OKLAHOMA CITY – A bill to protect the leave of state employees following an emergency declaration was approved by the General Government Committee Thursday.  Sen. Frank Simpson, R-Springer, is the author of Senate Bill 282, and said the change is necessary in order to not punish full time state employees required to work overtime and unable to take off during state emergencies.

The Senate General Government Committee gave approval to a measure that would prevent any political subdivision or agency of the state from establishing a formal or informal plan to evaluate, promote, compensate or discipline an officer bas

The Veterans and Military Affairs Committee approved unanimously a bill to establish the Oklahoma Homeland Security Revolving Fund to provide assistance for the funeral expenses of state military or law enforcement personnel who die in the line of duty.

OKLAHOMA CITY – The Oklahoma Senate on Wednesday unanimously approved legislation renewing exemptions to the Open Meeting Act put in place last year during the coronavirus pandemic.

Senate Bill 1031 by Senate President Pro Tempore Greg Treat reinstates the same exemptions to the Open Meeting Act that were signed into law in 2020 with some minor changes.

Among the changes from the 2020 exemptions are:

OKLAHOMA CITY – The Senate Health and Human Services Committee passed several measures Wednesday that Republican leaders say advance the cause of life and will help save unborn lives.

The measures approved by the committee were:

OKLAHOMA CITY – The Senate Public Safety Committee has given unanimous approval to two measures aimed at better assisting victims of sexual assault and domestic violence.  Sen. Kay Floyd is the principal author of Senate Bill 16, a request from the state’s Sexual Assault Forensic Evidence (SAFE) task force, and Senate Bill 17, dealing with Lethality Assessment Protocol (LAP) used by law enforcement investigating domestic violence crimes. 

OKLAHOMA CITY – The Senate Health and Human Services Committee approved legislation Wednesday to require standardized investigations following the sudden, unexplained deaths of infants in Oklahoma.  

Sen. Brenda Stanley, R-Midwest City, is the principal author of Senate Bill 95 which cleared the committee with unanimous approval.

OKLAHOMA CITY – A joint meeting with the Senate and House Redistricting Committees will be held on Wednesday, Feb. 3 at 2:30 p.m. in room 535 of the state Capitol.  The meeting is open to all legislators and to the public and will be live streamed at www.oksenate.gov.

OKLAHOMA CITY – A measure to allow district courts to destroy certain court records once they are digitized passed the Senate Judiciary Committee unanimously Tuesday.  Senate Bill 47 is authored by Sen.