News Stories (11/07/2018) for November 7, 2018

News Stories (11/07/2018) For November 7, 2018

Author: Tyler Talley Date: 11/07/2018 Wildlife Department to launch comprehensive digital licensing system in January (eCap) The Oklahoma Wildlife Conservation Commission (OWCC) approved a set of emergency rules Monday making way for the launch of the Oklahoma Department of Wildlife Conservation's (ODWC) new digital licensing system early in 2019.

Benefits of the new "one-stop shop" customer-based system, set to launch in January, include increased convenience in obtaining hunting and fishing licenses, access to information regarding statutory requirements for various activities, tracking hunter education requirements, applications for controlled hunts, purchasing items from the agency's Outdoor Store and access to noteworthy communications from ODWC.

"Basically it's just an online portal for hunters and anglers to come buy their licenses," ODWC Legislative Liaison Corey Jager summarized in an interview.

A common issue for hunters and fishers statewide, she continued, falls to licensing overlap.

"If you go buy a fishing license from Walmart and then the next day you go buy another license on our online system, you may not match up as one person," Jager said. "From a marketing perspective, it's hard to keep track of people. From a user perspective, you can't keep track of your own licenses very easily."

The new system will ensure conformity among licenses, Jager explained, allowing vendors to reprint licenses. The system will also see the launch of a new mobile application to provide in-the-field information.

"There's a lot of technology changes so we've been trying to monitor rule and legislative changes that need to be made to make sure everything is in-line with our new system," she added.

The cost for the new database and its operation will be recouped exclusively via processing fees already collected by the agency from its current online sales convenience fees.

The emergency rules passed by the OWCC unanimously on Monday remove the requirement to immediately fill-out the Record of Game on certain hunting and fishing licenses while still requiring licensees to tag and check-in their respective harvests.

"On the paper license for turkey, elk, antelope, deer and (black) bear, you have to report on your license everything harvested and then you have to tag your animal and then you have to check it in," Jager said. "With the new licensing system being pretty much predominately electronic, you're not going to have that printed license anymore to record your harvest."

Those rules are also going through the agency's permanent rule-making process as well, Jager noted.

"It will go to public comment in December and if we need to rescind for whatever reason we can," she explained. "They go to our commission in February and then whatever they approve will go to the Legislature."

The rules were passed on an emergency status largely due to the database's implementation in January, as well as the ongoing need for hunting and fishing licenses.

Tracked Bills Related To Story: None

Author: Shawn Ashley Date: 11/07/2018 Swearing-in ceremonies set (eCap) Returning and newly-elected members of the Legislature will be sworn-in November 14 and 15.

Aaron Cooper, spokesman for Senate President Pro Tempore-designate Greg Treat, R-Oklahoma City, said the Senate will hold its swearing-in ceremony November 14 at 3 p.m. in the Senate chamber. The House, according to Jason Sutton, spokesman for House Speaker Charles McCall, R-Atoka, will hold its ceremony the following day, November 15 at 10 a.m.

Renovation of the offices that surround the Senate chamber on the east wing's fourth and fifth floors continues, and the chamber has been inaccessible to the public since not long after the 56th Legislature adjourned sine die May 3.

"Accommodations will be made to allow the public to access the Senate galleries and the media to access the media gallery due to ongoing construction," Cooper said.

The swearing-in ceremonies begin the process of preparing the lawmakers for the legislative session that begins with organizational day Jan. 8.

Cooper said new members will receive training on the rules and procedures of the Senate, along with an orientation to the services and resources available to each of their offices. It will be January, when construction is completed, before those assigned to fourth and fifth floor offices can move into their spaces. In the meantime, their assistants will be working out of temporary space on the ground, third and fifth floors.

The House will hold a two-day freshman orientation session at the Capitol Dec. 3 and 4, Sutton said. The non-mandatory event will provide the new members with a comprehensive overview of the basic information they will need to do their job as lawmakers, such as how to process travel claims and order supplies, how to hire an assistant, the House rules and procedures, decorum, the committee process, how to file bills and amendments and how to vote, he said. The new members also will be introduced to the committee staff and the communications staff and learn how they can utilize those divisions, he added.

"They will get an overview of Ethics Rules and will also go through a workplace behavior and sexual harassment seminar," Sutton added.

Lawmakers, by statute, can begin filing bills Nov. 15. They have until Dec. 8 to submit bill requests.

The bill filing deadline is Jan. 17. Tracked Bills Related To Story: None

Author: Sidney Lee Date: 11/07/2018 Some Oklahoma House elections end with narrow margins of victory (eCap) The Oklahoma House ended the night with 45 new members and House Democrats went from holding 28 seats to 25 seats after three Democratic incumbents lost their races.

Each of the Democratic losses was close.

Rep. Steve Kouplen, D- Beggs, the House Minority Floor Leader, lost House District 24 to Republican challenger Logan Phillips by 344 votes. Rep. Donnie Condit, D- McAlester, lost his re-election campaign by 341 votes.

Rep. Karen Gaddis, D- Tulsa, lost her campaign by a wider margin of 1,114 votes.

But there were multiple races where one party eked out a victory, most of those wins were for Republicans. Republicans won nine elections by less than 1,000 votes. Five of those elections Republicans won by less than 500 votes.

The majority of these narrow Republican wins were in open races, but Rep. Todd Russ, R-Cordell, won re-election with 589 more votes in House District 55. Rep. Rande Worthen, R-Lawton, won his re-election in House District 64 with only 398 more votes than his Democratic challenger. His independent challenger received 311 votes.

Republicans weren't the only ones who won a few close races.

Rep. Ben Loring, D-Miami, won his re-election by 313 votes in House District 7. Rep. Jason Rosecrants, D-Norman, won his re-election to House District 46 with 989 more votes than his Republican challenger.

In total, Democrats won five races by less than 1,000 votes including Loring and Rosecrants' wins. Four of those wins were by less than 500 votes over their Republican opponent.

In House District 95 Democrat Kelly Albright received 49 percent of the vote with 4,847 votes. Her Republican opponent received 467 fewer votes, less than the combined 662 votes that went to the Libertarian and independent candidates in the district.

In total, 14 House seats were decided with less than 1,000 votes between the Republican and Democrat candidates and nine of those were decided by less than 500 votes. Two incumbents won by less than 500 votes and two Democratic incumbents lost by less than 500 votes. Tracked Bills Related To Story: None