Senator Jeff Rabon on Thursday said Oklahoma has reached a fork in the road on the issue of prison overcrowding and is proposing the construction of a 2,500 inmate facility as part of a long-term plan to address lingering problems facing the Department of Corrections.

The 5,200 acres occupied by the Howard McCleod Correctional Center in Atoka would serve as the location for the proposed facility, with construction costs estimated at nearly $170 million.

Senate Co-President Pro Tempore Glenn Coffee said Thursday it is premature for legislators to call for the construction of a new government-run prison before a legislative performance audit of the Department of Corrections is completed in December.

Historically, when you take capital costs into account the state has gotten a better bang for its buck when we use private prison space. Well see in December if the performance audit shows that this is still the case, said Coffee, R-Oklahoma City.
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In explanation of the 12-percent slashing of the budget of the Oklahoma Criminal Justice Resource Center, Senate Co-President Pro Tempore has said the CJRC has been spending money at an unsustainable rate. This is sustained by having a silver lining in the situationby creating efficiency and cutting fat at a government agency.

As outgoing chairman of the Oklahoma Sentencing Commission, I feel that it was better to agree to the 12-percent reduction in budget than face the possibility of having the entire budget cut for the CJRC and ultimately eliminating the CJRC.
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A recent family trip to Minnesota gave Sen. Cliff Branan the opportunity to get a first-hand look at the collapsed I-35 bridge in Minneapolis. Branan, who is Co-Chair of the Senate Transportation Committee, said Oklahoma must learn from the tragedy and make road and bridge funding a top priority in the upcoming 2008 legislative session.
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Saying he was alarmed by the recently adopted travel management plan for the Ouachita National Forest, Oklahoma district, Sen. Kenneth Corn has filed a resolution requesting Congress to intervene and delay implementation of the new plan for the district until public input has been considered.

The new travel management plan would limit ATV use to 40 miles of designated trails in the Ouachita National Forest in LeFlore County. Corn said the policy is too restrictive and would present problems for hunters and the disabled.

Leaders in the Oklahoma House and Senate on Wednesday announced that MGT of America, Inc. has been secured to conduct a comprehensive performance study and audit of the state Department of Corrections. The leaders said that MGT experts would begin meeting with Oklahoma Corrections officials early next week.

MGT will be paid $844,000 to conduct the performance review and transformational study. The comprehensive study was a centerpiece of the final state budget agreement announced in May.

The leaders of the Oklahoma State Senate announced their approval today of 35 interim legislative studies on issues ranging from Oklahomas graduation dropout rates to accountability measures at the Department of Human Services.

The study requests were approved by Senate President Pro Tempore Glenn Coffee, R-Oklahoma City, and Co-President Pro Tempore Mike Morgan, D-Stillwater, who share the responsibility of running the evenly-divided Senate.

The author of the legislation creating Oklahoma’s back-to-school sales tax holiday said the annual tax break will help Oklahoma families and retailers. The Oklahoma Legislature passed Senate Bill 861, by Lawton State Senator Don Barrington, during the 2007 legislative session.

The bill created a three-day sales tax holiday on the first weekend of August each year, beginning August 3rd this year, allowing purchases of clothing and shoes up to $100 to be made free of sales tax.

*Note to Editors: Senator Jay Paul Gumm, (D-Durant) who has long been the champion of the “Back-to-School” sales tax holiday in the Oklahoma Legislature, and whose district borders Texas in southeastern Oklahoma, issued the following statement in regards to Governor Brad Henry’s signing of the administrative rules that will govern the operation of Oklahoma’s first ever sales tax holiday August 3-5.

The much anticipated 3-day back-to-school sales tax holiday takes place this weekend, August 3-5.

Senator Don Barrington of Lawton authored this legislation that will benefit families preparing their children for school. Purchases of clothes and shoes under $100 can be made free of sales tax this weekend. Local stores are expected to see an increase in business since shoppers will no longer need to cross state lines to take advantage of the Texas sales tax holiday.

Senator Barrington is encouraged by the benefits this holiday will bring to Oklahoma.