In this July 17 file photo, Oklahoma Gov. Mary Fallin talks with reporters in Oklahoma City following a speech to the National Lieutenant Governors Association annual meeting. (AP Photo/Sue Ogrocki, file)
OKLAHOMA CITY – Gov. Mary Fallin has signed 23 lawsuit reforms bills into law.
The action came Tuesday after lawmakers adjourned a special session Monday that began Sept. 3 following a June opinion by the Oklahoma Supreme Court. The opinion tossed out a 2009 law because it violated the Constitutional prohibition on including more than one subject in a bill.
Fallin called lawmakers into a special session to pass individual bills addressing the various sections of House Bill 1603, the 2009 measure.
Nineteen passed with emergencies, meaning they became effective immediately. The remainder of the laws will take effect 90 days from Monday and before lawmakers return to regular session in February.
"Four bills did not get the emergency clause, but 19 did, so we are thrilled," Fallin said. "They will be in effect before next session."
On Tuesday, Fallin held a press conference to thank the Legislature for its quick action.
"Because of their good work they have restored a law that will provide protections for our businesses, protections for our doctors and certainly help to prevent frivolous lawsuits from gaining ground in the state of Oklahoma," Fallin said.
She attributed the state's low unemployment rate to the 2009 measure, but her office did not respond to an inquiry about what information she used to make that determination.
Fallin said she is confident that the 23 laws are constitutional, adding that she disagreed with the Supreme Court's June opinion but respected it.
In a separate opinion on the 2009 measure, the Supreme Court said requiring an expert to certify that a professional negligence case has merit before it can proceed was an impermissible special law and created a financial barrier to accessing the courts.
The court had previously ruled that requiring expert certification in medical malpractice cases was also illegal.
Fallin said she is confident that the most recent legislation requiring a certificate of merit in all negligence cases would withstand scrutiny.
"I think they have addressed all the issues the court brought up," Fallin said. "I feel the Legislature made a good faith effort and wrote the legislation to stand up constitutionally."
Oklahoma City attorney Jerry Fent, who has successfully challenged several Oklahoma laws, disagrees.
"Including all the negligence cases in the state will increase the tremendous financial burden upon all citizens in Oklahoma to meet the requirements of getting an expert in any negligence case filed in district courts," Fent said. "Therefore, I call this new act 'the attorney and expert welfare act.' "
He believes that the bill, Senate Bill 1x, is unconstitutional.
Local
An anthropologist from the office has been at the lake and is returning there today to help gather three more sets of remains to be taken to the Oklahoma City office.
He is accused of sending an email to a state senator who testified that he felt threatened by the tone of the message.
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