Bills passed to reduce cost of prison telephone calls

<br>OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) _ A bill to cut the cost of inmate telephone calls passed the Oklahoma House on Thursday, while the Senate rejected for the second time a bill to restrict vending machine sales in

Friday, March 12th 2004, 12:00 am

By: News On 6

OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) _ A bill to cut the cost of inmate telephone calls passed the Oklahoma House on Thursday, while the Senate rejected for the second time a bill to restrict vending machine sales in schools.

In other action, the House passed a measure to raise money to neuter and spay stray dogs and cats and the Senate approved a plan aimed at saving the lives of public school students.

The action came as lawmakers raced to meet a Thursday deadline for the House to consider House bills on the floor and for the Senate to do the same on its bills.

House members voted 84-13 for a bill by Rep. Ron Kirby, D-Lawton, which is designed to open up competition telephone contracts in state prisons.

Kirby said current contracts can mean a charge of $6 or higher for a two- or three-minute telephone call by inmates, creating a financial burden for their families.

Some lawmakers said they were reluctant to vote for Kirby's bill because it allowed the Department of Corrections to reap a $2 million profit on telephone calls throughout the system.

Kirby said there is still room to reduce telephone costs and allow the state agency to secure badly needed revenue. He said his colleagues' complaints would be considered as the bill moves through the legislative process.

In the Senate, Sen. Bernest Cain, D-Oklahoma City, tried again to pass his bill to restrict vending machine sales in grade school through junior high school, but it only got 19 ``yes'' votes. It takes 25 votes to pass a bill in the 48-member Senate.

The Senate voted 25-17 for a bill by Sen. Cliff Aldridge, R-Midwest City, which requires at least one teacher and staff member of each public school in the state to have training in cardiopulmonary resuscitation each year.

The Senate had turned down the bill on Wednesday.

``If we saved just one child's life with this bill, it will be worth the effort,'' Aldridge said.

He said his bill was inspired by the lifesaving heroics of Midwest City third-grader Ciara Mitchell last year. She performed the Heimlich maneuver to save the life of a friend who was choking on a piece of candy.

Rep. Bill Nations, D-Norman, won approval of a House bill that creates an ``animal rights'' license plate and a fund to be supported by a voluntary income tax checkoff to attack the overpopulation of cats and dogs in the state.

The bill calls for establishing the Pet Overpopulation Authority. The authority would administer the program, which would involve the spaying and neutering of stray cats and dogs.

Nations said the bill was supported by the state Veterinarians Association and he felt confident the special tag and checkoff programs would be ``meaningful.''

State law requires special tag programs to generate 50 sales over five years to stay on the books.

Nation's bill was amended to create a special tag in honor of ballroom dancing. That amendment was offered by Rep. James Covey, D-Custer City.