Special Session to Wrap Up Today

OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) – The Oklahoma Legislature is expected to wrap up a five-day special session to overhaul the state’s civil justice system to comply with an appellate court’s ruling that a sweeping 2009 bill was unconstitutional.

The House and Senate are scheduled to meet Monday to give final passage to two dozen separate bills that address legal procedures in areas like medical malpractice, class-action lawsuits and product liability.

Gov. Mary Fallin requested the special session after the Oklahoma Supreme Court ruled in June that the 2009 bill that overhauled the state’s tort laws was unconstitutional because it included multiple subjects in one bill. Legislators were called back to divide the various sections into individual bills and pass them again.

Democrats say the $30,000-per-day price tag makes it a waste of money.