The Oklahoma Legislature has adjourned the 2013 Legislature one week earlier than required and handed Gov. Mary Fallin a major political victory by passing an income tax cut. The House dropped the gavel at 7:33 p.m. Friday and adjourned Sine Die, a Latin phrase that literally means "without day." The Senate had adjourned at 12:23 p.m. By adjourning a week early, the Legislature saved about $140,000 in expenses for lawmakers and other session costs. Lawmakers must adjourn by the last Friday in May.
Oklahoma Gov. Mary Fallin has signed legislation that requires abortion providers to take additional steps to notify the parents of a minor who is seeking an abortion. The measure was among 21 bills Fallin signed into law on Friday, when the Legislature planned to adjourn its 2013 legislative session. The bill prohibits a minor from getting an abortion until at least 48 hours after written notice has been provided to her parent or guardian, except in cases of a medical emergency. In that case, the physician must verbally inform a parent within 24 hours after the abortion and send a written notice to the parent's last known address. The bill includes an exemption for girls who are the victims of sexual or physical abuse.
About 3,900 patients of a Tulsa oral surgeon accused of running dirty clinics have been tested for hepatitis or the virus that causes AIDS. Only about 50 have been tested in the past week. Health departments had urged testing for 7,000 patients.
A federal appeals panel in Denver hasn't indicated when it might rule on the Hobby Lobby case. The arts and crafts chain based in Oklahoma City argued in court yesterday that it should be exempted from part of the federal health care law that requires it to offer employees health coverage that includes access to the morning-after pill.
