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For June 14, 2017
Author: Christie Southern
Date: 06/14/2017
Hiring additional legal staff point of contention for Consumer Credit Commissioner
(eCap) The hiring of additional legal staff became a point of contention for one member of the Oklahoma Consumer
Credit Commission, who criticized the agency for what he perceived as overstaffing.
The comments were made during Wednesday's board meeting by Oklahoma City Commissioner Armando Rosell.
During discussion of the agency's fiscal year 2018 budget, Rosell questioned the need for an additional paralegal,
an item that was built into the budget. The individual has not been hired yet but the department did hire an additional
attorney, bringing their current total to two attorneys and one paralegal.
"I don't understand. Is the legal work that heavy that it takes two lawyers and two paralegals?" he asked. He also
noted that a one-to-one ratio of attorney to paralegal was not the norm in the business community.
Steven Coates, general counsel, confirmed the workload was very heavy and that each paralegal would oversee a
different function of the agency's legal work.
Rosell also asked if the enforcement actions carried out by the agency's legal staff would result in monetary
recovery that would be "at or above the cost of to hire additional employees."
"If we're not recuperating that expense, I don't see how that's beneficial to the commission," he said, adding that it
would be a "disservice to the state."
His statements put him at odds with other commissioners who felt the request by the department was justified given
the mortgage lending industry growth, among other things.
Another member stated whether the agency generated income is irrelevant and said the mission of the department
is about consumer protection.
Administrator Scott Lesher also defended the budget item following Wednesday's meeting, saying the expense was
"absolutely" justified.
"We're very unique in that all of our statutes are all over the board. Licensees frequently request legal opinion from
the agency," he said. "So, it's not just about enforcement. That's a key component but just the daily operation is
amazing."
Lesher also pointed out the additional legal staff is nothing new. The department used to operate with two full-time
attorneys prior to him joining the agency. He said at one point the department had two full-time attorneys and two
part-time attorneys on staff.
In other business Wednesday, board members gave Lesher a pay increase of 7.9 percent of his current salary
effective next fiscal year. Board members said following an executive session, the increase was to keep up with
market rate.
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Author: Tyler Talley
Date: 06/14/2017
Health Care Authority cancels SoonerHealth+ RFP
(eCap) The Oklahoma Health Care Authority (OHCA) scrapped a long-standing Request for Proposals (RFP) on
Wednesday for a statewide care model for Oklahoma Medicaid's aged, blind and disabled (ABD) population.
The decision, a press release from OHCA reads, was made in the best interest of the state due to the uncertainty
surrounding both federal and state funding. The agency received a 3.48 percent increase in its fiscal year 2018 state
appropriations; however this increase was not enough to also ensure funding for the RFP.
"In addition to the funds needed to maintain services at current levels, the agency requested approximately $52
million to fund the care coordination model. The additional request was not funded; therefore, the agency is unable
to move forward with the RFP," OHCA CEO Becky Pasternik-Ikard said in a statement.
The ABD care coordination program, also known as SoonerHealth +, was initiated via the passage of House Bill
1566 in April 2015 and with the RFP issued last November. The plan represented an effort at partial privatization of
the state's Medicaid system.
The Oklahoma Association of Health Care Providers (OAHCP) praised OHCA's decision Wednesday, noting how
many in the state's health system expressed concerns about the plan conflicting with federal rules and regulations
and potential resulting in a loss of hundreds of millions of dollars in federal funds.
"The Health Care Authority and CEO Becky Pasternik-Ikard absolutely did the correct thing by delaying
implementation of managed care until we can determine if it is right for the state," OAHCP President and CEO Nico
Gomez said. "I appreciate her and her agency's wisdom and courage on this issue. It would have been irresponsible
to move forward with any plan that put essential medical services at risk as an unintended consequence."
Gomez, who previously served as the OHCA's chief executive officer, also highlighted the efforts of legislators and
Gov. Mary Fallin for recognizing the issues with managed care.
