The Senate Public Safety and Homeland Security Committee will begin examining wrecker service compensation in the state on Wednesday, September 16. Senator Don Barrington, who chairs the committee, requested the interim study earlier this year.

“I want this interim study to help determine what a fair and equitable charge is for wrecker service. Due to inflation and increased operational costs in the industry, wreckers are not being fully compensated,” said Barrington, R-Lawton. “We need to look at ways for wreckers to be compensated for the services they provide in the state.”

Members of the media and the public alike can now get updates from the Oklahoma State Senate on Twitter. The tweets will be sent by the Senate Communications Department, a nonpartisan staff division that serves all 48 members of the Oklahoma State Senate. The messages, also known as tweets, will include updates on key committee and task force meetings, press conferences and floor action on specific legislation.

Having played an integral part in facilitating communication and cooperation between the Oklahoma Citizen Advocates for Recovery and Treatment Association (OCARTA) and the state legislature, Sen. Don Barrington was recently named 2009 Legislator of the Year by OCARTA.

OCARTA Executive Director Donna Woods Bauer praised Barrington for his support of the organization and efforts to make a significant contribution to the lives of Oklahomans affected by addiction.

State Sen. Clark Jolley, R-Edmond, has been appointed vice chair of the National Conference of State Legislatures' (NCSL) Standing Committee on Education. The appointment was made by current NCSL president, Georgia State Sen. Don Balfour. NCSL is a bipartisan organization made up of lawmakers and staff from all 50 state legislatures.

There is a tremendous difference between education and indoctrinationand citizens and parents in every city, county and state of the nation need to pay very close attention to what is planned for September 8, 2009. Thats according to State Sen. Steve Russell, who said he has been inundated with concern from constituents following news reports that President Obama planned a satellite address to the nations school children this coming Tuesday.

“This is great news not just for Stillwater and Payne County, but for the state of Oklahoma as a whole,” said Coffee. “Clearly, Mercury Marine has had a significant and profitable presence in Stillwater for years, but their decision to bring more jobs to Oklahoma is real and tangible evidence that the Right to Work law passed earlier this decade and the lawsuit reform law that is about to go into effect are good for business and good for our state.

Due to the downturn in the economy, the budgets of all state agencies have been cut equally. The budget of the Oklahoma Department of Human Services is dependent upon state and federal funds. To avoid losses in federal funding, DHS was forced to disproportionately absorb all of the state budget cuts in certain programs. One of the areas that has been hit the hardest by the DHS cuts is the funding of senior nutrition centers around the state.

Sen. Patrick Anderson sent Governor Brad Henry a letter Wednesday asking him to use the Governor's discretionary funds to help replace the cuts in funding to the state's senior nutrition programs. Due to recent revenue shortfalls, the Department of Human Services approved a $7.4 million cut to these programs, which will go into affect November 1.

Senator Anthony Sykes, (R-Moore), Chairman of the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Public Safety and Judiciary, says a recent analysis by the Department of Corrections (DOC) of costs of public prisons vs. private prisons is based on assumptions and does not appear to take into account key factors that cannot be ignored.

The Council of Presidents and the Oklahoma State Regents have honored Senate President Pro Tempore Glenn Coffee and Majority Leader Todd Lamb for their dedication to strengthening Higher Education in Oklahoma. The senators were praised for their continued support for higher education and have been named recipients of the 2009 Distinguished Service Award.

Higher Education Chancellor Glen D. Johnson said Coffee and Lamb were very deserving of the honor.