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A bill to lower the state’s top income tax rate by .25 percent beginning in 2015 has cleared its first hurdle in the Senate. Sen. Kyle Loveless, R-Oklahoma City, is the principal author of Senate Bill 1246. The measure was approved on a bipartisan vote by the Senate Finance Committee on Tuesday.
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The Oklahoma State Senate dedicated artwork Tuesday depicting two of Oklahoma’s most beautiful landscapes, the Wichita Mountains and the Arkansas River
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The Senate Appropriations Committee approved legislation today that would allow for the much-needed renovation of the nearly century-old state Capitol building.

The Senate Appropriations Committee approved legislation today that would allow for the much-needed renovation of the nearly century-old state Capitol building.

Senator Connie Johnson and former State Rep. Porter Davis announced a new alliance Wednesday to reform marijuana policy in Oklahoma. Johnson, a Democrat, and Davis, a Republican, share a common interest in ending marijuana prohibition in the state for medicinal, decriminalization and industrial purposes.
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The Senate Judiciary Committee has given unanimous support to legislation barring registered sex offenders from changing their name. Sen. Kyle Loveless, R-Oklahoma City, is the principal author of Senate Bill 1421, which was approved with a bipartisan vote of 8-0 by the Judiciary Committee on Tuesday.

Loveless explained to committee members that when he was researching another bill last year, he ran across an alarming situation.
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It’s been almost 100 years since the nine foot tall bronze lamp shone its light at the state Capitol, but now it is back in its original home—the Senate Chamber. Eleven others just like it once helped light the chamber, although no one is exactly sure when they were removed or where they were taken. But now the lamp is back in the Senate, where it was first placed when the building was completed in 1917.
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The Senate Pensions Committee today approved legislation that will move state employees hired after Nov. 1, 2015 away from the traditional defined benefit to a defined contribution plan.

This change is only for new state employees, but will keep the promises made to current workers. The defined contribution plan will make Oklahoma better able to attract the next generation of state employees who value portability when it comes to their retirement plans, while helping lower Oklahoma’s unfunded pension liability over time.