OKLAHOMA CITY It’s a first for freshman Sen. Kendal Sacchieri (R-Blanchard) as a bill she co-authored with Rep. Clay Staires (R-Skiatook) was approved by Gov. Kevin Stitt last week.
House Bill 1958 relates to schools and will amend state statutes pertaining to meetings of district boards of education. A new provision will allow boards to submit an Affidavit of Board Action to the State Department of Education instead of detailed meeting minutes under certain circumstances.
Requirements of the affidavit must include specific details such as the school district name, the district code, meeting date, agenda item numbers, a summary of the approved action, signatures from either the district superintendent or assistant superintendent and the board president or chair.
The approved measure does not exempt boards from maintaining official meeting minutes as required by the existing law. The bill is set to become effective on Nov. 1.
Sacchieri also co-sponsored another education- related measure, HB 1088, that was placed on General Order last week and is now eligible to be heard on the full Senate floor.
The measure, authored by Rep. Dick Lowe (R-Amber) pertains to schools and seeks to amend state statutes which relate to transfer students. The measure would modify school transfer laws by offering clearer guidelines for students wanting to transfer to an adjacent school district when their home district does not offer the needed grade level.
Sen. Brent Howard (R-Altus) co-sponsored two bills that were placed on General Order last week. They are:
• HB 1563, which would establish comprehensive new rules for issuing criminal subpoenas in the state. The bill specifically focuses on how defendants are allowed to request law enforcement and business records during criminal proceedings. Defendants would be allowed to subpoena specific types of records like body camera videos, traffic camera videos, vehicle-mounted camera videos, sobriety test recordings and law enforcement incident reports.
• HB 2619, which would create the “Foreign Litigation Funding Prevention Act” and amend the state’s discovery statutes. Parties in a civil lawsuit would be required to disclose and produce any commercial litigation funding agreements on request.
The measure defines commercial litigation funder as any entity that enters into a contract to receive compensation based on the proceeds of a civil action. The only exception would be consumer litigation funders and attorneys working on contingency.
Increasing transparency about third-party funding in civil litigation is the intent of the bill. Focus will be centered on identifying potential foreign financial involvement.
President Pro Tem Lonnie Paxton (R-Tuttle) co-sponsored three bills authored by House Speaker Kyle Hilbert (R-Bristow) that were placed on General Order last week. They are:
• HB 2298, which pertains to nursing and would provide independent prescriptive authority, with specified guidelines, to Advanced Practice Registered Nurses (APRN) who meet certain requirements, specifically Certified Nurse Practitioners, Clinical Nurse Specialists and Certified Nurse-Midwives.
• HB 2584, which is a measure pertaining to physician assistants and proposes to make several significant changes to state statutes. It would modify the definition of a physician assistant and increase their professional independence.
• HB 2674, which would create the Statewide Official Compensation Commission. In the proposal, the new commission would consist of the same persons who make up the Board on Legislative Compensation and will set the salary for each of the following elected officials: governor, lieutenant governor, attorney general, state treasurer, state auditor and inspector, superintendent of public instruction, state insurance commissioner, commissioner of labor and members of the Oklahoma Corporation Commission.
No salary would be set at an amount less than the salary in effect as of Jan. 1, 2025.