By Duchess Bartmess

It is that time of year again. By the time this issue of the bar journal went to press, the first Session of the 53rd Oklahoma Legislature will have convened. That means the Legislative Monitoring Committee has begun its work. Because this is the first session of a new Legislature and, as always, there are a number of new members, traditionally a lot of bills and joint resolutions are introduced. This year, 1,213 bills and joint resolutions have been introduced in the House and 1,015 bills and joint resolutions have been introduced in the Senate. The LMC does not review simple resolutions and concurrent resolutions as they do not have the force and effect of law.

Over 2,000 bills to review presents quite a challenge to the LMC and to members of the bar who are interested in the quality of laws enacted. Each year the LMC tries to improve their internal process to provide help to members of the bar and to the Legislature in reviewing pending measures in the current session. This year, the day after the final day to introduce bills in both houses of the Legislature, the OBA executive director conducted a meeting at the bar center to review the introduced bills and joint resolutions. Members of the LMC attended along with members from some other bar committees and sections. The purpose was to do a preliminary review of the pending measures. With over 2,000 measures introduced, the amount of time that could be spent discussing the measures was limited. However, a number of measures were noted as being potentially of interest to practicing members of the bar. The measures noted are assigned to the various subcommittees of the LMC for review and recommendation. In addition, other measures which appear to be of potential significance are also assigned to the subcommittees for review.

The LMC still meets through e-mail in order to facilitate participation in the committee by bar members around the state. Each year, the categories of subcommittees varies because they are dictated by the emphasis of interest reflected by the number of measures introduced in a particular subject area. Specifically, the work of the members of several subcommittees is to review legislation as it progresses through the legislative process with an eye to constitutionality, form, clarity, specificity, legal implications or unintended consequences. This year the LMC will intensify their efforts to work with the other committees and sections of the bar to coordinate with their efforts in the specialized areas of the law those groups work on.

As always, we serve in an advisory capacity, and do not speak for the bar — that function is left to the board of governors and the executive director.

DAY AT THE CAPITOL

The committee invites you to speak with your legislators about issues you believe are important during OBA Day at the Capitol, set for March 8, 2011.

Visit www.okbar.org/capitol for details and to RSVP.

Ms. Bartmess practices in Oklahoma City and is chairperson of the Legislative Monitoring Committee.