Standridge bill to combat squatting passes Senate

Standridge Bill to Combat Squatting Passes Senate

OKLAHOMA CITY (May 24th) – On Thursday, Senate Bill 1994, authored by Sen. Rob Standridge, R-Norman, was passed by the Senate. The measure seeks to strengthen laws against squatting.

“In my district over the last year we have seen a home owner arrive home only to find a stranger in their shower, unwilling to leave until they finished using the home owner’s home, vagrants camping and defecating in front of businesses and even attacking patrons and employees with deadly force, and citizens camping on property without permission stating with full confidence that they would not leave until someone could prove the property was not theirs,” Standridge said.

Sen. Newhouse and Rep. Ford file legislation to modernize county clerk services

Sen. Newhouse and Rep. Ford file legislation to modernize county clerk services

OKLAHOMA CITY – Sen. Joe Newhouse, R-Tulsa, filed legislation to allow certified copies of county land records to be signed, notarized and recorded electronically. Newhouse carried similar legislation last year that was unanimously passed in the Senate but did not receive a floor hearing in the House of Representatives.

Governor signs catalytic converter theft bill into law

Governor Signs Ford's Catalytic Converter Theft Bill Into Law

OKLAHOMA CITY (May 11th) – The governor today signed into law a bill that increases the punishment for theft of catalytic converters, tires and wheels from a vehicle.

House Bill 4373 by Rep. Ross Ford, R-Broken Arrow, modifies the elements of third-degree burglary to include the theft of these vehicle parts and provides that the fine for such crime will be up to $5,000.

Highway Patrol pay raise passes State House

Ford's Highway Patrol Pay Increase Passes House

OKLAHOMA CITY – Oklahoma Highway Patrol troopers are a step closer to receiving a 35% pay raise after the House on Wednesday unanimously passed House Bill 4386  by Rep. Ross Ford, R-Broken Arrow.

An emergency clause on the bill ensures the raise would be given to each commissioned OHP officer effective July 1.

"Our Highway Patrol troopers have gone seven years without a pay raise," Ford said. "This is while they daily take their lives in their hands to provide safety and protection and a multitude of other services to Oklahomans throughout our state."

Ford explained Highway Patrol pay lags behind that of many other law enforcement agencies in the state. This pay raise should take them close to what police officers in the cities of Edmond and Oklahoma City earn.

'Porch Pirate' bill goes to Governor, establishes misdemeanor and felony theft offenses

Porch Piracy Bill Sent to Governor

OKLAHOMA CITY (May 12th) – A bill that strengthens penalties for porch package theft was sent to the governor Monday with the anticipation it will be signed into law.

House Bill 2777, by State Rep. Ross Ford, R-Broken Arrow, establishes a misdemeanor for first and second offenses and a felony for three or more offenses within a 60-day period for anyone holding, concealing, destroying, or taking mail from the mailbox or premises of another person or from a delivery vehicle at any point throughout the delivery route without the addressee’s consent or with the intent to deprive the addressee of their mail.

Legislature passes $2/hr pay raise for Dep't of Corrections employees

Corrections Pay Raises Sent to Governor

OKLAHOMA CITY – A bill that will increase pay by $2 an hour for Department of Corrections’ (DOC) employees passed the House on Tuesday with a vote of 99-0.

Senate Bill 1424, by State Rep. Ross Ford, R-Broken Arrow, previously passed the Senate 46-0 and now awaits the governor’s signature to become law.

“We gave many of our state correctional officers a pay increase of two dollars an hour last year,” Ford said, “but some Department of Corrections employees did not receive the raise. This bill corrects that inequity and gives these employees a raise equivalent to the one received by their peers.”

SB 1424 provides a $2 per hour increase over the current hourly wage, or an equivalent amount for those employees not receiving an hourly wage, for each employee of the Department of Corrections with a job description and location outlined in the measure. The increase will apply to personnel employed by DOC on the last working day of June 1, 2020.

Reps. Ford, May ask governments to treat COVID-19 as line-of-duty injury for first responders

Ford, May Ask for Job Injury Pay for Public Safety First Responders

OKLAHOMA CITY - State Reps. Ross Ford and Stan May, both R-Broken Arrow, are asking state, county and municipal governments to cover public safety officers that contract COVID-19 in the same manner as a line-of-duty injury.

“Any public safety officer that contracts this illness should have it treated as a presumptive line-of-duty injury the same as any other injury,” the lawmakers said in a joint statement.

House passes bill to require back-seat seat belts for all minors under 18

Ford’s “All Kids Buckled Up” Legislation Passes House

OKLAHOMA CITY – A bill that would strengthen seat belt laws for youth ages 8 to 17 today passed the House with a vote of 78-18.

House Bill 2791, by State Rep. Ross Ford (R-Broken Arrow), would require every person under the age of 18 to wear a seat belt when riding in the back seat of a passenger vehicle in Oklahoma.

