The Oklahoma Bar Journal April 2023

L egislative M onitoring C ommittee

One Deadline Down, Several to Go By Shanda McKenney

T HE BEGINNING OF MARCH brings several harbingers of spring – Bradford pear trees and forsythias begin blooming, severe weather alerts interrupt our reg ular rhythms, and the first dead line of the 2023 legislative session comes and goes. At this point, if a bill did not get out of the committee in its house of origin with a “do pass” recommendation, then it is dead for the rest of this session. If the measure was considered in com mittee but given a “do not pass” recommendation, then it is dead for next year too. However, if a bill simply did not get a hearing in committee, it continues to be a “live round” for purposes of next year’s session. Rest assured we will continue to keep our eye on those measures. The Oklahoma Legislature worked through March 23 on getting measures to the floor for votes in the house of origin. Any measure passed by the House floor was moved along to the Senate and assigned to a committee there. Anything passed by the Senate floor was moved to the House for assignment to a committee in that chamber. Committee meetings resumed after March 23 for pur poses of considering bills referred by the opposite chamber. A com plete list of meeting notices can be found at www.oklegislature.gov

HB 1005 – allows physician assistants and advanced practice registered nurses to provide doc uments excusing patients in their care from jury duty under certain circumstances HB 1017 – creates the Family Representation and Advocacy Act, which establishes a program within the courts to provide legal represen tation to certain adults and children involved in deprived actions HB 1396 – increases amounts payable to salaried court reporters HB 1405 – defines “online harassment,” creates cause of action, outlines penalties for violations HB 1588 – modifies adverse possession requirements and stat ute of limitations

by clicking on the “Committees” tab at the top of the page. All proposed legislation is accessible through this site. Type in the bill number under “Find Legislation,” or search for key words through the “Legislation” drop-down menu and click on “Text of Measures.” BILLS OF INTEREST Some of the bills that survived the first deadline that may be of interest include the following: SB 296 – provides alternatives for hiring private court reporters if a staff court reporter is not available HB 2794 – creates the Judicial Security and Privacy Act HB 2850 – creates a judicial performance evaluation

42 | APRIL 2023

THE OKLAHOMA BAR JOURNAL