a nursing facility to comply with minimum direct-care staffing requirements
  
  
• requires development of a uniform employment application for nurse aides

The bill establishes procedures governing the receipt, investigation and resolution of complaints and reports of violations made by the Department of Human Services to the Health Department. Finally, HB 2019 provides that in the event federal law or rules change, the nursing facility quality of care fee will only apply to facilities that have a Medicaid contract with the state. HB 2019 also adds elderly representatives to the composition of the Oklahoma Continuum of Care Task Force and strengthens provisions in the Long-Term Care Certificate of Need Act. Effective 7-1-00.

HB 2183(1) (Adair/Morgan): Requires insurance plans for vision care or medical diagnosis and treatment to the eye to allow optometrists to provide those services. Effective 11-1-00.

HB 2190(1) (Benson/Taylor): Adds current child care obligations to those expenses included in the definition of "child support". Includes earned and passive income within definition of "gross income" and defines each type of income. Modifies method for computing gross income. Deletes language that relates to self-support reserve. Modifies the definition of shared parenting. Prohibits certain provisions from being construed to allow payment of child support by the custodial parent to the non-custodial parent. Provides for calculations for reasonably necessary child care expenses. Deletes certain language for childcare expenses. Requires childcare expenses be allocated and paid monthly in the same proportion as base child support. Requires obligee to provide obligor with documentation of any change in amount of childcare costs. Requires obligee upon request of obligor (limited to once a month or by order of court) to specify childcare costs related to employment, employment search or education or training. Deletes language which relates to authorization to add monthly contributions for certain costs to the base monthly support obligation. Deletes language that relates to itemization of transportation costs. Clarifies language relating to 'total support amount' contained in the child support schedule. Modifies definition of support. Effective 6-6-00.

HCR 1106(6) (Seikel/Cain): Memorializes U. S. Congress to repeal or modify provisions in federal regulations that require kinship foster care providers to meet the same prerequisites as nonkinship foster care providers, a requirement that will adversely affect Oklahoma's efforts to reduce the numbers of emergency custody children going into shelters. Adopted 5-25-00.