Oklahoma's public school children will ultimately pay the price for Governor Keating's decision to authorize the leasing of more private prisons beds, according to a state legislator.

Senator Frank Shurden is taking exception to last week's action by the Governor that allowed the Department of Corrections to exceed its current budget by at least $8 million and rent more private space without legislative approval.

New workplace safety statistics bolster the case for another reduction in workers compensation rates, according to several state lawmakers who are pushing for a fifth consecutive reduction in those business insurance premiums.

A report released by the Oklahoma Department of Labor Wednesday showed that the number of work-related deaths dropped in almost every major industry category in 1998, falling by 28 percent overall. The total was the lowest reported since statistics were first compiled in 1992.

A comprehensive examination of Oklahoma's clandestine dog breeding industry will formally kick off Wednesday when a special interim committee holds its first meeting on the subject.

State Senator Lewis Long requested the probe of so-called "puppy mills," the term coined for assembly-line dog breeding operations notorious for their inhumane treatment of animals.

The Chairman of the Senate Appropriations Education Subcommittee says there's a lot more positive information in the latest
round of ACT scores than some state officials have acknowledged.

Oklahoma high school graduates scored an average 20.6 out of a possible 36. That's after scores had fallen slightly last year to 20.5. The national composite on the exams testing skills in the areas of English, math and science is 21.

As schools across the state resume classes this month, many parents are feeling their budgets buckle under the need for new clothes and shoes for their children, but they may get a break on such expenses next fall if a bill authored by Senator Jeff Rabon, D-Hugo is passed in the next legislative session.

Governor Frank Keating should apply the same compassionate conservatism he reserves for presidential hopeful George Bush Jr. in the state of Oklahoma, according to a veteran state legislator.

Senator Frank Shurden noted that the Governor's recent comments regarding Bush and whether he had used cocaine are "quite liberal" when compared to the policies he has pursued in Oklahoma.

One of Governor Keating's cabinet secretaries is violating both the spirit and the letter of a new state law in his zeal to hasten the downsizing of Eastern State Hospital in Vinita, according to a state legislator who is currently exploring options to stop the action.

Governor Keating's latest push to privatize another function of state government should be approached with caution, according to two state legislators who say there is no evidence that such an "experiment" will save any money.

Issues ranging from education reform to so-called puppy mills will be the topics of a series of interim studies conducted by the Oklahoma Senate in the coming months.

Senate President Pro Tempore Stratton Taylor announced the approval of the interim studies today, saying the special committee work will help lawmakers prepare for the 2000 legislative session.

Senator Jerry Smith has joined other State and Federal Lawmakers in condemning the American Psychological Association for publishing a study which claimed that sexual relations between an adult and child might not be as harmful as traditionally believed, and could produce positive benefits for "willing" children.

"Given everything we know about the long term emotional devastation that these children suffer, I am shocked that the APA would publish such a study," said Senator Smith, R-Tulsa.