Senate Review: More than 400 bills made it through committee

We’re now entering the final days before the March 12 deadline for the full Senate to vote on bills that were introduced in this chamber.  There were more than 400 bills that made it through the committee process this session.  We’ve worked diligently each day to work through dozens of bills ahead of the deadline.  By this past Wednesday evening, I still had about 10 bills that had been approved by various Senate committees and were awaiting votes by the full Senate.

On Tuesday, I won unanimous approval for a bill clarifying the rights of patients and their families in residential care facilities to use video monitoring equipment.  A few years ago, the legislature passed a measure supported by the Oklahoma Silver Haired Legislature and other advocates ensuring the right of nursing home residents or their family members to place video monitoring equipment in their private rooms to make sure their loved ones were being appropriately cared for when family and friends were not there.  The legislation that was passed and signed into law made it illegal for nursing homes to evict or threaten other retaliation against residents and their families who used video monitoring.