Garrison Outlines New Laws
By Senator Earl Garrison, guest columnist, Muskogee Phoenix ~ A number of bills will be going into effect Nov. 1. Nearly 150 measures will become law, and some of them will more than likely impact your life in some way. For this reason, I’d like to spend the coming months going over some of the more important bills that are going to pertain to a significant number of Oklahomans.
First, there is SB 1, which will create the Taxpayer Transparency Act. The measure will create an online database to be maintained by the Office of State Finance, where citizens could see how every penny of their tax money is being spent. The program will be modeled on a new federal law by U.S. Sen. Tom Coburn, which will allow citizens to track the use of federal dollars.
SB 139 will create the Oklahoma Public Cord Blood Bank at the University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center. The cord blood bank will be a repository of umbilical cord blood donated by families following the birth of healthy children. Cord blood is rich in adult stem cells, which can be used to treat a variety of blood diseases, including leukemia, as well as various immune and metabolic disorders. Private cord blood banks are available now, but the cost associated with testing, processing and storing cord blood cells is too expensive for most families, so this will be an exciting and lifesaving endeavor for the university and state.
SB 145 will allow judges to carry firearms in their chambers. This new law will allow judges to protect themselves as well as others in the courthouse. There have been incidences in other states, such as Georgia, where a defendant has gotten hold of a gun and killed people. This is something that might have been avoided had the those judges been armed. The administrative director of the courts will maintain a list of judges who fall under this new law, and those judges will be required to have self-defense licenses to carry concealed weapons in their courtrooms. We want to ensure that our courtrooms are safe.
SB 371 makes it a felony to provide false information to a law enforcement agency that results in the activation of an AMBER alert. This has already happened numerous times in our state, which undermines the purpose and effectiveness of the system. This is a safeguard to make sure people use the AMBER alert system for true emergencies.
SB 473 will prohibit smoking at zoos. This is good news for families, groundkeepers and animals who often have cigarette butts thrown in their enclosures.
SB 567 will ensure that an identity theft victim will be able to contact the local police or sheriff’s department and get a copy of the incident report on the identity theft to keep with them. It also gives law enforcement jurisdictions the authority to share such information. There have been situations where individuals were arrested for crimes the identity thieves had committed because there was no sharing of information among law enforcement divisions. This should stop such incidents from happening.
Finally, SB 712 creates the Anti-ID Spoofing Act to help protect citizens against a growing kind of identity theft. This technology is used to trick people into giving out their personal information that is then used for identity theft. There are companies that sell a service for as little as $10 that can be used to change the number appearing on someone’s caller ID to make it look like it’s a bank, doctor’s office or some other business. The service can also alter the caller’s voice. This new law will make ID spoofing a misdemeanor punishable by up to a year in jail, a $10,000 fine or both.
Democratic Senator Earl Garrison represents District 9 in the Muskogee area. Image courtesy the Muskogee Phoenix.
First, there is SB 1, which will create the Taxpayer Transparency Act. The measure will create an online database to be maintained by the Office of State Finance, where citizens could see how every penny of their tax money is being spent. The program will be modeled on a new federal law by U.S. Sen. Tom Coburn, which will allow citizens to track the use of federal dollars.
SB 98 creates the Fire Extinguisher Licensing Act to regulate the sale, installation and servicing of portable fire extinguishers. This will ensure the safety of these devices in people’s homes and that they work properly should there be a fire.
SB 139 will create the Oklahoma Public Cord Blood Bank at the University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center. The cord blood bank will be a repository of umbilical cord blood donated by families following the birth of healthy children. Cord blood is rich in adult stem cells, which can be used to treat a variety of blood diseases, including leukemia, as well as various immune and metabolic disorders. Private cord blood banks are available now, but the cost associated with testing, processing and storing cord blood cells is too expensive for most families, so this will be an exciting and lifesaving endeavor for the university and state.
SB 145 will allow judges to carry firearms in their chambers. This new law will allow judges to protect themselves as well as others in the courthouse. There have been incidences in other states, such as Georgia, where a defendant has gotten hold of a gun and killed people. This is something that might have been avoided had the those judges been armed. The administrative director of the courts will maintain a list of judges who fall under this new law, and those judges will be required to have self-defense licenses to carry concealed weapons in their courtrooms. We want to ensure that our courtrooms are safe.
SB 371 makes it a felony to provide false information to a law enforcement agency that results in the activation of an AMBER alert. This has already happened numerous times in our state, which undermines the purpose and effectiveness of the system. This is a safeguard to make sure people use the AMBER alert system for true emergencies.
SB 473 will prohibit smoking at zoos. This is good news for families, groundkeepers and animals who often have cigarette butts thrown in their enclosures.
SB 567 will ensure that an identity theft victim will be able to contact the local police or sheriff’s department and get a copy of the incident report on the identity theft to keep with them. It also gives law enforcement jurisdictions the authority to share such information. There have been situations where individuals were arrested for crimes the identity thieves had committed because there was no sharing of information among law enforcement divisions. This should stop such incidents from happening.
Finally, SB 712 creates the Anti-ID Spoofing Act to help protect citizens against a growing kind of identity theft. This technology is used to trick people into giving out their personal information that is then used for identity theft. There are companies that sell a service for as little as $10 that can be used to change the number appearing on someone’s caller ID to make it look like it’s a bank, doctor’s office or some other business. The service can also alter the caller’s voice. This new law will make ID spoofing a misdemeanor punishable by up to a year in jail, a $10,000 fine or both.
Democratic Senator Earl Garrison represents District 9 in the Muskogee area. Image courtesy the Muskogee Phoenix.
posted by Mike McCarville @ 9:34 AM
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