Oklahoma Senate Chief Endorses Lawsuit Reform Special Session

Article

Senate President Pro Tem Brian Bingman said he supports the idea of a special session to resurrect a lawsuit reform bill struck down by the Oklahoma Supreme Court, and Gov. Mary Fallin said she’s discussing the idea with legislative leaders.

Bingman, R-Sapulpa, said he thinks legislators might have to pass as many two dozen bills to make the necessary changes to the lawsuit reform bill, but that he’d like to keep the special session to one week and not address any other topics.

A special session would cost nearly $30,000 per day, according to legislative staff.

“We’ve worked for many years to be pro-business, pro-jobs in Oklahoma, and to have a court system that struck down the lawsuit reform … it creates much uncertainty in the business community and we need to deal with that as soon as possible,” Bingman said.

House Speaker T.W. Shannon said, through a spokesman, that he would defer to the governor on whether to return for a special session.

“This legislature will address the issues that are ahead of us, whether it be in a special session or during regular session,” said Shannon spokesman Joe Griffin. “It is up to the governor if we have a special session, and if she decides that’s the best route, then we will certainly support her in that decision.”

The high court’s 7-2 decision in June was that the bill, known as the Comprehensive Lawsuit Reform Act of 2009, violated the single-subject rule in the Oklahoma Constitution and amounted to unconstitutional logrolling, or the passing of legislation that contains multiple subjects.

“Obviously we don’t agree with it, but we’ve got to abide by the court’s ruling,” Bingman said.

Fallin said she has discussed the possibility of addressing other subjects in a special session, including a key piece of her agenda – a bill last session to cut the state’s personal income tax and fund $120 million in repairs to the state Capitol that is facing another legal challenge of unconstitutional logrolling.

“In particular, the lawsuit reform is the key issue that we’ve been looking at. There could possibly be some other topics, but we want to also have a narrow field of discussion so we don’t have a long special session, if we do it,” Fallin said

Bingman said he did not support the idea of using the special session to address possible changes to the state’s Insure Oklahoma health care program so that it might qualify for federal money to increase the number of working poor who have health insurance.

Fallin said the idea of including the Insure Oklahoma program was a “remote possibility” and that she and her staff are still analyzing a report from a consultant hired by the state that recommended changing the state’s Insure Oklahoma program to qualify for billions of dollars in federal funding for health care for the poor. She said she also hasn’t discussed the report personally with Bingman and Shannon.

“I want to take time to go through the report, visit with them,” Fallin said. “There are many differing moving parts in health care reform and health care policy in our state. It’s not only the governor’s office, but it’s also the House, the Senate, even the Insurance Commission and the Oklahoma Health Care Authority have roles to play in any type of federal laws that we have to comply with.”

At least two Republican lawmakers – Sen. Brian Crain of Tulsa and Rep. Doug Cox of Grove – have called for expanding the special session to include a fix to the Insure Oklahoma program that would at least prevent about 9,000 working Oklahomans from losing coverage at the end of the year.

But neither Fallin nor Bingman indicated a willingness to do it, and Shannon has said previously he doesn’t think providing health insurance is a “proper or efficient function of government.”

Several Democrats complained that legislators should work for free and not be compensated during any special session.