[Oasfaa] FW: Legislative Update – March 7, 2014

[Fair, Bryce]

All the bills that did not survive the February 27 legislative deadline to be passed out of committee have been removed from the list.  I’ve made a couple of additional comments in the descriptions of two of the surviving OKPromise bills to reflect their most recent status. The next legislative deadline is next Thursday, March 13, for bills to be passed on the floor of their house of origin.  To find more detailed information on any bill, go to http://www.oklegislature.gov/BasicSearchForm.aspx.
Bryce Fair



The update below reflects the current status of major legislation concerning Higher Education during the week of March 3, 2014 – March 7, 2014.

If you have any questions, please contact Hollye Hunt at hhunt at osrhe.edu<mailto:hhunt at osrhe.edu> or 405.225.9424.

Legislative Report
March 3rd-March 7th


Tuition

HB 2462// Representative Mike Turner// The legislation permits, beginning with the 2015-2016 academic year, each comprehensive and regional institution within The Oklahoma State System of Higher Education to establish a tuition payback program. The program shall offer to eligible resident students who are enrolled as a full-time undergraduate an opportunity to enroll in the institution without paying tuition or fees. In lieu of paying tuition and fees, the student shall be required to sign a binding contract to pay to the institution a certain percentage of the annual federal adjusted gross taxable income of the student upon graduation from the institution for a specified number of years as provided for in the Oklahoma Student Loan Public University Competition Act.
UPDATE:  The legislation passed out of the House Higher Education Committee on February 18, 2014.


OKPromise

HB 2778// Representative Jadine Nollan// The legislation requires a student to either repay the tuition for courses or units dropped or limits the payment of their next OKPromise award; [the author has filed a proposed floor amendment that eliminate the provision that the student would have to repay the award for dropping a course but would leave in the provision that the student’s next award would be reduced by the amount of their previous award related to the dropped course – BF].
UPDATE:  The legislation passed out of the House Higher Education Committee on February 18, 2014.


HB 3211// Representative Jeff Hickman// The legislation requires an OKPromise student to take 15 credit hours each semester; [the bill was amended in committee to change the requirement from enrolling in 15 hours per semester to enrolling in a minimum of 30 credit hours per year – BF].
UPDATE:  The legislation passed out of the House Higher Education Committee on February 11, 2014.


HB 2644// Representative Steve Kouplen//  The legislation eliminates the income requirements of the OKPromise program for students who are in the permanent custody of the Department of Human Services at the time the student enrolls in the program.
UPDATE:  The legislation passed out of the House Higher Education Committee on February 25, 2014.


Remediation

No pending legislation.


Tuition Waivers/ Scholarships


HB 2535// Representative Doug Cox// The legislation creates the Oklahoma Early College Scholarship Program. The program allows a student who graduates from an Oklahoma high school in three years to receive a scholarship to a higher education institution.   The scholarship will be funded with a portion of the money saved by the state in providing state aid funding to school districts.
UPDATE:  The legislation passed out of the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Higher Education on February 12, 2014 and the House Appropriations and Budget Committee on February 26, 2014.

HB2634// Representative Eric Proctor and Senator Brian Crain// The legislation provides a full waiver of resident tuition and fees if the student is a resident of Oklahoma and served as a member of the active uniformed military services of the United States on full-time active duty status for more than thirty (30) days.
UPDATE:  The legislation passed out of the House Higher Education Committee on February 11, 2014.

SB 1829// Senator Corey Brooks// The legislation allows a student to be eligible for resident tuition if the student presents to the institution valid documentation of participation in the Air Force Reserve Officers' Training Corps, Army Reserve Officers' Training Corps or the Navy/Marines Reserve Officers' Training Corps.
UPDATE:  The legislation passed out of the Senate Education Committee on February 17, 2014 and the Senate Appropriations Committee on February 26, 2014.

SB 1223// Senator Frank Simpson// The legislation creates the 9/11 G.I. Bill.  The bill allows a one-hundred-percent-disabled veteran of any branch of the United States Armed Forces, including the United States Army, the United States Navy, the United States Marine Corps, the United States Air Force, the United States Coast Guard or the Oklahoma National Guard, whose injuries were sustained while on active duty and in the performance of his or her duties and his or her spouse and children, to be entitled to attend any state-supported technology center school operating under the State Board of Career and Technology Education or any institution within The Oklahoma State System of Higher Education without payment of tuition or fees.
UPDATE:  The legislation passed out of the Senate Veterans and Military Affairs Committee on February 12, 2014 and the Senate Appropriations Committee on February 26, 2014.


