TAHLEQUAH — Starting Monday, Feb. 6, state lawmakers will begin making their way through 1,934 bills and 71 joint resolutions filed during the four-month legislative session.

Proposals include restoring infant insurance coverage; reducing sentences for first-time marijuana possession offenders; allowing schools to critique evolution in science classes; and legislation dealing with the disposal of aborted human fetuses.

The latter, proposed by Sen. Ralph Shortey, R-Oklahoma City, would outlaw the use of human fetuses in food production, a move that has drawn scrutiny from national media.

The bill states: “No person or entity shall manufacture or knowingly sell food or any other product intended for human consumption which contains aborted human fetuses in the ingredients or which used aborted human fetuses in the research or development of any of the ingredients.”

In several interviews with other media, Shortey said he had no specific evidence such research or practice is in current use, but had read on the Internet about the possibility of stem cells being used to develop artificial flavoring.

Sen. Jim Wilson, D-Tahlequah, is frustrated such a bill is even going to be heard.

“I don’t even understand why [Shortey introduced the bill],” said Wilson. “National news has picked up on it, and now we’re embarrassed again. It’s typical: They bring out something no one can vote against, and pack it with other things; for instance, the gender selection abortion bill. It sounded so egregious, but within the bill it had this huge questionnaire they wanted made public for pregnant women to fill out that invaded privacy. I guess if you’ve had a frontal lobotomy like I have, you can vote against it, but it doesn’t make you popular at home.”

Wilson has introduced a bill that will reinstate insurance coverage for newborns, and is similar to Colorado legislation.

Emergency rules handed down from Insurance Commissioner John Doak and Gov. Mary Fallin would place newborns in the high-risk pool for coverage, which costs substantially more than regular child coverage premiums.

“Most states don’t like having the liability of newborns because of risk and lack of data,” said Wilson. “So [Doak] and [Fallin] decided to protect the insurance agencies. We’re not going to provide for newborns. So, all the people who are pro-life seem to have no objection to not paying for health care for infants. The language in my bill forces them to do it.”

Wilson said he’s concerned about grandparents who are raising their grandchildren.

“Grandparents who are on Medicare who have grandchildren to take care of are going to have to pay $400 or more per month just to cover children in the high-risk pool,” said Wilson.

Wilson is in favor of reviewing drug violation sentences.

“This needs to get done,” said Wilson. “I’m afraid it won’t get a hearing, for fear we’ll be perceived as being soft on crime, but our marijuana laws are so inconsistent. In some communities, [possession of small amounts of marijuana] is a misdemeanor; in others, it’s a felony. It needs to pass and we need to get it off our backs. We keep giving money to the Oklahoma Bureau of Narcotics, which spends a lot of time on marijuana, and they need to be focusing on the serious stuff.”

Wilson has introduced a number of bills for the upcoming session.

“Probably the most important one, to me, is health care that will keep the price of emergent care down,” said Wilson. “There’s this big excuse that they can overcharge because they’re in an emergency situation. I have access to an ambulance, a helicopter and emergency room care and I never see a bill for it, and I should probably pay for it instead of charging higher fees to single mothers. I’m trying to mitigate some of that.”

Rep. Mike Brown, D-Tahlequah, plans to focus on maintaining core services.

“I anticipate the major challenge this year in the Legislature will be funding of core services, or how to brace for the shrinking of government,” said Brown. “Yes, there is waste in government, and when found, it needs to be eliminated, but you don’t throw the baby out with the bath water.”

Brown, who began his first term in 2005, said that at the time, the state had a surplus, but the Republicans had also recently gained control over the Legislature.

“Tax cuts to the wealthy were passed then, and they said they would produce enough jobs to more than compensate for the loss in revenue,” said Brown. “The cuts and credits continued to soar over the next few years, some as much as 1,600 percent. Yet for every cut or credit, no strings were attached for job creation. As I said then, if the current majority’s policy toward government services – such as Tahlequah’s Bill Willis Community Mental Health facility – continued, you could very well see that facility closing, along  with others.”

Brown’s prediction came to pass, and the Bill Willis facility has since been shuttered.

“Today, the number of mentally ill seeking services who are turned away or placed on waiting list is 600-900 per day,” said Brown. “And just this month, Oklahoma’s top personal income tax rate fell from 5.5 percent to 5.25 percent. This tax cut has a revenue impact of $120 million, with most of the benefit going to upper-income households.”