2020 Bills of Interest to Oklahoma Liberty

by David Van Risseghem - 
Well, it's a new year and a new flurry of bills being filed by legislators. The massive & growing stack of bills are mostly a danger to  individual liberty, but some are excellent efforts to restore & protect our rights. Here's the first installment of our report.

• Senator Bullard has a bill to remove the registration papers mandate in privately owned personal vehicles. https://legiscan.com/OK/text/SB1124/2020 . It remains a requirement for commercial vehicles.
• Senator Sharp has a bill to put a deadline on Open Records requests.  https://legiscan.com/OK/text/SB1154/2020 
• Senator Sharp also wants to put a ban on advertising used by alternative virtual charter schools, so they cannot use most advertising modes to notify families of their option to utilize state education options.  It forbids spending any money on informing families, despite the clear contradiction with the 1st Amendment 'Freedom of the Press'. https://legiscan.com/OK/text/SB1153/2020 includes a 1 year prison sentence on school staff who violate his gag on information. 
• Rep. Olsen has a bill to mandate competitive shopping options for subscribers of health insurance. https://legiscan.com/OK/text/HB2780/2020 requires a database be kept of local & statewide provider options, so patients can see the costs of procedures and make their best choice.
• Senator Bergstrom has a bill to let the voters pass a state constitutional amendment, stipulating that ONLY US Citizens who are at least 18 years old, are qualified electors. https://legiscan.com/OK/text/SJR23/2020.​​

You can still press a radio button, but not a phone button, if a new bill gets passed.

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• Senator Bergstrom has a bill to adjust the state income tax tables for inflation. the net result is a lowering of income tax rates. https://legiscan.com/OK/text/SB1155/2020

• Senator Shaw wants the State capitol visitor center to post the national motto, for public viewing. Congress determines what the national motto will be. We're wondering why the state wouldn't rather post the state's motto? https://legiscan.com/OK/text/SB1118/2020 
• Senator Hicks has a bill to ban the sale of crib bumper pads of any sort. It will be left up to the Dept. of Human services to decide how strict the punishment will be, if this bill passes as is. https://legiscan.com/OK/text/SB1156/2020
• Senator Pugh has a bill to guarantee that out of state teachers coming into Oklahoma to teach at our public schools, will be granted an elevated pay scale which credits them for teaching in other states. While this may help recruit other teachers, it also encourages our teachers to jump ship and teach elsewhere, knowing they won't give up their pay scale position if & when the out of state job doesn't work out for them. Other states will use this to tell our teaching base that they have less risk in leaving us. https://legiscan.com/OK/text/SB1126/2020
• Senator Sharp has a bill to  make it a crime if a driver presses a "Can't talk, I'm driving" preprogrammed response button. The bill doesn't forbid changing radio dials, pets on your lap, eating, or personal grooming, while driving, but the senator isn't done, yet.   https://legiscan.com/OK/text/SB1088/2020
• Senator Dahm has a bill to forbid the state from enacting "red Flag" gun confiscation, prior to due process court action. https://legiscan.com/OK/text/SB1081/2020
• Rep. David Hardin has a sweeping bill to protect many 2nd amendment rights from excessive tax, police or court actions without prior criminal or competency findings. https://legiscan.com/OK/text/HB2781/2020​

• Rep Walke has a bill to protect a graduate of a govt school, to wear tribal-based religious items at a commencement event. the language would likely also protect a Klan member's right to wear religious symbols associated with ethnicity; at those same events. https://legiscan.com/OK/text/HB2783/2020
• Senator Sharp has a bill to make it 'against policy' for govt. entities to 'profile individuals based on their 'biker' apparel or vehicle use & ownership.  But their is no punishment or deterrent for violating this directive, in the bill. https://legiscan.com/OK/text/SB1162/2020​
•  Sen. Dossett has a bill to ban families from enrolling in a statewide virtual charter school, if their local district as a virtual program to offer. https://legiscan.com/OK/text/SB1097/2020. It would make most kids trapped in their local school district. 
• Sen. Dossett has a bill to ban children from participating in extramural activities for 1 year, if they transfer to a virtual charter school. It's yet another means of harming kids in order to stop them from exercising school choice. https://legiscan.com/OK/text/SB1122/2020
• Senator Bullard has a bill requiring all children in public schools to give all private medical records to their public school district, regarding all past & present mental health care. https://legiscan.com/OK/text/SB1123/2020 The bill appears to allow all the faculty & staff of the district to have all the mental health records of all the students who had gotten any care or treatment for anything which is loosely called mental health services, including for traumatic events, such as victimization & molestation, bullying, depression, anxiety, eating disorders, family counseling, and other matters.

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Additions on Jan 5th

• Sen Bergstrom filed SB1151, to mandate BACKSEAT seatbelt laws, both criminal and civil.  The driver will get ticketed if another adult or teen takes off their belt. Further, the same driver can be sued in civil court by the passenger who didn't wear the seatbelt. https://legiscan.com/OK/text/SB1151/2020 .
• Sen. Smalley's bill, SB1191, allows school districts to avoid making public notice of school board election filing dates, making these elections even less known to the communities at large  https://legiscan.com/OK/text/SB1191/2020.
• Sen. Simpson filed a bill to make military veterans exempt from fees and taxes that the rest of us are subject to; thus adding to the state's financial burden for a federal responsibility.  Additionally, some of these are completely 'non-essential', such as state parks admissions. It sets up an even larger divide between free people and subjects owned and held to a tax bondage. https://legiscan.com/OK/text/SB1185/2020 .
• Sen Sharp's new bill would exempt licensed healthcare professionals (Professional Entities Act) from suspension or losing their license because of felony convictions related to their profession. Plumbers & locksmiths still face getting their licenses revoked, but physicians will not.  https://legiscan.com/OK/text/SB1177/2020.