Agricultural News
Lawmakers in Special Session Approve Tort Reform Measures Impacting Rural Oklahoma
Mon, 09 Sep 2013 17:55:24 CDT
Oklahoma lawmakers in special session approved 24 measures dealing with tort reform Monday. Senators and House members were called into session by Governor Mary Fallin to address tort reform which had been passed in a single bill in 2009. The Oklahoma State Supreme Court struck down that law saying the issues needed to be addressed singly. With their votes Monday, lawmakers affirmed the reforms they made in the 2009 law.
Representative Don Armes is the chairman of the Oklahoma House Natural Resources Committee. His committee also has oversight of the agriculture subcommittee. He spoke with Radio Oklahoma Network Farm Director Ron Hays about how the bills before the special session affect rural Oklahomans and agriculture.
"I think the thing that we have to remember is that we have to be a less litigious society. We've got to be able to have things like agritourism and things like that without fear of frivolous lawsuits. I think that's the overriding 'big picture.' I think that all the intricate puzzle pieces that fit into tort reform have to do with things like that for those of us in the rural areas.
"Farmers and ranchers have a tremendous amount of exposure as far as liability-hired hands , the cattle getting on the road, any number of things can happen when you're pulling farm equipment down the road--nything like that. In legitimate instances, it's one thing, but just for frivolous lawsuits with somebody hunting a check, that's not good. That's really what tort reform and lawsuit reform is really all about."
He said the legislators put all the pieces of tort reform in a single bill in 2009 and it was struck down by the state's Supreme Court which said the issues in the bill needed to be addressed one at a time. Governor Mary Fallin called lawmakers into special session and the law was split into 24 different sections which lawmakers approved Monday.
Armes also said legislators are still trying to dress drought issues across western and southern Oklahoma. He said lawmakers will take up the issue in the upcoming session next year.
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