Legislature: Part-Time in Oklahoma

I'll confess that I haven't looked up the statistics on it, but right off hand, I don't know of another state that tries to get all its legislative business done in a half-year session.

Oklahoma's legislature gathers just six months out of the year. This means that all the necessary budget and financial issues must be taken care of and whatever time is leftover is allotted to new proposals. This seems inefficient to me and means some legislation never gets to the table.

Politicians' pet projects and causes come first after the necessary stuff. Despite what the polls show are the top concerns of the Oklahoma citizenry, legislators have found it important to deal with other issues, such as immigration. The output of new bills/laws would leave the rest of the nation believing that all of Oklahoma has its collective panties in a bunch over immigration or Shariah law, but that is not the case.

Perhaps in earlier times a part-time legislature was able to address all of the state's concerns, but in these times, I don't believe that is so.

Medical Records and Privacy

The Oklahoma legislature is considering a bill that would limit autopsy results "and many other pieces of information" from becoming public record. This bill is being pushed by the Oklahoma Bureau of Investigation, claiming the release of the information covered in the bill hampers some criminal investigations.

This bill moved swiftly through the Oklahoma house and was successfully passed. It awaits only the senate's approval for the bill to become law. As of this date, however, the bill has been removed from the senate's list of considerations.

I am pleased that this bill will probably not receive a senate vote during this legislature session. While I am concerned with the "many other pieces of information" that the bill might withhold from the public, I fervently believe that autopsy results should not fall under the Oklahoma Open Records Act.

Autopsy results are, after all, a person's final medical records. As such, I believe that privacy is assured to all individuals. If the autopsy reveals a crime involved with the person's death, those results will become a matter of public record through court transcripts. I can't think of any other cases where the public has a need to know why an individual died.

Those who need to know autopsy results for closure to their grief will already be in the "loop;" they will receive the information from the medical examiner's office.

It is my hope that I will pass away at a ripe old age from natural causes and no autopsy will be warranted, but if circumstances dictate otherwise, I want the information from this medical examination of my body and fluids to be known only to those who cared for me while I lived.