Tuesday Brings Start To Special Session
Okla. legislators prepare for special session
By SEAN MURPHY, Associated Press
OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) — Oklahoma legislators who return to the state Capitol Tuesday to begin a special session for an overhaul of the state’s system for filing civil lawsuits could find some of the heavy lifting on “tort reform” bills already completed.
House and Senate officials say several pieces of a comprehensive 2009 bill that was struck down by the Oklahoma Supreme Court were addressed by the Legislature in later bills and shouldn’t have to be revisited again in the special session. These areas of law include some of the more contentious issues, including caps on damages for pain and suffering and determining liability in cases with multiple defendants.
“After visiting with our legal staff and some of our members who have more expertise in this area than I do, it’s my understanding that we don’t need to readdress those and that those subjects remain good law,” said House Speaker T.W. Shannon, R-Lawton, who predicted the special session will last five or six business days.
It is the first time since 2006 the Legislature has been called into a special session and the first time Republican Gov. Mary Fallin has called legislators back since taking office in 2011.