Senator Bergstrom's Bills On Governor's Desk

Capitol Considerations 

by Senator Micheal Bergstrom

Legislative Update from Your Senator

Every session legislators file bills they hope to see become law.  This year, as the Senate author, I had a number of bills that have done just that.

There were, of course, some bills that did not make it to the Governor’s desk.  So first let me describe one bill that died then I’ll talk about some that survived.

Imagine you were in a profession that Oklahoma decided to begin licensing, but after the legislation was passed you were never notified that you now needed a license to operate your business, then the deadline for being grandfathered in passes and you might have to close up shop. Well, that is exactly what happened to thousands of massage therapists.

My bill, Senate Bill (SB) 1063, was originally intended to fix that issue, but then I was contacted by law enforcement, a massage therapist organization, the licensing board, and the human trafficking task force. They wanted to make sure there was language in the bill to help keep prostitution and the human trafficking, which often accompanies it, out of facilities that offer massage therapy.

We had a great bill because all those interested parties worked together with me on it. Then it bogged down in the House. Rep. Charles Ortega and I are committed to getting the bill through next year.

Now on to the living.  So far the Governor has signed six of my bills and I have two more pending. Here’s the ones that have been signed so far.

SB 1089 deals with oversize and overweight permits for transporting extra large loads on state highways, and SB 1114 requires the Oklahoma Department of Transportation (ODOT) to protect the highway corridors that those extra large loads are transported over. These bills were important for bringing manufacturers into the state who were hesitant about relocating here because our legislation was outdated compared to almost every state in the nation.

These bills mean more high paying jobs for Oklahomans.

House Bill (HB) 2625 was a simple change to language referencing retired peace officers that should better protect Oklahoma citizens’ fourth amendment rights.

HB 2632 provided the same protection from civil liabilities to a church that homeowners and businesses have under the Stand Your Ground law. The purpose of this bill is to make sure places of worship cannot be sued out of existence if someone within the church uses deadly force to protect those within the church from an attacker.

More churches and church members are preparing to protect themselves if there is such an attack. I felt it was important to make sure they couldn’t be sued for trying to save lives.

HB 3311 requires a greater emphasis on Civics as the State Board of Education (SDE) revises its K-12 social studies curriculum.

SB 1566 authorizes cooperation between the Tourism Department, the Oklahoma Historical Society (OHS) and SDE in the development of tourism material and educational material regarding Oklahoma’s Civil War Battlefields, including the Cabin Creek Battlefield south of Vinita.

Civil War Reenactments are becoming more and more popular and it is my hope we will see this soon begin again at the Cabin Creek Battlefield.

These materials will not only guide folks to the historic sites, but will help educate our young people on this important and fascinating part of our history.

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