----- Original Message -----
From: Ray Carter, House media
Subject: Governor Signs Birth Certificate Law in Special Ceremony

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:Contact: State Rep. Dennis JohnsonCapitol: (405) 557-7327 Governor Signs Birth Certificate Law in Special Ceremony

OKLAHOMA CITY (August 25, 2008) Legislation allowing the state to issue birth certificates to the parents of a stillborn child has received the governor's signature in a special ceremony.
House Bill 2995, by state Rep. Dennis Johnson, would allow the certificates to be issued in cases of stillbirth for any child 20 weeks or more into a pregnancy. The newly created document would be a Certificate of Birth Resulting in Stillbirth, or COBRS.
'In the past, the parents of a stillborn baby simply received a death certificate, which did little to acknowledge the parents real loss,' said Johnson, R-Duncan. 'These families have decorated a nursery, their extended family and friends are excited about the newbaby coming, and a birth occurs. The birth certainly doesn't have the outcome the parents expected and then they realize that this short life has already come and gone. I experienced that grief as a grandparent last year and wanted to change the way our state treats parents facing this tragedy. The new certificates focus on the fact that the parents did give birth to a child and help them cope with their loss.'
Under the legislation, the parents of a stillborn child can request the birth certificate.
This new law is also retroactive so parents can get a COBRS for children lost in past years.
The new law is titled the "MISSing Angels Act" and "Christopher and Kendall's Law" in honor of two children lost to stillbirth. Christopher was born to Pat Flynn in 1978 and Johnson's granddaughter Kendall was born last year. Flynn approached Johnson about carrying the birth certificate legislation before the 2008 session.
'This document is a simple thing, but it can help provide closure,' Johnson said. 'It acknowledges that your child was born, was a person and is recognized as a citizen of Oklahoma.'

More than 26,000 children are stillborn nationally each year.
The First Breath Foundation helped developed House Bill 2995 and is seeking passage of similar measures across the country. Oklahoma is the 24th state to adopt this law.

The state Board of Equalization showed last month that general revenues grew $300 million before several “off-the-top” new expenditures were made for transportation and education, leaving $32 million in unearmarked new dollars left for legislators to work with this session.

The state income tax was set to fall to 5.25 percent in 2009 if revenues grew more than 4 percent. But since the growth--minus the education and transportation spending--fell below that figure, the tax cuts will not go into effect automatically next year. Spending priorities (Transportation + Education) were given precedence over tax cuts.

State revenues continue to climb despite criticism that income tax reductions to taxpayers will negatively impact the overall revenues. Those who look at a 'snapshot' of a single item (income tax reduction) and say a 1% drop in income tax rate will result in an overall decrease in dollars haven't considered that cut in one area always affects the economy as a whole. We continue to have a dynamic, growing economy fueled in part by efforts to keep as much money as possible in the hands of hard working Oklahomans.

Rep. Dennis Johnson of Duncan will join the Southern Growth Policies Board. Formed in 1971, the SGPB is supported by 13 states - Alabama, Arkansas, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, North Carolina, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Tennessee, Virginia, West Virginia - and the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico. The mission of the non-partisan public policy think tank is to develop economic advancement policies via communication and partnership between the governors and legislators, business and academic leaders and communities across the region and is devoted to creating the highest possible quality of life for Southerners and the economy of the South in general.