Legislative Update: Hyperbaric Treatment Bill Approved By Rep. John Bennett Senator Mark Allen and I have finally gotten legislation through both chambers of the Oklahoma Legislature that will allow veterans diagnosed with traumatic brain injury and prescribed hyperbaric oxygen treatment to receive that treatment at any facility in the state with a hyperbaric chamber. Senate Bill 1604, the “Oklahoma Veterans Traumatic Brain Injury Treatment and Recovery Act of 2014,” places the Oklahoma State University Center for Aerospace and Hyperbaric Medicine in charge of all medical treatments provided. They will publish a standard plan for treating traumatic brain injury using hyperbaric oxygen treatment. A revolving fund will be created to assist with these treatments. Subject to availability of funds in the revolving fund, hyperbaric treatments are to be provided at no cost to the veteran. The bill passed unanimously and all members were added as co-authors to show their support for the legislation. I was very proud of my colleagues in the House, who unanimously approved a trooper pay raise bill. Senate Bill 232 repeals existing pay scales and requires troopers to receive a raise based on a state employee compensation study that said troopers are paid 14 percent less than the average for counterparts in other states. The cost of the raise would be $5.6 million annually. The House also approved a bill to allow veterans who are residents in the state’s long-care treatment facilities to continue to smoke onsite until 2018. You may or may not know that the governor banned smoking on all state property via an executive order. This was followed by the Oklahoma Legislature putting that ban into law. One of the concerns raised was that it gave our veterans no time to quit. Of the more than 1,400 residents at the center, less than 250 smoke, but a compromise was needed for those individuals. Senate Bill 1777 will permit smoking by the residents of the centers until January 2018. The centers will establish an outdoor designated smoking area for residents only. The House also approved several bills related to state’s child welfare system. Senate Bill 1621 will ensure single foster care parents qualify for a deduction on their income tax. Current law only allows a married couple to file jointly for the $5,000 deduction. Under the new law, if signed, single foster care parents could claim the deduction. Married couples each filing separately for the deduction would receive a $2,500 deduction each under the bill. Senate Bill 1182 would permit DHS to “employ or contract with active or retired social work, medical and law enforcement professionals who shall be strategically placed throughout the state.” The bill was requested by DHS to address staffing shortages. Senate Bill 1937 requires the Oklahoma Department of Human Services to provide children in DHS custody with an annual credit report. It also requires the agency to refer the inaccuracies in the report due to identity theft and other causes to the court with jurisdiction over the child. Senate Bill 1449 would allow the Oklahoma Department of Human Services to contract with designated youth services agencies or child-placing agencies for the management and operation of the children’s shelters in Tulsa and Oklahoma City and for the management and operation of group homes for foster children. The House also sent a measure to the governor that will reduce the state contributions to the free federal phone program people call Obama Phones. Lastly, I want to mention Senate changes to an education funding bill I co-authored. House members are truly aware of how badly schools need increased funding. We passed House Bill 2642 nearly unanimously. It would create a multi-year plan similar to the road and bridge plan to increase funding each year. However, the Senate tied it to doing away with some of those road and bridge plan increases. I do not believe it is necessary to hold back the road and bridge plan to pay for this education funding plan. I will continue to fight for the passage of version of this bill that boosts education funding, but holds road and bridge funding harmless. I can be contacted by e-mail at [email protected] or by phone at (918) 790-3249 or (405) 557-7315.
Posted on: Thu, 17 Apr 2014 18:14:33 +0000
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