STATE OF OKLAHOMA

1st Session of the 52nd Legislature (2009)

SENATE BILL 1121	By:	Sykes

AS INTRODUCED

An Act relating to the Oklahoma Bar Association; amending 12 O.S. 2001, Section 1825, which relates to mediators; modifying certain training requirement; amending 17 O.S. 2001, Section 517, which relates to payment of proceeds; modifying applicability of certain standards; amending 20 O.S. 2001, Section 1659, which relates to the Court on the Judiciary; modifying entities authorized to file certain petition; amending 63 O.S. 2001, Section 931, as amended by Section 1, Chapter 410, O.S.L. 2005 (63 O.S. Supp. 2008, Section 931), which relates to the Board of Medicolegal Investigations; modifying membership of Board; and providing an effective date.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF OKLAHOMA:
SECTION 1.     AMENDATORY     12 O.S. 2001, Section 1825, is amended to read as follows:
Section 1825.  A.  A district court may maintain a list of qualified mediators to assist the parties in selecting a mediator.  In order to be placed on any such list, an individual shall meet the following minimum requirements:
1.  Civil and commercial mediators shall:
a.	be certified pursuant to the Dispute Resolution Act, or
b.	(1)	complete a minimum of twenty-four (24) hours of mediation training, which training has been approved by the Mandatory Continuing Legal Education Commission of the Oklahoma Bar Association,
(2)	observe a minimum of two (2) mediation proceedings, and
(3)	complete at least six (6) hours every other year of continuing professional education in the area of mediation, which education has been approved by the Mandatory Continuing Legal Education Commission of the Oklahoma Bar Association; and
2.  Divorce and Family Mediators shall:
a.	be certified for family and divorce mediation pursuant to the Dispute Resolution Act, or
b.	(1)	complete forty (40) hours of training in family and divorce mediation, which training has been approved by the Mandatory Continuing Legal Education Commission of the Oklahoma Bar Association,
(2)	conduct at least twelve (12) hours of mediation with three (3) separate families, and
(3)	complete at least six (6) hours every other year of professional education in the area of family mediation, or
c.	have been regularly engaged in the practice of family and divorce mediation for at least four (4) years.
B.  Nothing in this act shall preclude the parties from agreeing:
1.  To participate in any alternative dispute resolution process, including mediation, independent of this act or any related court order; or
2.  To select a mediator not identified on any list of qualified mediators maintained by the district court.
C.  Mediators who are not certified pursuant to the Dispute Resolution Act, upon request by the court, any party, or legal counsel, shall provide information demonstrating the mediator's compliance with the requirements of Section 4 of this act, and shall agree to adhere to the Model Standards of Conduct for Mediators approved by the Litigation and Dispute Resolution Sections of the American Bar Association, the American Arbitration Association, and the Society of Professionals in Dispute Resolution.
D.  The following form shall be used to order mediation pursuant to this act:
IN THE DISTRICT COURT OF ____________________ COUNTY
STATE OF OKLAHOMA
Order of Referral To Mediation
This case is ordered to mediation pursuant to the District Court Mediation Act.  Parties and legal counsel shall proceed in good faith to resolve this case.  The parties shall select and contact a mediator or mediation program or service within five (5) business days to make appropriate arrangements for the mediation proceeding.  Mediation shall be completed within _____ days from the date of this order.
Mediation shall be attended by persons with full settlement authority.  Both parties shall participate in mediation; attorneys may participate as agreed by the parties and the mediator.  Named parties shall be present except for a named party who has no interest in the outcome and no settlement authority.  Each party who is represented by legal counsel shall be accompanied at mediation by an attorney who is fully familiar with the case.  In addition, any interested non-party, including any insurance company or other entity that is contractually required to defend or to pay damages, shall be represented by a person with full settlement authority.
SECTION 2.     AMENDATORY     17 O.S. 2001, Section 517, is amended to read as follows:
Section 517.  A.  The proceeds derived from the sale of brine, solution gas or brine and solution gas production shall be paid to persons legally entitled thereto, commencing no later than six (6) months after the date of first sale, and thereafter no later than sixty (60) days after the end of the calendar month within which proceeds are received for subsequent production.  In those instances where proceeds are not received for disposition of brine, solution gas or brine and solution gas production due to venting, flaring, use for operations, nonpayment from purchasers, or any other cause, the time periods previously specified within which any required payment shall be paid to the persons legally entitled thereto shall be measured from the date on which such venting, flaring, use for operations, nonpayment or other event occurred.  