Below are edited notes taken during the House Floor Session on Monday, February 13, 2012. It is not a complete transcript of everything that was said.  For that you can go to the House webpage and view the video.   Links provided take you to more information about the bill including the actual language and vote details.

HB2566 by Wright

Wright: allows freedom of choice for those living at assisted living facility. They can choose the pharmacy without getting a penalty.

Terrill: what assisted living centers are doing what this wants to prevent? Wright: ones in my area, Weatherford, Elk City and Clinton.

Renegar: what is the penalty? Wright: if they want to use a pharmacy different from the assisted living facility, they were charged $150.

Mulready: Aren’t we interfering in private enterprise? Wright: this just ensures a person can use the pharmacy they want without a penalty.

Sanders: wouldn’t you agree these pharmacists are team players in the communities as opposed to OKC and Tulsa companies? Wright: that’s right, they do contribute.

Moore: what unintended consequences might this have? Could these people end up getting services from outside the state? Wright: the concern is getting business with local pharmacies, so I don’t see that as being a problem.

Bill passes 88-6

HB2365 by Billy

Billy: cleanup language from a DPS bill last year.

Bill passes unanimously.

HB2188 by DeWitt

DeWitt: limits transportation of castor beans to 50-pounds or less.

Terrill: I assume the bill prohibits transportation whether moving in or through the state, correct? DeWitt: yes. Terrill: castor beans are produced somewhere, when those guys want to move them, how do they do that without going around the state? DeWitt: there are no beans in production in OK and a few in TX. What we are seeing is production for research to determine whether the ricin levels can be reduced. Terrill: I’m concerned that this violates the U.S. Constitution. Are there producers in surrounding states? DeWitt: Egypt is the main producer. What’s done in TX is research. Terrill: we’re just going to cede this crop to other countries for biofuel production? DeWitt: it’s very viable for biofuels, but it’s also very toxic to animals and humans.

McCullough: have there been documented cases of bulk feed being turned down at feedlots or mills because of castor bean contamination? DeWitt: no, because there’s no production of castor beans. McCullough: how difficult is it to refine the ricin out for nefarious uses? DeWitt: I can’t answer that. I’m comfortable we will find a way to get beans without high ricin levels.

Reynolds: Are there any other products that we ban the commercial production of? DeWitt: no and I have the same concerns. But at the same time, we have a lot of producers out there raising wheat and corn and soybeans where one or two beans in a load would get it rejected. Reynolds: so they could reduce ricin levels by 99.9% but this bill says it has to be eliminated. DeWitt: at that point, we’d revisit this bill.

Terrill: I still think someone will challenge this and it will be struck down as unconstitutional. Wouldn’t you agree transportation includes possession?  DeWitt: you’re allowed 50-pounds.

Morgan: would you say this is a public safety issue for those in the ag industry and that we’re not prohibiting transportation, just limiting the amount? DeWitt: yes, it’s public safety and commercial use.

Ritze: will this exclude the tribes from producing castor beans? DeWitt: that would be the intent of the bill.

Armes: would you equate castor beans with BSE or Mad Cow disease and what it did to the British beef industry? DeWitt: that’s right.

Terrill: How many castor beans would I have to consume to get sick? DeWitt: three to eight beans would kill a human.

Bill passes 71-21

HB2189 by DeWitt: prohibits castor bean production

Terrill: I think this has a Commerce Clause problem because of the possession problem.  It’s still OK to plant and grow on your own property even if you’re a wheat producer? DeWitt: in your garden, yes.  Terrill: but if you didn’t grow it in your own garden, you couldn’t buy from anyone else in OK, so you’d have to buy from India or China? DeWitt: that’s the only place that produces them commercially anyway.

Terrill: how has mankind survived with this horrific threat to our food supply for so long? DeWitt: we’re not growing them here commercially so we’re not contaminating our supply.
Reynolds: how many deaths or even contamination of loads of grain have happened in the US recently? DeWitt: none, because we don’t produce it.

Terrill: there has been no discussion at the USDA or Oklahoma Ag Department about growing these in a closed system so that there’s no contamination of the food supply? If someone wants to do that, who are we to tell them they can’t? DeWitt: I hate telling people what they can or can’t grow. The USDA has looked at it. Yes, the beans could be grown in a closed loop, but then there’s the problem of wildlife scattering the crop.  Terrill: the fear I have is that West Texas decides to ramp up production to use it as a biofuel, are we not setting a precedent that Texas could ban OK beef? DeWitt: first, they wouldn’t ban OK beef because it’s the best in the country.

Cox: I read this as an anti-terrorism bill because aerosolized ricin was used in terror attacks in the London subways.

Bill passes 75-17

HB2244 by Denney

Cannaday: does this enhance the opportunity to get alternative certification? Denney: I think it does. Cannaday: I agree with you. Is there a need for this? Is there a shortage? Denney: yes, this is a constituent request.  Cannaday: can you explain cumulative GPA and retention GPA? Denney: imagine if you get some Ds and Fs and that can bring down your GPA. Some schools allow you to take the classes over and if you do better, the better score is used in your retention GPA.

Passes 90-1

HB2325 by DeWitt

Dewitt: will allow people doing conservation work to have wider vehicles, increasing from 10.5 to 12-feet.

Passes unanimously

HB2353 by Kouplen

Reynolds: shouldn’t this have a fiscal impact statement?

Chair (Speaker Pro-tem Hickman) consults with Parliamentarian

(10-minutes later)

Hickman: House precedent allows a bill without a fiscal impact statement to proceed provided the Chairman of the Appropriations and budget committee determines, in his best estimation, that the bill has no fiscal impact.

Sears (A&B Chair): this bill has no fiscal impact.  A fiscal impact statement was prepared last week, not sure why it wasn’t entered.

Reynolds: challenges the ruling of the chair.

Challenge requires 15 standing seconds, fails to get that so the ruling stands.

No further questions.

Bill passes unanimously

HB2768 by Pruett

Pruett: Board of Agriculture asks for some leeway in scheduling.

Passes unanimously.

House adjourns.