On a bipartisan vote of 38 to 8, the full Senate on Wednesday gave its approval to a voluntary measure aimed at persuading more Oklahoma restaurants to go smoke-free. State Sen. Clark Jolley, R-Edmond, and Rep. Kris Steele, R-Shawnee, are authors of the “Clean Air in Restaurants Act.” Jolley explained the goal of House Bill 2774 is to provide restaurants with financial incentives to go completely smoke-free by 2012.
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State Sen. Jerry Ellis, D-Valliant, and Sen. Jim Wilson, D-Tahlequah, are protesting plans by Oklahoma City to purchase the water of Sardis Lake—plans they say would be premature, given a statewide water study mandated by the State Legislature will not even be completed for another two years.
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Senate President Pro Tem Glenn Coffee today named Co-Chairmen and Co-Vice Chairmen of the 2010 Redistricting Committee. Senators Clark Jolley (R-Edmond) and Mike Schulz (R-Altus) will serve as Co-Chairmen of the committee, joined by Co-Vice Chairmen Senators Andrew Rice (D-OKC) and Sean Burrage (D-Claremore).

The state Senate on Tuesday congratulated the University of Oklahoma women’s basketball team for a season that saw the Lady Sooners reach the Final Four of the NCAA Tournament for a second consecutive year. The team is the first in state history to appear in consecutive Final Fours, and one of just eight programs in women’s college basketball history to achieve the feat.

State Sen. Randy Brogdon said he is extremely pleased that a measure to strengthen Oklahomans’ Second Amendment Rights will soon be on the governor’s desk. Senate Bill 1685, the “Oklahoma Firearms Freedom Act,” authored by Brogdon, R-Owasso, and Rep. Charles Key, R-Oklahoma City, was approved by the House on Tuesday.
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Citing sovereignty rights protected by the Tenth Amendment to the United States Constitution, the state Senate on Tuesday approved a resolution stating that insurance regulation should occur exclusively at the state level.

Although the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) instituted new standards related to ground-level ozone just two years ago, the federal agency has already proposed revisions to those limits—revisions that could push every state in the country into non-attainment status.
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State Senator Jay Paul Gumm said Oklahoma now has a stronger law on the books when it comes to protecting children from sexual predators. That’s after Gov. Brad Henry signed Senate Bill 2064 into law on Tuesday. The measure, by Gumm, a Democrat from Durant and Rep. Randy Terrill, R-Moore, increases the “zone of safety” around schools, childcare facilities, playgrounds and parks.
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State Sen. Kenneth Corn won approval Tuesday for a measure to abolish the governor’s cabinet. Corn successfully attached the language as an amendment to House Bill 3035, which was approved unanimously by the Senate. Corn, D-Poteau, said the move would save approximately $2 million a year.

“The governor’s cabinet is an extra layer of bureaucracy with no real authority over any agencies,” Corn said. “It’s just people who provide advice to the governor, but it isn’t necessary—especially now when vital services are being cut throughout state government.”

The full Senate has given its approval to a bill that will name a section of a state highway in honor of an Oklahoma woman who was killed six years ago in Iraq. State Sen. Charles Wyrick, D-Fairland, and Rep. Larry Glenn, D-Miami, are the authors of House Bill 2621, which names portion of State Highway 25 in northeastern Oklahoma as the “Fern Holland Memorial Highway.”
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