Senate Republican Leader Glenn Coffee made the following comments regarding today’s meeting of the Oklahoma State Senate in special session:

PUBLIC SAFETY

“Now that the Senate Democrats’ theatrics are over, the real work can begin on properly funding public safety,” stated Coffee, R-Oklahoma City.

“Instead of putting on a political sideshow by forcing the Senate to meet in a meaningless special session, Senate Democrats would have better served the public by working with Republicans to develop a bipartisan agreement,” he said.

The State Senate has given unanimous approval to a resolution honoring the centennial of the Catholic Diocese of Oklahoma. Sen. Mike Johnson, R-Kingfisher, is author of the measure which was approved during Wednesday’s special session at the State Capitol.

In a 46-1 vote, the Senate passed a plan today to keep Oklahoma communities safe by giving DOC the funding they need to hire more correctional officers in Oklahoma prisons.

The plan must receive approval from the Republican controlled House before the bill can be signed into law by Governor Brad Henry. But Speaker Hiett and other Republicans in the Legislature have said the public safety crisis can wait until next year and have introduced their own plan that advocates deficit spending.

Senator Daisy Lawler said Friday the latest far-reaching decision by the U.S. Supreme court to allow local governments to seize private property through eminent domain is will result in the robbing of citizens of the American dream.

“This is a basic liberty that is being taken away through greed and covetetousness, which are contrary to my values,” Lawler said.

In a continued effort to find a comprehensive solution to the prison funding crisis facing the Oklahoma Department of Corrections (DOC), the Senate Chairman of the Appropriations Subcommittee on Public Safety has invited Oklahoma Correctional Officers to testify at a meeting next Wednesday at the State Capitol. Senator Kenneth Corn, (D-Poteau) said he will ask correctional officers for their input on how inadequate staffing at state prisons affects their ability to keep themselves and Oklahoma communities safe.
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In protest to a recent Supreme Court ruling, a group of state legislators has formed a task force to find the best solution for fighting eminent domain in Oklahoma.

Founder of the task force, Sen. Clark Jolley, R-Edmond, said that the purpose behind the group is to create a piece of legislation for next year's session that will best address the new issue. The Supreme Court in the case of Kelo v. City of New London ruled last month that eminent domain can now be used for private development.
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In a continued effort to find a comprehensive solution to the prison funding crisis facing the Oklahoma Department of Corrections (DOC), the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Public Safety and Judiciary heard testimony today from Oklahoma Correctional Officers. Chairman of the Subcommittee, Senator Kenneth Corn, (D-Poteau) said today’s meeting gave subcommittee members a better understanding of how inadequate staffing at state prisons affects correctional officer’s ability to keep themselves and Oklahoma communities safe.

President Pro Tempore Mike Morgan today announced the formation of an official Oklahoma State Senate interim study committee to look into the issues surrounding the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision last month on the use of eminent domain.

The study committee was one of seven formed by the Senate leader Wednesday.

The death of an inmate at the Oklahoma State Reformatory in Granite should serve as a sobering reminder to lawmakers and the public of the critical staffing needs in the Oklahoma Department of Corrections, State Senator Kenneth Corn said Monday.

Corn, D-Poteau, said a fight in the prison exercise yard turned deadly Sunday evening when one inmate was killed and three others were injured.
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“While Speaker Hiett and the Republicants in the House are taking a deep breath, our correctional officers continue to put their lives on the line behind the walls of our state prisons, where the situation appears to be getting more and more dangerous each day.

“It is the Speaker who is acting irresponsibly as he insists on ignoring this growing problem.

“Apparently, the Speaker has adopted a do-nothing policy when it comes to public safety.”