"We asked our lawmakers to scrutinize this plan and to slow it down if it endangered the state's health care
infrastructure," he continued. "They listened to us and took the right action. We are very grateful to the lawmakers
who worked with us to ensure this policy didn't inadvertently dismantle essential health care services."
Four measures terminating the RFP were brought before the Legislature during session with none receiving
approval from both chambers:
• HCR1009, by Sen. Ervin Yen, R-Oklahoma City, and former Rep. Scott Martin, R-Norman, directs the Oklahoma
Health Care Authority to refrain from awarding or signing any contract based on the request for proposals initiated
for care coordination models for aged, blind and disabled persons, due to the uncertainty of new federal managed
care regulations that will impact the Medicaid budget, until further review and approval pursuant to legislation
enacted by the Legislature in the 2nd Session of the 56th Oklahoma Legislature.
• SCR0005, by Sen. Kimberly David, R-Porter, and Rep. Glen Mulready, R-Tulsa, requests that the Oklahoma
Health Care Authority (OHCA) cancel the Request for Proposals for care coordination models for the aged, blind
and disabled populations issued Nov. 30, 2016. It also requests OHCA work with the Centers for Medicare and
Medicaid Services to resolve any questions about the long-term viability of supplemental payments and/or
pass-through payments for health care providers including, but not limited to, hospitals, nursing homes, physicians
and medical schools, under a care coordination model. The resolution also requests OHCA work with the Centers
for Medicare and Medicaid Services to ensure the rates for care coordination are actuarially sound. It asks that the
authority reissue a Request for Proposals by May 1.
• SCR0014, also by Yen and Martin, prohibits the Request for Proposal for the Aged, Blind, and Disabled population
at the Oklahoma Health Care Authority from being awarded or contracts signed in order to be reviewed and enacted
through legislation in the 2nd Session of the 56th Legislature, due to the uncertainty of new federal managed care
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regulations that will impact the Medicaid budget and the "supplemental dollars" and provider rates.
• SCR0015, by Sen. A.J. Griffin, R-Guthrie, and Rep. Glen Mulready, R-Tulsa, delays implementation of the Request
for Proposal for the Aged, Blind, and Disabled population at the Oklahoma Health Care Authority until July 1, 2018.
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Author: Shawn Ashley
Date: 06/14/2017
Fallin directs DPS to follow Supreme Court guidelines in implementing IDEA2
(eCap) Gov. Mary Fallin directed the Department of Public Safety to follow recent Supreme Court guidelines for
revoking drivers licenses as it implements a bill she signed targeting those with first-time driving under the influence
prosecutions.
Fallin signed SB0643 Thursday. The bill, by Sen. Kimberly David, R-Porter, and Rep. Scott Biggs, R-Chickasha,
creates the Impaired Driving Elimination Act 2 (IDEA2). It modifies requirements related the Department of Public
Safety providing certain notices related to driving privileges. It requires a prosecutor to forward to the Department of
Public Safety a notice of a deferred prosecution agreement whenever a person arrested for any offense for which
the mandatory revocation of the driving privilege of such person by the Department of Public Safety and enters into
a deferred prosecution agreement related to such offense. The bill modifies when driving privileges are required to
be revoked to include when a person receives a deferred sentence, or a conviction, when such conviction has
become final, or a deferred prosecution for certain offenses. It modifies license revocation processes and periods of
time. It requires the Department of Public Safety to establish the Impaired Driver Accountability Program. It requires
the Department to set eligibility requirements and consequences for violations
SB0643 "…appears to authorize the Oklahoma Department of Public Safety (DPS) in specific circumstances to
summarily revoke or destroy a driver's license of an individual with a due process hearing," Fallin wrote in an
executive order. The Oklahoma Supreme Court has determined that 'one's claim to a driver's license is indeed a
protectable property interest that may not be terminated with due process guaranteed by the Fourteenth
Amendment.
