A rather busy week

Opinion

April 18, 2009

By Sen. Richard Lerblance The McAlester News-Capital Sat Apr 18, 2009, 12:23 PM CDT

Week eleven was a rather busy week as we continued with House bills on the Senate floor.

One of the bills that received a lot of attention was HB 1595 that passed the Senate by a 34-10 vote. This bill would prohibit abortions based upon the sex of the fetus. The legislation also requires doctors to report information such as how an abortion was paid for and the reason for the abortion. The bill also requires a woman that seeks to have an abortion as a result of rape or incest to answer specific questions about the procedure and would cause anguish to a woman who has been through a horrible ordeal. Although I do not believe in abortions, I voted against this bill because I think that this measure goes too far and infringes on a woman’s rights and is burdensome and not needed.

Although HB 1332, which is the “puppy mill” bill, has not made it to the Senate floor, I added amendments which I think will help those that opposed this legislation. I made provisions that would require probable cause before an agency or law enforcement could go on a person’s property to see if violations of this act were occurring. Also, that a proper hearing be held before a person’s personal property could be taken for alleged violations of this act. Basically, my amendments require a showing of probable cause and allow the property owner to have due process before they could be cited for a violation. I also filed amendments to reduce the filing fee as well as the fine for violations of this legislation.

Monday we had Senior Citizens Day at the Capitol and I enjoyed visiting with many from Pittsburg, Latimer, Haskell and McIntosh counties. I appreciate the work that the folks at KEDDO and EODD do with our seniors and it is my intention that we not cut funding for the senior programs.

Tuesday we honored the Oklahoma National Guard and the legendary 45th Infantry Division. I have many friends that are and were members of the National Guard and the 45th. I remember as a child the armory in Hartshorne and the members of the 45th as they prepared to go to Korea. It is an honor for us to remember the 45th and the service and sacrifices they made for our freedom.

Wednesday was a day to remember those that were victims of domestic and sexual abuse. The red shirted ladies were in force and they had a very impressive display on the fourth floor rotunda to remind us of those victims. We had members of the Women’s Shelter in Stigler and McAlester present. Rhonda Kurvink, Hospice of McAlester, came by and gave information on Advanced Directives as well as the importance of hospice care.

Next week will be the final week of House bills and I am sure there will be plenty of fireworks. We still have several controversial bills that have not been heard. One of the bills is the bill to do away with the Board of Corrections and have the corrections director appointed by the governor. This is not good and I anticipate a good debate. I also have received many calls about taking money from the tobacco trust settlement to use on stem cell research. I agree with my callers, we need this research, but get the money from somewhere else.

District 7 State Sen. Richard Lerblance: State Capitol 513-B, 2300 N. Lincoln Blvd., Oklahoma City, OK, 73105-4808. Oklahoma City: (405) 521-5604. Hartshorne: (918) 297-2501 or (918) 297-2890.

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