Governance/ Board Make-up

No pending legislation.


Higher Education Shell Bills

No pending legislation.


Concurrent Enrollment

No pending legislation.


Guns on Campus

HJR 1026// Representative Dan Fisher and Senator Greg Treat// The joint resolution affirms that it is the fundamental right of each individual citizen to keep and to bear arms.  It restricts the state from imposing laws on licensure, registration or special taxation on the acquisition, ownership or possession of arms, ammunition, or the components of arms or ammunition.
UPDATE:  The legislation passed out of the House States’ Rights Committee on February 28, 2013.

HB 2887// Representative John Enns and Senator AJ Griffin// The legislation allows a college or university to establish a policy for the general public in lieu of written permission to each individual licensee.  A college or university that provides written consent for an individual or provides a policy that allows a concealed or unconcealed weapon on property is immune from liability arising from that decision.
UPDATE:  The legislation passed out of the House Judiciary Committee on February 18, 2014.


Administrative Procedures Act

SB 1694// Senator Eddie Fields and Representative Harold Wright// The legislation eliminates language regarding the expulsion of a student.
UPDATE:  The legislation passed out of the Senate Education Committee on February 17, 2014.  The legislation passed out of the Senate on March 4, 2014 by a vote of 44-0.


Accreditation

SB 1660// Senator John Ford// The legislation requires additional steps a private institution must follow to operate in the state of Oklahoma.
UPDATE:  The legislation passed out of the Senate Education Committee on February 24, 2014.


Teacher Prep

HB 2655// Representative Sally Kern// The legislation requires teacher candidates to study English Language acquisition and teaching methods and strategies for the instruction of an English Language Learner.
UPDATE:  The legislation passed out of House Common Education Committee on February 10, 2014.

HB 2885// Representative Ann Coody//  The legislation directs the Oklahoma Commission for Teacher Preparation to work with the Oklahoma State Regents for Higher Education and the various institutions of higher education to establish a paid teacher internship program at each institution for prospective teachers. The purpose of each program shall be to provide mentorship and support for prospective teachers. Students enrolled in a teacher education program and students enrolled in an alternative placement program shall be eligible to participate in the program.
UPDATE:  The legislation passed out of the House Common Education Committee on February 25, 2014.


Pension/ Retirement

HB 2611// Representative Randy McDaniel// The legislation amends the definition section of “regular annual compensation” to exclude clinical related activity performed in Oklahoma State University Center for Health Sciences (OSU-CHS) Professional Practice Plan.
UPDATE:  The legislation passed out of the House on February 12, 2014 with a vote of 93-0.


Open Records

SB 1577// Senator Sean Burrage//  The legislation creates an exemption to the Open Records Act.  It allows higher education institutions to keep confidential  1) business plans, feasibility studies, financing proposals, marketing plans, financial statements or trade secrets submitted by a person or entity seeking economic advice, business development or customized training from such Departments or school districts, and 2) proprietary information of the business submitted to the Department or school districts for the purpose of business development or customized training, and related confidentiality agreements detailing the information or records designated as confidential, and 3) information compiled by such Departments or school districts in response to those submissions.
UPDATE:  The legislation passed out of the Senate Rules Committee on February 19, 2014.  The legislation passed out of the Senate on March 6, 2014 by a vote of 37-0.

HB 2394//Representative Elise Hall// The legislation requires public bodies such as state boards and commissions to record all public meetings and make footage available on the public body’s website.
UPDATE:  The legislation passed out of the House Government Modernization Committee on February 13, 2014.

HB 2391// Representative Elise Hall// The legislation allows for a person who has been denied access to a public meeting to bring a civil suit, and if successful shall be entitled to attorney’s fees.
UPDATE:  The legislation passed out of the House Government Modernization Committee on February 13, 2014.


Task Forces/ Advisory Committees

HB 2959// Representative Josh Cockroft// The legislation establishes the, “Oklahoma-A STEM State of Mind Act" and creates an advisory committee with the primary purpose of promoting and supporting STEM education and training.
UPDATE:  The legislation passed out of the House Common Education Committee on February 24, 2014.

