Senate Republican Leader Glenn Coffee called on Democrats in the State Senate Wednesday to denounce a “wacky” ruling by a Democrat-appointed federal judge that the Pledge of Allegiance is unconstitutional – and demanded that they call their liberal Democrat allies in Washington and ask them to stop putting liberal activist judges on the federal bench.

The Republican transportation plan announced yesterday that seeks to increase appropriations to counties across Oklahoma will do so at the risk of Oklahoma school children, Senator Cal Hobson warned today.

“The dollars it will take to increase the county appropriation from 15 percent to 30 percent will have to come from somewhere because those dollars are designated for specific services that Oklahomans count on every single day,” Hobson (D-Lexington) said. “And that will mean less money for education-leaving Oklahoma school children behind.”

In the wake of the Hurricane Katrina disaster, State Senator Kenneth Corn said he will ask Oklahoma’s Civil Emergency Management to examine emergency evacuation plans for population centers around the state to ensure that Oklahomans will not be left behind should a disaster occur in this state.

Before state lawmakers start making plans for future tax rebates, cuts or other expenditures, they must repay millions of dollars owed to Oklahoma counties. That’s according to State Sen. Jeff Rabon who said repaying the counties must be a top priority in the 2006 legislative session.

Senate President Pro Tem Mike Morgan, in his capacity as acting governor of Oklahoma, issued an executive proclamation today lifting the burn ban in five counties in Southeastern Oklahoma.

The order removes the burn ban in Choctaw, Latimer, LeFlore , McCurtain and Pushmataha Counties. Senator Morgan issued the order at the recommendation of Agriculture Secretary Terry Peach and the Forestry Division of the Oklahoma Department of Agriculture.

State Sen. Susan Paddack said friends and neighbors in her community of Ada were devastated by this past weekend’s kidnapping and murder of teenager Caitlin Elizabeth Wooten. The Ada high school student was abducted by her mother’s former boyfriend and was later found dead in an apparent murder/suicide. Now Sen. Paddack is looking at possible legislation to prevent similar crimes in the future.

In a recent report by the Oklahoma Aging Partnership (OAP), the majority of Oklahoma State Senate Democrats were recognized for their perfect voting record on matters important to older Oklahomans. The report gave 20 perfect scores – 18 of which went to Senate Democrats.

GUEST EDITORIAL - More than two-thirds of Oklahoma taxpayers approve of holding the growth of state government to a reasonable level. Unfortunately, the other one-third – those who do not embrace responsible growth – are beginning to panic because of the TABOR (Taxpayer Bill of Rights) initiative. A natural impulse in a panic situation is to huddle in a defensive posture and try to protect your own at all cost. Such is the case with many tax-receiving groups around the state.

Senate President Pro Tempore Mike Morgan called on Republicans in the State Senate Friday to denounce a statement by former Education Secretary William Bennett that links the crime rate and the abortion of black babies. Bennett served as Education Secretary under former Republican President Ronald Reagan and served as Drug Czar under George H. W. Bush.

Morgan demanded that Republicans in the Senate call their radical right wing allies in Washington and ask them to stop appointing such questionable leaders to positions that control the destiny of so many Americans.

State Senator Tom Adelson said Friday that the federal government’s approval of the Oklahoma Premium Assistance Plan means thousands of currently uninsured Oklahomans will soon have health insurance coverage under what he called the “most innovative public-private partnership in the history of Medicaid.”