"Therefore, in giving effect to (the) bill, I am requiring DPS to follow directions consistent with the recent Oklahoma
Supreme Court Order in Nichols v. State, ex. Rel. Dept. of Public Safety, 2017 OK 20. I also direct and order the
DPS grant a hearing on revocation of license in conformity with the due process clause of the Fourteenth
Amendment of the United States Constitution, and within the time limits imposed by our Supreme Court," Fallin
wrote.
At issue in the Nichols case and a series of related cases were delays in the DPS conducting revocation hearings.
The state "…cannot artificially control the date from which a speedy trial claim will be calculated, by delaying notice
of revocation, where it is in possession of all evidence necessary to proceed with revocation hearings," the court
wrote in its unanimous opinion.
The guidelines set forth by the court requires DPS to notify drivers within 10 days of receiving blood test results
when an arresting officer will be available to testify at a revocation hearing. When the department receives notice
that a driver will appeal the automatic suspension provided by state when the test indicates unlawful blood alcohol
content, the court said DPS should then hold a hearing within 60 days.
The guidelines, Justice Joseph Watt wrote in the March unanimous decision, "…will remove those choosing to drive
impaired off our city streets and state highways in a timely manner."
That, David said when the bill first passed the Senate, was part of the point of SB0643.
"This program will allow the state to recognize and help first time DUI offenders in the hopes that they won't make
the same mistake twice. A majority of these first time offenders simply weren't thinking and used bad judgment,"
said David. "We're all human and make mistakes but it's whether we learn from them the first time that matters. We
need to separate these individuals from those who have an addiction and are much more likely to re-offend."
The bill takes effect Nov. 1.
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Author: Governor's Office
Date: 06/14/2017
Fallin Announces Appointment to OTA
(PRESS) Governor Mary Fallin recently announced she has appointed Guy L. Berry to the Oklahoma Turnpike
Authority.
Berry, of Sapulpa, succeeds Albert "Kell" Kelly, who resigned. Berry will serve on the board pending Senate
confirmation next legislative session.
"Guy Berry realizes that maintaining and repairing our turnpikes and transportation infrastructure is important to our
citizens and important to Oklahoma's economy," said Fallin. "He understands that as Oklahoma's population grows,
it will require a greater commitment to modernize and improve our turnpike system. I have confidence he will ensure
the Turnpike Authority is competently and efficiently run."
Berry has worked the past 36 years at American Heritage Bank in Sapulpa, as president and vice chairman of the
board. Before that, he was president and owner of a bank auditing company in Tulsa. He previously worked as a
national bank examiner for the U.S. Treasury Department.
"I appreciate Governor Fallin's trust in me," Berry said. "I will work to make sure our roads in our turnpike system are
safe and well-maintained for our motorists."
Berry previously served on the Oklahoma Transportation Commission and on the board of directors of both the
Oklahoma Bankers Association and the State Chamber of Oklahoma.
He is married to Caroline Berry, and has two children, Elizabeth and Henry.
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Author: Christie Southern
Date: 06/14/2017
CashCall settlement creates logistical dilemma for Oklahoma Department of Consumer Credit
(eCap) Redistributing nearly $1 million of settlement money back to affected Oklahomans may result in a logistical
dilemma unless additional temporary staff is added, officials with the Oklahoma Department of Consumer Credit
say.
Earlier this year, the department announced the Commission on Consumer Credit had entered into an agreed order
with CashCall, Inc. to compensate individuals who received a loan through Western Sky Financial. This settlement
occurred following allegations the company offered loans with illegally high interest rates while claiming to be
shielded by tribal sovereign immunity.
Administrator Scott Lesher said Wednesday rebating monies to likely more than 6,000 Oklahomans will require
additional temporary staff.
"We need to figure out who the money goes to and distribute that. It is going to be a major process to cut this many
checks," Lesher said. "It's a great thing we got, but we're really struggling to figure out how we're going to get this
out."
That may be a small battle given the state's current hiring freeze. A personnel freeze has been in place for the State
of Oklahoma since February of 2015. Any requests for hiring personnel must be approved by the cabinet secretary
overseeing that agency.