“As a former police officer, there was absolutely nothing worse than working an accident scene where a child died because they were not wearing a seat belt,” Ford said. “This law will help us avoid such needless tragedies in the future.”

Currently, state law requires only youth ages 8 or younger to wear a seatbelt while riding in the backseat of a moving vehicle. Other than that, only the driver and front-seat passenger are required to be belted.

Ford worked with AAA Oklahoma, Safe Kids Oklahoma and the Oklahoma Department of Public Safety (DPS) to draft the legislation, which is supported by the Oklahoma City Chamber of Commerce, the Oklahoma Hospital Association, the Oklahoma Sheriffs Association, chiefs of police organizations throughout the state and many others. In total, 36 state organizations joined together to express support for this change in statute.

“The Department of Public Safety recognizes the importance of occupant protection, and we fully support measures to increase the safety of passengers, especially our vulnerable children,” said DPS Commissioner John Scully.

Leslie Gamble, AAA Oklahoma Public and Government Affairs Manager said, “Representative Ford has seen first-hand the tragedies that occur when children aren’t buckled up in cars and crashes occur. He sees the need for protection for all minors in the back seat and the absurdity of having a law that only requires children up to the age of eight to be buckled up. We’re so grateful to have his passion and practical experience to eliminate Oklahoma as one of the ten worst states for child passenger safety.”

According to information from AAA, Oklahoma is the only state in the nation without a law requiring children 8 to 17 to wear a seat belt when riding in the back seat of passenger vehicles, and the state currently ranks 50th nationwide in protecting children in car crashes – the leading cause of death and injury to those 8 and older in our state. The organization says that over half of deaths and serious injuries in car crashes can be prevented with proper use of seat belts.

According to data from the Oklahoma Highway Safety Office, 67 children ages 8 to 17 were injured and 16 were killed in 2017 in Oklahoma who weren’t wearing seat belts.

The bill now moves to the state Senate where Sen. Darrell Weaver (R-Moore) is the Senate author.

Ross Ford represents District 76 in the Oklahoma House of Representatives, which includes part of Tulsa County.

State Senate passes bill requiring seat belts for children in back seats

Senate passes legislation requiring children to wear seat belts

The full Senate prioritized child safety on Monday with the passage of Senate Bill 1303.

Authored by Sen. Roland Pederson, R-Burlington, the measure would require any child under the age of 17 to wear a seat belt while riding in the back seat of a vehicle. Current Oklahoma law only requires children under the age of eight and passengers in the front seat to buckle up.

“Oklahoma is the only state in the entire country that doesn’t require seat belts for kids over the age of eight, and it’s no coincidence that vehicle fatalities are the number one cause of death for children eight and older here in Oklahoma,” Pederson said. “The bottom line is, children are being hurt and dying simply because we don’t require them to wear a seat belt.”

AAA reports Oklahoma ranks 50th in the nation in protecting children in car crashes.

Pederson said he decided to run the measure after speaking with Drummond Family, Career and Community Leaders of America members Danica Jordan and Destiny Hudson. Both girls lobbied for stricter seat belt requirements after experiencing firsthand the lifesaving difference a seat belt can make.

“I’m glad Danica and Destiny brought these troubling statistics to my attention,” Pederson said. “We know seat belts save lives, and it’s past time for our children to buckle up. If we want to be a Top 10 state, we need to take action to protect the safety of our children.

The measure now moves to the House of Representatives for consideration. Rep. Ross Ford, R-Broken Arrow, is the House author for the bill.

House passes bill to add domestic violence strangulation to list of violent crimes

House Passes Bill to Add Domestic Violence Strangulation to List of Violent Crimes

OKLAHOMA CITY (February 11th) – The House of Representatives today passed a measure that would add strangulation during a domestic violence incident to the list of violent crimes and would increase the punishment for the offense.

House Bill 3371, by State Rep. Ross Ford (R-Broken Arrow), passed by a vote of 93-0.

The bill would modify the penalty for assault and battery with intent to cause great bodily harm by strangulation or attempted strangulation against an intimate partner or family member. The measure increases the punishment from the current sentence of not less than one year nor more than three years of imprisonment to a punishment of not less than one year nor more than ten years of imprisonment. The punishment for a second or subsequent offense is increased to a punishment of not less three years nor more than twenty years imprisonment. The measure also adds domestic abuse by strangulation to the list of violent crimes.

“Strangulation is no doubt a violent crime, no matter who the victim,” Ford said. “And yet our current law allows for a greater penalty for someone who strangles a stranger than for someone that strangles their spouse. This law would properly classify domestic violence strangulation as a violent crime, and would ensure the perpetrators of this crime would face a much longer sentence.”