SB1181 // Senator Ron Sharp and Representative Justin Wood//  The legislation establishes criteria for designation as a STEM Community or STEM Region.   The application process shall be outlined by a subcommittee of an existing STEM education or workforce committee or board, to be identified by the Governor.  The creation, sustainment and execution of the subcommittee shall be the responsibility of the Coalition for the Advancement of Science and Mathematics Education in Oklahoma (CASMEO).  The application process shall be based on criteria established by the subcommittee. The criteria for designation as a STEM Community or STEM
Region shall include a requirement that educators, administrators, business leaders, students, parents, government officials and business and industry groups within a community or region create awareness, promote partnerships with education and industry, develop and execute action plans for improving STEM education and training, identify and acquire the needed resources to improve STEM education and training and identify and accumulate STEM data within the community or region, including but not limited to kindergarten through twelfth grade test results, the number of STEM-related degree holders in the local workforce, the number of STEM-related
degrees conferred and the number of STEM-related certifications or credentials obtained.  The region or community shall also develop a plan to recognize and promote successes in both student and teacher accomplishments in the STEM area within the community or region.
UPDATE:  The legislation passed out of the Senate on February 19, 2014 with a vote of 46-0.


Athletics

No pending legislation.


Veterans/Military

SB 1830// Senator Corey Brooks and Representative Gary Banz// The legislation allows men and women who are enrolled at a higher education institution and are in the active uniformed military services to take a leave of absence if called into active duty.  If an institution within The Oklahoma State System of Higher Education fails to comply with the provisions of this act, the student may bring an action in district court for actual and compensatory damages for noncompliance and may be granted such relief as is just and proper under the circumstances.
UPDATE:  The legislation passed out of the Senate Education Committee on February 17, 2014 and the Senate Appropriations Committee on February 26, 2014.


Other

SB 1505// Senator David Holt and Representative Leslie Osborn// The legislation authorizes state agencies, at their discretion, to offer their employees an option to voluntarily elect to be paid, one time annually, for a certain number of hours of unused accrued annual leave. This policy will be optional for all eligible employees, and the employee may choose the monthly pay period in which he or she elects to receive such payment.
UPDATE:  The legislation failed to pass out of the Senate on March 5, 2014 by a vote of 24-21.

SB 1966// Senator Anthony Sykes and Representative Jon Echols// The legislation requires Commissioners of the Land Office to employ only the Office of the Attorney General of Oklahoma in all matters.  It also provides that funds that are not paid prior to certain time limits be calculated at a different rate of interest.
UPDATE:  The legislation passed out of the Senate Judiciary Committee on February 10, 2014 and the Senate Appropriations Committee on February 26, 2014.

HB 2669// Representative David Derby// The legislation creates the Information Technology Act of 2014.  The legislation state that unless a state agency has internal expertise to conduct the risk assessment and can submit certification of such expertise along with the annual information security risk assessment, the risk assessment shall be conducted by a third party. The Information Services Division of the Office of Management and Enterprise Services shall approve not less than two third-party firms which state agencies may choose from to conduct the information security risk assessment. A state agency with an information technology system that is not consolidated under the Information Technology Consolidation and Coordination Act or that is otherwise retained by the agency shall submit a final report of information security risk assessment to the Information Services Division by the first day of December of each year.
UPDATE:  The legislation passed out of the House Government Modernization Committee on February 20, 2014.

HB 2873// Representative Tom Newell and Senator Greg Treat// The legislation requires institutions of higher education not to take action or enforce a policy that would deny a religious student association any benefit available to any other student association.  In addition, no higher education institution may substantially burden a student’s exercise of religion.
UPDATE:  The legislation passed out of the Judiciary Committee on February 25, 2014.

SB 2080// Senator Nathan Dahm and Representative Jon Echols// The legislation creates the “Memorandum of Understanding Act.  The act requires agencies to post on a website and provide copies to appropriate legislative committee chairs any memorandum of understanding agreement entered into by the agencies.
UPDATE:  The legislation passed out of the Senate Appropriations Committee on February 19, 2014.   The legislation passed out of the Senate on March 4, 2014 by a vote of 36-9.

SB 1639// Senator Brian Bingman// The legislation creates the Quality Workforce Act.  This act allows businesses that receive approval from the Oklahoma Department of Commerce to receive tax rebates if they pay for an employee to receive their associate degree, an industrial or vocational license or to complete a certification program.
UPDATE:  The legislation passed out of the Senate Finance Committee on February 18, 2014.


Carryover legislation

HB 1888// Representative Josh Cockroft and Representative Josh Brecheen// The legislation creates a web site called “Oklahoma State Government Open Records One Stop Initiative.”  The State CIO will develop a site that would allow the public to file requests for documents pursuant to the Oklahoma Open Records Act.
UPDATE:  The legislation passed out of the House Government Modernization Committee on February 13, 2013.






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