Capitol News: New Year, New Work to Do

New Year, New Work To Do

by Rep. Ross Ford

The New Year is finally here and with it, some cold and snow. While I’m sitting here watching the snow flurries continue outside, I find myself looking forward to the upcoming legislative session.

One reason for my excitement is the House side of the Capitol Office Renovation Project is complete which means I can finally move back in. All of the offices have been renovated, resulting in new offices and roommates for many of us, including me. My office has moved to the south hall on the third floor.

The other reasons for my excitement are the excellent bills I am running this session. Before I talk about those, I want to provide a brief overview of the legislative process so everyone knows what to expect this year. REP. ROSS FORD

Every year, the Legislature meets to discuss issues and pass their bills, which the governor may sign to make them laws. The Oklahoma State Constitution mandates when legislators can meet to complete this process. It puts the start date in the first full week of February and dictates the last business day in May as the deadline to complete state’s business.

Before the first week of February, each individual member works on a list of bill requests they plan to introduce and pass during the session. The first deadline is in the middle of December and requires legislators to submit the title for their requests. Next, there is a deadline in the beginning of January requiring the substantive language for all of those requests. The requests are then finalized and submitted by January 16 to become a House Bill.

Once a bill is introduced on the floor, it is assigned to a committee based on its contents. It is there, with the help of the Committee Chair, the bill will go through its first vote. If it passes in committee, it will then move to the House Floor where it will need to be heard before the eight-week mark so it can restart the process on the Senate side. In order for a bill to be heard in both chambers, it requires both a Senate and a House author. These two authors work together in moving the bill through the process to the Governor’s desk and, ultimately, to becoming a law. If you are still awake at this point, let’s talk about some of my legislation for the second session of the 57th legislature.

One of my bills that I am excited to run this session is HB 2791 which will require seatbelts be worn in the backseat of the car for all children between the ages of eight and seventeen. Oklahoma is the only state in the nation that doesn’t require some form of safety belt restrictions for this age group, which is shocking since car crashes are the leading cause of injury for it. Prior to 2015, Oklahoma State Statue had a law covering this group, but during this time, the legislature was preoccupied with updating the child restraint statue to strengthen the use of infant car seats. That statute failed to provide coverage for older children. By the time they discovered the mistake, the bill had already passed and taken effect.

Another very important bill is my Domestic Strangulation bill. While we have punishment in place for domestic violence, it doesn’t properly account for the long-term effects of the crime when strangulation occurred. A person who is a victim of strangulation, for instance, is eight times more likely to die within 12 months of suffering a strangulation. This bill would address the current legislation’s short comings by changing the maximum punishment from three years to ten.

Another bill that I have filed and am enthusiastic about is the Porch Piracy Act. I truly believe that your dwelling is your castle. You should be able to have a package, parcel or envelope delivered to your porch with the expectation it will be there when you return from work or play. It is a violation of your privacy when someone enters your porch and steals a sealed package. In addition, the risk of an unintended confrontation increases. The Porch Piracy Act will not require the stolen parcel to have a monitory value. When a parcel company delivers a package to your porch and a pirate removes it, that is a crime. Today, more citizens are relying on parcel companies to deliver everyday necessities like prescriptions and contracts that hold no actually monetary value. The Porch Piracy Act will make theft a misdemeanor for the first offense, unless the pirate has parcels in his or her possession from several victims. At that point, the suspect could be charged with either a misdemeanor or a felony charge. I will leave those decisions to Law Enforcement and the District Attorney’s Office to determine which charge is appropriate.

Please feel free to visit me at your State Capitol. My Office number is 300.2 or you may call me at 405-557-7347 or 918- 381-4777.