OKLAHOMA CITY - With some 250 bills in conference committee still awaiting final action, and another 171 in various GCCA subcommittees, Republican lawmakers complain legislators simply will not have enough time to give careful consideration to each piece of legislation.

"When you take into account the number of bills remaining, and the fact that we only have two weeks left, we'll only have a few minutes to deliberate each of these measures. We know for a fact from past experience that this isn't the best way to run state government," complained Senator Carol Martin.

Senator Lewis Long has authored a bill to help with the cost of replacing vehicles destroyed by the May 3rd tornadoes. Senate Bill 1 would give prorated credits on both the cost of tags and the excise tax for replacement vehicles. Early projections indicate 30 to 40 thousand vehicles may have been destroyed in the May 3rd tornadoes.

Annual license plate fees may soon be measured in dozens rather than hundreds of dollars, allowing Oklahomans to enjoy some of the cheapest car tags in the country. Already approved by the House, HB 1734 will be heard by the Senate Monday.

Against the recommendation of the state Water Resources Board staff last week, the agency's nine-member governing board approved Seaboard's application to draw underground water, and now State Senator Paul Muegge is questioning why the permit was approved in the first place.

Oklahoma is ready to shoot for the stars. That's after the Governor signed Senate Bill 720 into law, clearing the way for development of the state's first spaceport. Senate President Pro Tempore Stratton Taylor and House Speaker Loyd Benson were principal authors of the legislation. Senator Gilmer Capps and Representative Jack Bonny co-authored SB 720.

Oklahoma public schools could receive a budget increase of $110 million this year under an omnibus education funding program unveiled by the leader of the Oklahoma State Senate today. The plan by Senator Stratton Taylor would leverage existing state funds, money from the tobacco settlement and federal funds.

The State Senate approved legislation Tuesday slashing annual license plate fees, an action that will result in $53 million in savings for Oklahoma motorists by the year 2009. It will also give Oklahoma some of the lowest tag and excise fees in the region, lower than Texas, Arkansas, Kansas, Missouri and Colorado.

HB 1734 now goes to the Governor for his signature.

"If Governor Keating vetoes the bill, he'll be vetoing a tax cut. Just ask the Senate Republicans who voted for the bill. They supported it because it's going to deliver significant relief to thousands of Oklahoma motorists. It looks like Governor Keating is out of step with his own party and his own rhetoric.

In an effort to justify an ill-advised veto of car tag reform legislation, Governor Keating is cooking the books in a futile attempt to show that HB 1734 increases vehicle tags and fees rather than decreases them. Figures from the Oklahoma Tax Commission show the opposite.

Constitutional questions about the Board of Regents for Oklahoma Colleges authority over Rogers State University could require the two entities to part ways, according to a Senator who is drafting legislation to correct the problem.