Ford said strangulation is one of the most lethal forms of domestic violence, and a person being strangled by an intimate partner or family member is 750% more likely to be killed later by that same person. Oklahoma is currently ranked 20th in the nation for domestic violence. Ford said if we want to change that statistic we must enact laws that protect our citizens.

Figures from the Tulsa Police Department show there were 701 reports of strangulation in 2019, up from 234 reports in 2016. There were 1,636 reports of domestic violence occurrences or victim protection order violations in 2019.

HB 3371 now moves to the Senate for consideration. Sen. Michael Bergstrom (R-Adair) is the Senate author of the bill.

State Rep. Ford files “All Kids Buckled Up” Legislation

Ford Files “All Kids Buckled Up” Legislation

OKLAHOMA CITY – State Rep. Ross Ford (R-Broken Arrow) today held press conferences in Oklahoma City and Broken Arrow to announce his filing of legislation that would strengthen seat belt laws for young people.

House Bill 2791 would require all youth aged 17 or younger to wear seat belts when riding in the back seat of a vehicle on Oklahoma roadways.

“This bill is about protecting our young people from death or serious injury when they are riding as passengers in our automobiles,” For said. “As a former police officer, the worst news you can ever deliver to a parent is that their child was killed in a car crash because they were not wearing a seat belt.”

Currently, state law requires only youth ages 8 or younger to wear a seatbelt while riding in the backseat of a moving vehicle.

Ford worked with AAA, Safe Kids Oklahoma and the Oklahoma Department of Public Safety (DPS) to draft the legislation, which is supported by the Oklahoma City Chamber of Commerce, the Oklahoma Hospital Association, chiefs of police organizations throughout the state and others.

Oklahoma ranks 50th nationwide in protecting children in car crashes, which is the leading cause of death and injury to those 8 and older in our state, according to information from AAA. Oklahoma is the only state in the nation without a law requiring children 8 to 17 to wear a seat belt when riding in the back seat of a moving vehicle. Over half of deaths and serious injuries in car crashes can be prevented with proper use of seat belts.

According to data from the Oklahoma Highway Safety Office, 67 children ages 8 to 17 were injured and 16 were killed in 2017 in Oklahoma who weren’t wearing seat belts.

Ford recommended Oklahomans contact their state representatives and senators to voice their support of HB 2791.

Officials from AAA spoke at Wednesday’s press conferences. Several young people also shared personal stories of how seat belts saved or changed their lives.

Democrats flip SD37, GOP holds HD76 and SD45

Three legislative special elections were held today - House District 76 (vacated by Rep. David Brumbaugh's death), Senate District 37 (vacated by Sen. Dan Newberry resigning for a private sector job), and Senate District 45 (vacated by Sen. Kyle Loveless' resignation over campaign finance violations).

All three seats were Republican-held. Democrats last won SD37 in 1996 (although Nancy Riley switched from Republican to Democrat in the middle of her final term in 2006), SD45 in 1976, and never in HD76.

In HD76 (Republican District Rating of 61.9), Republican Ross Ford won with 68.35% of the vote . In SD45 (RDR of 59.5), Republican Paul Rosino got 56.78% of the vote.

In a nailbiter of a race in SD37 (RDR of 57.6), Democrat Allison Ikley-Freeman defeated Republican Brian O'Hara by 31 votes, 2234 (50.35%) to 2203 (49.65%). The vote was close enough that O'Hara might seek a recount; either way, due to Newberry's resignation date being January 31st, 2018, the winner won't be sworn in until February 1st, 2018.

Ikley-Freeman (a therapist at a nonprofit mental health agency) defeated O'Hara (a former Jenks city councilor and district director for Cong. Bridenstine) by virtue of receiving 60 more votes on election day, while O'Hara led the absentee and early voting total by 29. Ikley-Freeman becomes the third openly homosexual individual (she is married to another lesbian) to be elected to the Oklahoma Legislature, and the first outside of the HD88/SD46 area in Oklahoma City.

Democrats have now won 4 of the 7 special elections held this year (HD46, HD75, SD37, SD44).

Rosino gains GOP nomination in SD45, Ford in HD76

Primaries were held today for the special elections in House District 76 and Senate District 45.

In HD76, vacated by the death of Rep. David Brumbaugh, Republican Ross Ford eeked out a 19-vote victory over Rep. Brumbaugh's widow Shelley, winning 30.76% to 29.85%. A third candidate received 28.52%, with two others in single digits. Democrat Chris VanLandingham took 54.18% in a two-way Democratic primary.

In SD45, vacated by Sen. Kyle Loveless, Paul Rosino emerged victorious out of 7 GOP candidates, gathering 32.61% to the nearest competitor's 21.12%. He will face Democrat Steven Vincent, who defeated his one opponent with 92.22% of the Democratic primary vote.

The general election for both races will be held on November 14th.