"I understand where the state is at and I understand the need for the executive order, but these are just the needs of
our extenuating circumstances. We're confident they'll understand once we explain it," he said.
Typically, the at-fault company will cut the check and the agency would oversee that it is done in an appropriate
manner. In this case, Lesher explained, the company responsible is defunct and did not provide the department with
a lot of records.
Because of this, the $1 million was added to their fiscal year 2018 budget. Lesher said he's worried lawmakers may
interpret that as a $1.7 million increase from the previous year. He said he wants everyone to understand his
agency is not "just growing by leaps and bounds."
"It's refunds," Lesher said. "This (million) should not go through our budget but that's where the money is. No one
can come up with a better solution."
Part of the $1 million will go toward covering the department's expenses for the distribution of checks but exactly
how much is yet to be determined. Lesher said he's hoping to get approval for the temporary staff from the state
sometime in the next 30 days.
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Author: AG's Office
Date: 06/14/2017
Attorney General's Office Wins Case Against FCC
(PRESS) Oklahoma Attorney General Mike Hunter has announced a victory in an on-going dispute over inmate
phone call rates and the costs incurred by the state corrections department and county jails for allowing those calls.
The ruling by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit threw out federal intrastate rate regulation, saying the
Federal Communications Commission (FCC) lacks legal authority to mandate rates for inmate phone calls that take
place entirely within one state. The court faulted the FCC for ignoring the terms of the law and for misreading the
courts precedent.
The ruling also called the method for calculating the caps arbitrary for failing to include the costs incurred by jails
and prisons to allow inmates to use the phones. The court criticized the FCCs method by saying it defies reasoned
decision making, makes no sense, simply cannot (be) comprehend(ed), and is hard to fathom.
The case brought by the attorney general is estimated to save the Oklahoma Department of Corrections (DOC)
around $1.2 million per year and the Oklahoma County Sheriff'sOffice around $375,000 per year. Other sheriffs
departments around the state will see similar savings because of the ruling.
Claiming a major victory for the state over unlawful federal regulation, Attorney General Hunter thanked the work of
the Solicitor Generals Unit, which argued the case, and said the savings will enable the DOC and county sheriffs
offices to keep phones in facilities, which will allow inmates communications with their families. Meanwhile, prisons
and jails will be compensated for the costs incurred in allowing those calls, including monitoring phone calls to
prevent illegal activity and providing security while escorting prisoners to the phones.
Without these measures, phones could be used to intimidate witnesses and judges, smuggle drugs and other
contraband into the facilities, and organize gang activity and murders outside the facilities.
I appreciate Solicitor General Mithun Mansinghani for his hard work on this case and seeing it through to benefit the
state, Attorney General Hunter said. The excessive cost would have been detrimental to the DOC and sheriffs
offices. This ruling will allow for inmates to continue communicating with their families on the outside while ensuring
the calls are properly monitored.
Oklahoma was the first state in the nation to challenge the FCCs 2015 ruling to place caps on how much inmates
can be charged for making phone calls. Soon after, eight other states and numerous sheriffs offices across the
country joined Oklahomas appeal.
DOC Director Joe M. Allbaugh applauded the states Attorney Generals Office for the work challenging the FCCs
ruling to benefit the corrections system.
The courts decision is a clear victory for the DOC, one that will give us the opportunity to generate funding for much
needed programs and treatments for inmates, Allbaugh said. The DOC will also be able to continue properly
monitoring inmate phones in the best interest of public safety. I appreciate the Oklahoma Attorney Generals Office
for their work in this case and reversing the unconstitutional decision by the FCC.
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Author: Tyler Talley
Date: 06/14/2017
ACLU of Oklahoma announces new filing in Hall case
(eCap) The ACLU of Oklahoma announced Wednesday a new legal effort to free Tondalao Hall, an Oklahoma
woman serving prison time for violating the state's "failure to protect" laws.
