Can coon dogs define property lines?  
Capitol Spotlight for weeklies for week of May 13, 2007
By Jim Campbell
OPA Capitol News Bureau
Coon dogs crossing property lines is further evidence that bills concerning hunting and dogs might be gnawed on for a spell in the Oklahoma Legislature.
The Senate passed a trespassing bill by Sen. Kenneth Corn, D-Poteau, 37-9, after more than 40 minutes of the session's more colorful questioning and debate.
"Some of you are advocating letting a coon dog say what trespassing is," said Sen. Owen Laughlin, R-Woodward, arguing for Senate Bill 95.
Some of Corn's colleagues had urged rejecting House amendments and sending the bill to conference with the intention of making it more "coon hunter friendly" for the sport's 10,000 Oklahoma fans.
What does a dog know about property lines? Corn was asked. What happens to a hunter who crosses the property line to fetch his dog?  What if a hunter has received permission from several property owners but the dog follows a scent in still another direction?
"We don't continue hunting because the dog doesn't know," Corn responded. "We know."
Corn's bill says anyone willfully entering private land devoted primarily to agriculture or forestry without permission and committing waste, theft or damage could be found guilty of a misdemeanor and fined "not less than $500."  The land would not have to be posted. If the trespasser had a hunting or fishing license, the court might also require it forfeited for up to one year.
Corn argued that said no prosecutor in his right mind would charge someone for legitimately retrieving an animal. The bill's language, he said, had been worked out with the District Attorneys Council to close a loophole so wide no one could be prosecuted for violating property rights.
Laughlin called the bill necessary because "it's easier to get forgiveness than permission" and some hunters find it cheaper to pay the fines than obtain increasingly expensive hunting leases.
The bill, listing a number of categories of persons exempt from the prohibition, went to the governor for his signature.
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Forced implantation of microchips may be banned in humans, with the possible exception of sex offenders.
A bill forbidding the practice went to a conference committee with an instruction that it might include using chip technology to track registered sex offenders.
Although it apparently hasn't happened in Oklahoma, Sen. Brian Crain, R-Tulsa, proposed the ban to cope with galloping technology that might bring unpleasant surprises some day.  As the bill came up for final passage, Sen. Jonathan Nichols, R-Norman, proposed rerouting it to conference to add the sex offender provision.
Crain initially called it "an excellent idea," but too late in the session. Nichols, however, maintained control of SB 40 following 39-7 passage with a motion for reconsideration and won unanimous support the next day to reject House amendments and send it for conference revision.
House amendments added "permanent marks" to forbidden activity and extended the prohibition to use by governmental entities.
The State Health Department could fine guilty parties up to $10,000 for each offense.
Other legislation this session calls for tiered classification for registered sex offenders, some of whom have been found guilty of such relatively minor infractions as urinating in public. 
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A standoff over next year's budget slogged into the dwindling days of the 2007 session.
"I hope we get a budget before May 25," Senate co-president Glenn Coffee, R-Oklahoma City, said two weeks before scheduled sine die adjournment.  "But the governor has taken a 'my way or the highway' position.
"It sure looks like a special session. It appears to us he's run out of excuses other than just being obstinate."
House Speaker Lance Cargill, R-Harrah, said "it's clear he's not serious about working with the Legislature."
Not to panic, said Gov. Brad Henry.
Paul Sund, Henry's communications director, said if Coffee and Cargill, "would focus more on negotiations and less on news releases, we could finish the budget in the next 48 hours." 
Despite claims of an impasse, Sund said there was progress.
Coffee said Henry's signature on a tax relief package would "go a long way" toward enactment of a budget.
Henry maintained tax cuts should be considered in the framework of a total budget.
The tax package speeds up income tax cuts, drops the top marginal rate a year earlier to 5.25 percent, eliminates the franchise tax for most small businesses, gives a tax credit to stay-at-home parents and provides a three-day sales tax holiday on back-to-school clothing and footwear.
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