Ritze bill would let lawmakers impeach district judges
State Rep. Mike Ritze has filed legislation that will allow lawmakers to once again impeach associate and district judges.
Ritze said the House Joint Resolution 1072 will allow the Legislature to step in when a judge has shown gross negligence, as in the David Earls case in Pittsburg County or the Tulsa County case in which a judge reduced a child murderer’s life sentence to 12 years. Earls, who was convicted of raping a 4-year-old child, received a one-year sentence through an agreement with the district attorney.
“The judge should not have signed off on the agreement, regardless of the circumstances,” Ritze, R-Broken Arrow, said. “It seems like injustices just continue to occur in cases with young victims. If the judges are acting in such an inappropriate manner, they should be out and voters should not have to wait until the next election for them to expel them. We would be remiss not to take steps to prevent such a further occurrence of injustice.”
Ritze noted that decades ago, the Oklahoma Legislature could impeach all judges but that the law was changed to limit their impeachment power so that they could only impeach the Oklahoma Supreme Court justices. He also noted that the federal government has the power to impeach any federal judge.
“This is a change to the Oklahoma Constitution and so it will be up to voters to decide whether or not they think the Legislature needs to take a greater role in ensuring justice occurs,” Ritze said. “Unfortunately, judges do not receive as great of scrutiny in elections and apparently Oklahoma will continue to get individuals in these positions that turn out to be mistakes. I’m simply looking for a quicker way to address these mistakes when they are discovered.”
Ritze is a physician and surgeon and former deputy medical examiner for the state. He is a certified child abuse examiner and has a master’s degree forensic science.
Rep. Paul Ryan to speak March 31
The Oklahoma Council of Public Affairs (OCPA) will feature Congressman Paul Ryan, R-Wisconsin, at its annual spring dinner at the National Cowboy and Western Heritage Museum on the evening of March 31.
Congressman Ryan, now serving his sixth term in Congress, serves as a ranking member of the House Budget Committee and is a senior member of the House Ways and Means Committee.
A rising star in national politics, Congressman Ryan has been mentioned by prominent conservatives as a possible Speaker of the House. He will join a prestigious line of preceding OCPA Citizenship Dinner speakers including Justice Clarence Thomas, Gen. Tommy Franks, Newt Gingrich, and the late William F. Buckley, Jr. Sponsored tables and tickets are on sale now. For more information, visit ocpathink.org or call 405-602-1667.
Bill protects gun manufacturers
To strengthen the Second Amendment rights of Oklahomans, state Rep. Lewis Moore has filed legislation to deter frivolous lawsuits against gun manufacturers.
“In recent years gun-control fanatics have used litigation to indirectly undermine our constitutional rights. By filing frivolous lawsuits against gun manufacturers, they have attempted to put those companies out of business and, for all intents and purposes, block access to firearms and gut the Second Amendment of the U.S. Constitution,” Moore said. “My legislation will prevent fanatics from abusing our courts in that fashion and protect the fundamental constitutional rights of working Oklahomans.”
House Bill 2884, by Moore, creates the “Oklahoma Firearms Freedom Act,” which declares that a “personal firearm, a firearm accessory, or ammunition that is manufactured commercially or privately in Oklahoma and that remains within the borders of Oklahoma is not subject to federal law or federal regulation, including registration, under the authority of Congress to regulate interstate commerce.”
The legislation notes that regulation of intrastate commerce is vested in the states under the Ninth and Tenth Amendments to the United States Constitution and that Article II, Section 26, of the Oklahoma Constitution “clearly secures to Oklahoma citizens, and prohibits interference with, the right of individual Oklahoma citizens to keep and bear arms.”
As a result, under the bill, guns manufactured in Oklahoma and sold to citizens of the state would not be subject to federal regulations since “those items have not traveled in interstate commerce.”
Guns manufactured would be required to have the words “Made in Oklahoma” clearly stamped on a central metallic part, such as the receiver or frame.
“Our system of government clearly leaves regulation of intrastate commerce to the states, so my bill will explicitly protect the rights of Oklahomans to purchase guns manufactured in Oklahoma without being subjected to federal red tape while also protecting firearms manufacturers from frivolous litigation,” Moore said. “This is a common-sense measure that I believe will get bipartisan support.”
Mammogram insurability bill filed
In light of a recent study suggesting mammograms are not necessary for women younger than 50, state Rep. Lucky Lamons has filed legislation to preserve existing insurance coverage for mammograms in Oklahoma.
