Oklahoma Politics

Rep. Ann Coody (R-Lawton) hopes to find a good solution for children with disabilities in her interim study: placement options for students with severe disabilities.

Coody said the study was requested because state and federal laws require school districts to provide free public education for special education students. Currently 95,000 individuals, ages 3 to 21, are identified as having some sort of disability.

Rep. Jon Echols said he plans to look at the strength of current Oklahoma roofing code, both by looking at existing regulations and how they are enforced, during an interim study.

“We’re going to bring in all parties, regulatory parties, the roofers, and any interested parties, and talk a little bit about what’s going on in the state and out of state with roofers following Oklahoma roofing code,” said Echols (R-Oklahoma City).

House Speaker T.W. Shannon (R-Lawton) was among a group of U.S. delegates and state legislators to visit Israel last week organized by the group the American Israel Friendship League.

According to the nonprofit’s website, the AIFL is “dedicated to promoting and strengthening the relationship between the people of the United States and Israel.”

The Oklahoma Medical Examiner's Office has a backlog of more than 1,350 cases.

The Tulsa World reported Sunday that the backlog includes 1,180 cases from this year, 165 from 2012 and seven from 2011.

Amy Elliott is chief administrative officer for the state Medical Examiner's Office. She says the agency has made strides to cut down the amount of time spent on cases, but she says the office doesn't have enough room for the people they need to hire.

A letter from a state senator sent to judges in Oklahoma is warning that an anticipated special legislative session will focus on “attacking the judiciary.” But a spokesman for Gov. Mary Fallin says that assertion is “incorrect.”

The letter from state Sen. Patrick Anderson (R-Enid) dated July 22 states, “Based upon some of the rumors I am hearing, I expect that there will be an attempt to place term limits on judges and that there will be an effort to eliminate the Judicial Nominating Commission in order to allow the Governor to have complete judicial appointment authority.”

General Revenue Fund collections have increased annually since hitting their “Great Recession” low in fiscal year 2010. Fiscal year 2013 collections totaled $5.575 billion, $1 billion more than the $4.621 billion collected in FY2010, but still remain below their pre-recession high.

Former Treasurer Scott Meacham described FY2010, his last full fiscal year as treasurer and as the man then responsible for the monthly revenue reports, as “the worst fiscal year in recent memory.”

A recently released survey of states by the Governors Highway Safety Association shows Oklahoma is one of nine states without a texting ban in place, despite some lawmakers’ previous efforts.

Through public awareness campaigns and other grassroots efforts, there has been a 45 percent increase in the last three years in the number of states with texting bans, with 41 states and the District of Columbia having some type of texting ban in place, up from 28 states and D.C. in 2010, the survey data shows.

Governor Mary Fallin says she's discussing a possible special session to resurrect a lawsuit reform bill that was struck down by the Oklahoma Supreme Court and the leader of the Senate says he supports the plan.

Senate President Pro Tem Brian Bingman said Wednesday he supports the idea of a one-week special session "the sooner the better." House Speaker T.W. Shannon said through a spokesman that he would defer to the governor.

A Democratic lawmaker from Oklahoma City says he intends to convene an interim study in the fall to conduct a review of the state's so-called "Stand Your Ground" self-defense law and open carry laws.

Rep. Mike Shelton said Wednesday he wants to bring together members from law enforcement, the mental health community and others to examine if Oklahoma firearms laws "best suit our needs and our situation."