Bergstrom Touts Gun, County Reimbursement, Meat Labeling, Free Speech, Alcohol Bills

Oklahoma State Senate

Senator Micheal Bergstrom

Senate District 1

April 24, 2019

Contact: Senator Micheal Bergstrom

State Capitol: (405) 521-5561

Email: bergstrom@oksenate.gov          

Capitol Considerations 

by Senator Micheal Bergstrom

Legislation Update

It’s week twelve of the legislative session and we’ve been busy hearing bills on the Senate floor ahead of this week’s deadline to have House bills out of the Senate.

One of the bills I authored this year is Senate Bill 24, which was already signed by the governor on April 16.  This measure makes firearms like the Mossberg Shockwave self-defense firearm a legal product under state law.  The barrel length is less than 18” and by Oklahoma standard, it is defined as a sawed off shotgun, but under federal law it is a legal firearm.  Currently, although his type of firearm is sold in Oklahoma, possessing it can be considered to be a felony, so my bill clarifies that firearms that are federally lawful are also lawful in Oklahoma.

Senate Bill 244 deals with an issue that has been a concern for some time.  The five-day rule (which was formerly the three-day rule) allows the Department of Correction (DOC) to not pay for housing inmates in county jails if DOC determines it did not receive the appropriate documentations from the County Clerk.  While I can appreciate the frustration of DOC concerning the process, not reimbursing the counties is a clear violation of the state Constitution.  A nearly identical bill was passed by the legislature last year, but was subsequently vetoed by the governor, so to help streamline the reimbursement procedure, I added language requiring DOC to establish a dedicated email address with automatic verification for counties to aid in the process.  The measure is currently in the Senate, awaiting a vote.

The third bill I authored, Senate Bill 392, is a consumer protection measure that requires and regulates meat labeling and advertising, which addresses misleading product labeling practices, advertising in the sale of animal carcass, and food plans. The measure has already been approved in the House and Senate, and was sent to the governor for consideration on April 23.

Additionally, I co-authored two bills that are also moving ahead.  Senate Bill 361 requires the outdoor areas of campuses of public institutions of higher education be deemed public forums for the campus community and prohibits public institutions of higher education from creating “free speech zones” or other designated areas of campus outside of which expressive activities are prohibited.  The bill was sent to governor this week and awaits his review.

The second one, Senate Bill 728, authorizes the holder of a mixed beverage license which is also a restaurant or an on premises beer and wine license to directly purchase wine and beer from a winemaker and a small brewer respectively. Additionally, such licensees may sell liquor for off-premises consumption if the holder is classified as a golf club, marina, or country club according to the North American Industry Classification System (NAICS). The gross receipts tax on alcoholic beverages shall apply to all sales made on the holder’s premises, whether those alcoholic beverages are intended for on- or off-premises consumption.  Governor Stitt signed the measure into law earlier this month.

  

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Bergstrom Named To GRDA Task Force

Immediate Release:  March 12, 2019

Adair legislator tapped for 

Joint Legislative Task Force for GRDA

OKLAHOMA CITY –   State Senator Micheal Bergstrom was appointed this week to serve on the Joint Legislative Task Force on The Grand River Dam Authority by Senate President Pro Tempore Greg Treat. The Republican legislator from Adair replaces former state Senator Eddie Fields.

The task force was created to study the functions, activities, policies, procedures and expenditures performed by the district and any related issue the task force deems appropriate.  Five members of the Senate and five members of the House of Representatives are appointed by the President Pro Tempore of the Senate and the Speaker of the House of Representatives, respectively.

“I’m honored to be chosen to serve in this capacity on the task force,” said Bergstrom.  “I look forward to working with the GRDA and my fellow legislative task force members to ensure the services continue to provide affordable and reliable electric power to customers.

Bergstrom also serves as vice-chair of the Senate Transportation committee, and is a member of the Business, Commerce & Tourism and the Public Safety committees.  Bergstrom, a former educator, also serves on the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee for Education.

Bergstrom was elected to the Senate in 2016.

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Francine’s Law, co-authored by Bergstrom, heads to governor’s desk

CUTLINE:  Francine Frost’s grandson, Cory Curl (left), daughter Vicki Frost Curl, and husband Malcolm Frost, visit with Sen. Bergstrom (right) on Monday after Francine’s Law passed unanimously in the Senate.

Immediate Release:  April 9, 2019

Francine’s Law, co-authored by Bergstrom, heads to governor’s desk

OKLAHOMA CITY, OK – Legislation that would change the way missing person cases in Oklahoma are handled is now heading to the governor’s desk after the measure passed unanimously on the Senate floor Monday.

            House Bill 2640, also known as Francine’s Law, was authored by Rep. Rhonda Baker and Sen. Julie Daniels and co-authored by Sen. Micheal Bergstrom and Sen. Stephanie Bice.  The legislation would require the Oklahoma Chief Medical Examiner and the Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation to enter all missing persons and unidentified bodies into the National Missing and Unidentified Persons System (NAMUS) within 30 days. The measure allows for the process to be rushed for those under the age of 18 or those who have gone missing under suspicious circumstances. Those cases must be entered into the system immediately. 

Francine’s Law was written to honor Francine Frost, a nurse who was also a wife, mother and grandmother who went missing from a Tulsa grocery store in 1981.  Her remains were found two years later, but it was more than 30 years before they could be identified as Francine’s.  It wasn’t until her grandson looked through the public National Missing and Unidentified Persons System in 2014 and discovered a missing persons’ case from Muskogee County where a woman had been murdered, dumped in field and her remains found in 1983.  After her grandson’s findings just a few years ago, the body was then exhumed and found to be that of Francine Frost.

“No one should have to go through what the Frost family suffered, the not knowing for decades if the remains that have been found are those of their loved one,” said Bergstrom, R-Adair. “This bill requires that DNA be entered in a timely manner into a national database.  Not only will this bill help families gain closure after the loss of a loved one, it will also require that the information for missing children be entered within two hours.”

If HB 2640 is signed by the governor, Oklahoma will be the sixth state to enact similar legislation, following Connecticut, Michigan, New Jersey, New York and Tennessee.

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