“I want to make sure any woman concerned she may have breast cancer is able to get a mammogram if her doctor orders one,” said Lamons, a Tulsa Democrat who is also a member of the Susan G. Komen Board, an organization dedicated to education and research about the causes and treatment of breast cancer. “In Oklahoma, it’s estimated that one out of every eight women will be affected by breast cancer, so this is literally a life-and-death issues for thousands of families across the state.”
Current state law requires insurance coverage to pay up to $115 for mammograms for any woman age 35 and up.
However, a November report from the U.S. Preventative Services Task Force recommended that women should wait until age 50 for regular mammograms.
In light of that report, Lamons filed House Bill 2688, which declares that insurance policies cannot be “subject to modification by insurers based upon studies or recommendations of medical research entities without specific approval of the Legislature.”
The proposed law would also allow any woman younger than 35 to have the same mammogram coverage “provided the treating physician prescribes the screening based upon physical findings or a genetic predisposition to breast cancer.”
“This is personal for me,” Lamons said. “My wife Shana is a three-and-a-half year cancer survivor. She was diagnosed at 45. Early detection really does save lives. My wife’s cancer was detected in the early stages. Had she been required to wait until age 50 for a screening, the cancer would have been much larger and tougher to treat.”
Bartlett will host business forums
Mayor Bartlett will be hosting five business forums throughout the City of Tulsa to create an open dialogue with small businesses and large corporations.
Each forum will focus on how the City of Tulsa can better facilitate growth and remove roadblocks in the way of prosperity for Tulsa businesses.
The first Business Forum will be at the TCC Center 4 Creativity on March 9 from 5:30-7 p.m.
Below are the dates, times and locations for each of the five forums:
• March 9, 5:30-7 p.m., TCC Center 4 Creativity, 910 S. Boston
• March 16, 5:30-7 p.m., Martin Regional Library- Auditorium, 2601 S. Garnett Road
• March 23, 5:30-7 p.m., Hardesty Regional Library, 8316 E. 93rd St.
• April 6, 5:30-7 p.m., TCC-North East Campus- South Meeting Room, Room No. 2623, 3727 E. Apache Ave.
• April 13, 5:30-7 p.m., OSU Center for Health Sciences- Dunlap Auditorium, 1111 West 17th St.
Helping more students graduate
One of the most important tools in improving Oklahoma’s economy is to increase the number of students who graduate from high school and college. That’s according to Sen. John Ford, who has filed legislation requiring schools to set specific goals to increase graduation rates.
“The stark reality is that out of 100 students in Oklahoma that start the ninth grade, only 75 will graduate from high school. Of those 75, just 44 will start college, but only 17 will graduate. Oklahoma can and must do better,” said Ford, Chairman of the Senate Education Committee.
“The bottom line is, the less education a person has, the harder it is to provide a living for themselves and their family. But as we increase graduation rates, those individuals prosper—as do their communities and our entire state.”
Ford, who represents Craig, Nowata and Washington counties, is the author of Senate Bill 2139, which creates a formula for schools to set new graduation targets. Those schools would be given two years to meet those goals. Schools unable to meet their graduation goal will receive assistance from the State Department of Education to develop and implement a plan to improve graduation rates.
Animals are susceptible to swine flu
Since early September 2009, the H1N1influenza A virus has been prominent in the news.
Early in the pandemic, biosecurity guidelines to limit the spread of this influenza virus from ill animal handlers to pigs were issued since the genetic make-up of the virus includes a swine component, said Dr. Carolynn MacAllister, Oklahoma State University Cooperative Extension veterinarian.
“Reports of swine flu infection in pets have been surfacing lately, and a case in Iowa was the first documentation of human-to-feline transmission,” MacAllister said. “In this case, two family members had previously been diagnosed with swine flu. A recent case of a dog infected with swine flu in New York is the first human to canine incident. Indoor pets such as cats, birds, dogs, ferrets and pot-bellied pigs that live in close proximity to someone who is sick with influenza-like illness can be at risk.”
As more information about human-to-pet transmission becomes available, MacAllister said pet owners need to keep in mind that influenza is a respiratory illness that is spread by respiratory droplets.
“Covering your mouth when you cough or sneeze, minimizing contact and washing your hands when you are ill with influenza-like symptoms can help reduce the chances of the disease spreading,” she said.
“Another protective measure would be to have infected people wear a surgical mask while in close proximity to potentially susceptible people and pets.”
If a veterinarian suspects swine flu influenza as the cause of respiratory illness in a pet, specimens must be shipped to veterinary laboratories in the National Animal Health Laboratory Network that are approved to conduct swine flu diagnostic testing.
The Oklahoma Animal Disease Diagnostic Laboratory has received approval to perform testing on specimens from non-livestock animals.
“If your pet begins showing signs of respiratory illness, contact your veterinarian,” MacAllister said.