OKLAHOMA STATE SENATE / From the desk of Sen. Jessica Garvin
My thoughts and prayers are with the Oklahomans impacted by the tornadoes that swept through southern Oklahoma. The devastation is appalling, but Oklahomans are resilient. I know our communities will band together to help those affected by these storms because that is the Oklahoma Standard. If I can assist anyone needing help in Senate District 43, please don’t hesitate to call my office.
Meanwhile, at the Capitol, I was proud to pass the Women’s Bill of Rights out of the Senate. This key legislation clarifies how state law defines females and males in order to protect biological women. In a day and age when biological males try to use women’s restrooms and compete in women’s sports, this bill updates state law to define “sex” as a person’s biological sex, or their sex assigned at birth.
That guarantees there is no ambiguity in state law about who is a man and who is a woman. The Woman’s Bill of Rights prohibits unfair sex discrimination while also ensuring women’s safety and security in restrooms, locker rooms, prisons and domestic violence shelters, among other places. Women have fought for decades for equal treatment under the law. Now, that progress is imperiled by the Biden administration’s efforts to force states to adhere to its flawed gender ideologies. I authored this bill because I want my daughters and other young women to grow up in a state that protects biological women. This bill also complements previous legislation I’ve supported to prevent minors from undergoing gender reassignment surgeries. Such life-altering and irreversible procedures are never appropriate for children.
Gov. Kevin Stitt signed my Senate Bill 1511, which will increase the pool of qualified nurse aides to work in nursing homes. This measure decreases from seven to five years the waiting period that temporarily prevents people with certain criminal convictions from getting hired as a nurse aide after they complete their sentence. This makes it easier for people who have been convicted of assault, battery, burglary, robbery, petit larceny, arson or pandering to get a second chance at employment. I’ve introduced this legislation several years in a row because I know it will bolster Oklahoma’s health care workforce.
Because criminal justice reform is about striking a balance, there are still many crimes that completely disqualify someone from working in a nursing home. My bill adds human trafficking and anything that resulted in someone becoming a registered sex offender to the list of violent crimes that make someone unfit to work as a nurse aide.
The governor also signed another one of my workforce bills. He signed House Bill 3015, which will address the state’s social worker shortage by reducing the number of supervised hours of postgraduate work a social worker must complete to qualify for a license. Both bills will bring Oklahoma more in line with national standards.
Stitt also signed a consumer protection bill I coauthored that will make sure people know up front about any costs associated with using a third-party vendor to find a nursing home or assisted living facility for a loved one.
If you have any questions or concerns on legislative matters, please contact me at the Capitol by emailing me at Jessica.Garvin@oksenate. gov, calling me at 405-521-5522 or writing to Senator Jessica Garvin, State Capitol, 2300 N. Lincoln Blvd.