In 2006, Hall was sentenced to 30 years in prison for her failure to protect her children from physical abuse
committed by her then-boyfriend Robert Braxton, who also abused Hall.
Candace Liger, a community organizer with the ACLU of Oklahoma, said Hall feared her children would be taken
into custody if she reported the abuse.
"She feared retaliation and escalated abuse towards her and their children if she told anyone at all," Liger said at a
press conference Wednesday. "She feared she would end up behind bars or dead if she didn't make the right
decision."
Liger cited statistics showing close to 100 people killed in Oklahoma as a result of domestic violence with 72 percent
of those being African American, making Hall's risk factors "very real and very dangerous."
Hall eventually sought care for her children by taking them to a hospital, Liger related. When the case went to trial,
Liger said the fear behind Hall's initial testimony was largely ignored by the judge, prosecution and her own public
defender.
Whereas Braxton received 10 years with two years credited as time served and the remaining eight served as
suspended probation, Hall is currently in the eleventh year of her two consecutive 15-year prison sentences.
"Failure to protect laws must not hold domestic violence survivors with children to an impossible standard of
choosing between risking their lives and their children's lives and risking their freedom," Liger argued. "Our laws
shouldn't incentivize victims and survivors to remain silent."
Liger said Hall's sentence reflected a larger, systematic problem with Oklahoma's criminal justice system, a system,
she argued, that incarcerates more women than any other in the country per capita.
"This is not how we change Oklahoma from being one of the most dangerous threats to a woman's freedom in the
world," she said. "We must get real about the way our system has failed Tondalao, her children and the pursuit of
fair and equitable justice."
Chelsey Branham, director of social and economic justice with YWCA of Oklahoma, also noted a lack of training
within the state's judicial system for judges and attorneys to know and understand the cycle of domestic violence in
a way that properly informs their sentencing and prosecution.
Hall appealed her case and lost, as well as requesting a modification of her sentence which was denied. Hall will be
unable for release on parole until 2030.
Having exasperated all other clemency and appellate options, Brady Henderson, legal director for ACLU of
Oklahoma, said the organization would file a habeas corpus petition, on Hall's behalf in Pottawatomie County. He
noted this could potentially be a "last-ditch option" for the case.
"It's designed to deal with injustice when all else has failed and it has failed here," Henderson surmised. "Looking
back on the history of Tondalao Hall's case is to look back at a history of failure."
Hall, Henderson argued, served a scapegoat by then-prosecutor Angela Marsee, who now serves as a district
attorney in Western Oklahoma, due to mistakes made on Braxton's case resulting in his lesser sentence.
"As a former prosecutor, (it's) one of the most disgusting actions I've ever seen a prosecutor commit," Henderson
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said.
Courts, he continued, often fail to examine whether punishments are actually proportional to the crimes themselves.
"That creates an incredible injustice and it's inconsistent with the requirements of the United States Constitution," he
said.
He conceded the process could go quickly, should a favorable decision be reached with a few months, or could
proceed for one to two years.
"The journey we begin this week I think very well could end in the United State Supreme Court…a court that has a
history of telling Oklahoma there are limits to constitutional injustice."
The purpose of the petition, Henderson elaborated, is to gain a court determination on whether Hall's current
confinement is unlawful.
"She is there, at best, as an accomplice to the abuser's crime and he was released the day he pled nearly 10 years
ago," he added.
Henderson said Hall's case hits on many points regarding what was wrong within Oklahoma's criminal justice
system such as racial and gender bias as well as a state that fails to "see some people as people."
"What this court case is all about is trying to force the courts to see Tondalao as person," he said, adding the effort
was not about a single case but a means to shine a light on problem plaguing the state.
"It's about getting people to understand that right now in Oklahoma, part of what we're doing that makes us less safe
is incarcerating victims of domestic violence instead of protecting them," he concluded. "Tondalao Hall's case is
perhaps the worst and unjust example we've seen of that, but unfortunately it's not the only example."
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