Monday, May 16, 2011
EDMOND — Gov. Mary Fallin has signed a variety of public safety bills, including one related to rights of child abuse victims, a measure about who can use deadly force and legislation which outlaws abortion of a fetus capable of feeling pain.
House Bill 1888, the “Pain-Capable Unborn Child Protection Act,” by state Rep. Pam Peterson, R-Tulsa, was approved by the governor on April 20. It was passed by the full House 94-2 and by the full Senate 25-20.
Rep. Randy Grau, R-Edmond, and Rep. Marian Cooksey, R-Edmond, were among the House co-authors sponsoring the bill. Sen. Clark Jolley, R-Edmond, was the principal Senate author.
On the House floor, Peterson said the bill makes it illegal to perform an abortion on an unborn child capable of feeling pain, more specifically, an unborn child who is 20 weeks old or older.
When she explained the bill, Peterson sent a 4-D ultrasound image of a 20-week unborn child to House members to give them perspective.
The bill keeps up with science that was not available in 1973, she said. Peterson has said research now shows that pain receptors are present throughout an unborn child’s entire body by no later than 16 weeks after fertilization, and nerves linking receptors to the brain’s thalamus and subcortical plate are present no later than 20 weeks.
Peterson has cited research showing that by eight weeks of age an unborn child will react by recoiling from stimuli that would be recognized as painful if applied to an adult.
The new law will take effect Nov. 1.
HB 1439, by Rep. Steve Vaughan, R-Ponca City, and Sen. David Myers, R-Ponca City, expands Oklahoma’s “Make My Day Law” to include places of business.
Vaughan has said he did not file the legislation in response to the Ersland case in Oklahoma City, but it does serve as an example of the need for the law. He said he hopes the law will help protect honest citizens from criminal charges when they choose to defend themselves against an assailant.
Under the legislation an owner, manager or employee of a business can use deadly force if the person against whom the defensive force was used was in the process of unlawfully and forcefully entering or had already entered in this manner a business.
The new law will take effect Nov. 1.
Fallin has also signed House Bill 1549, by Rep. Sally Kern, R-Oklahoma City, which allows any person exploited as a child in the production of pornography to “bring a civil action against the producer, promoter, or intentional possessor of such child pornography, regardless of whether the victim is now an adult.”
Kern has said the change gives victims another avenue to hold their abusers accountable, one that can result in significant financial penalties imposed through civil courts.
The new law will take effect Nov. 1.
Other public safety bills signed by the governor include:
• HB 1800, by Rep. Sue Tibbs, R-Tulsa, will give the OSBI director the ability to release confidential information for the purpose of advising crime victims or family representatives of homicide victims regarding the status of a pending investigation. It also adds definitions pursuant to the Forensic Laboratory Accreditation Act. The new law will take effect Nov. 1.
• HB 1391, by Rep. Paul Roan, D-Tishomingo, changes the name of the Oklahoma Highway Patrol’s Lake Patrol section to the Marine Enforcement section. It also allows retiring commissioned officers with a physical disability to keep their sidearm and badge. The new law will take effect Nov. 1.
• HB 1381, the Supplemental Hospital Offset Payment Program Act, by Rep. Doug Cox, R-Grove, and Jolley, assesses a fee on certain Oklahoma hospitals that will then be used to achieve a two-for-one federal match to be used for Medicaid reimbursement. On the House floor, Cox said the fee will raise federal matching money and money from what hospitals pay in and no appropriated funds or taxpayer dollars. The fee cannot be passed on to consumers. Mike Neal, president and CEO of the Tulsa Metro Chamber, said related hospitals were reimbursed 67 percent of their Medicaid provider costs. The annual assessment would end in July 2014. Fallin signed the bill on Friday.
By Mark Schlachtenhaufen, The Edmond Sun
For more information, visit http://www.edmondsun.com/local/x1024708167/Gov-signs-variety-of-public-safety-bills