Provided, proceeds from the sale of brine and solution gas from lands covered by a pending application for unitization pursuant to this act shall be paid to persons legally entitled thereto within six (6) months from the entry of a final order of unitization, together with interest thereon at the rate of six percent (6%) per annum to be compounded annually, calculated from the date of first sale after the filing of the application for unitization.  Such payment is to be made to persons entitled thereto by the operator of such production.  Provided, such operator may remit to the persons entitled to such proceeds from production semiannually for the aggregate of six (6) months' accumulation of monthly proceeds of amounts less than Twenty-five Dollars ($25.00).  Further provided, that any delay in determining the persons legally entitled to an interest in such proceeds from production caused by unmarketable title to such interest shall not affect payments to persons whose title is marketable.  Provided, however, that in those instances where such proceeds cannot be paid because the title thereto is not marketable, the operator of such production shall cause all proceeds due such interest to earn interest at the rate of six percent (6%) per annum to be compounded annually, calculated from the last day of the production month, until such time as the title to such interest has been perfected.  Marketability of title shall be determined in accordance with the then current title examination standards of the Oklahoma Bar Association.
B.  The following information shall be included with each payment made to a brine owner from the sale of brine:
1.  Unit identification;
2.  Month and year of sales included in the payment;
3.  Total volume of production from the unit of brine, solution gas and concentration of chemical substances contained therein and volumes extracted therefrom;
4.  Owner's interest, expressed as a decimal, in production from the unit;
5.  Total value of extracted chemical substances and solution gas, including the price per unit of measurement at which the products were sold;
6.  Owner's share of the total value of sales prior to any deductions;
7.  Owner's share of the total value of sales after any deductions; and
8.  A specific detailed listing of the amount and purpose of any deductions, including, but not limited to BTU adjustments and taxes, from the gross proceeds due to the owner.
C.  Any operator that violates this section shall be liable to the persons legally entitled to the proceeds from production for the unpaid amount of such proceeds with interest thereon at the rate of twelve percent (12%) per annum to be compounded annually, calculated from the last day of the production month.
D.  The district court for the county in which the unit is located shall have jurisdiction over all proceedings brought pursuant to this section.  The prevailing party in any proceeding brought pursuant to this section shall be entitled to recover any court costs and reasonable expert witness and attorney's fees.
SECTION 3.     AMENDATORY     20 O.S. 2001, Section 1659, is amended to read as follows:
Section 1659.  In the event the Council on Judicial Complaints finds that the complaint should be made the subject of proceedings before the Court on the Judiciary, it shall forward all papers concerning the same, together with its findings, to either the Supreme Court or the Chief Justice thereof, the Governor, the Attorney General, the Executive Secretary of the Oklahoma Bar Association, or the House of Representatives, who shall promptly file a petition invoking the jurisdiction of the trial division of the Court on the Judiciary in accordance with subsection (a) of Section 4 of Article 7-A of the Constitution of Oklahoma; provided, however, filing by the Executive Secretary of the Oklahoma Bar Association shall be at the direction of the majority of the members of the Executive Council or by resolution of the House of Delegates of the Oklahoma Bar Association.  Thereafter, the matter shall proceed in accordance with the applicable constitutional provisions, statutes, and rules of the Court on the Judiciary.
SECTION 4.     AMENDATORY     63 O.S. 2001, Section 931, as amended by Section 1, Chapter 410, O.S.L. 2005 (63 O.S. Supp. 2008, Section 931), is amended to read as follows:
Section 931.  The Board of Medicolegal Investigations is hereby re-created.  The members of the Board shall be:
1.  The Director of the State Bureau of Investigation, or a designee;
2.  The State Commissioner of Health, or a designee;
3.  The Dean of the College of Medicine of the University of Oklahoma, or a designee;
4.  The President or Dean of the Oklahoma State University Center for Health Sciences, or a designee;
5.  The President of the Oklahoma Bar Association, or a designee;
6.  The President of the Oklahoma Osteopathic Association, or a designee;
7. 6.  The President of the Oklahoma State Medical Association, or a designee; and
8. 7.  A funeral director, as provided by Section 396.3 of Title 59 of the Oklahoma Statutes, appointed by the Oklahoma State Board of Embalmers and Funeral Directors.
The Chief Medical Examiner shall be an ex officio nonvoting member of the Board.  The Board shall elect one of its members as chair and one of its members as vice-chair.  Members of the Board shall receive no compensation for their services on this Board.  Regular meetings of the Board shall be held at such times as determined by its members, and special meetings may be called by the chair.  Four members shall constitute a quorum.
SECTION 5.  This act shall become effective November 1, 2009.

52-1-544	TEK	1/15/2009 6:44:27 PM