Statement by Senator Stratton Taylor, Senate President Pro Tempore

A tag reduction bill advocated by Governor Keating and Republican legislators would hit education hardest, delivering an annual cut ranging from $76 million to $84 million to public school budgets, according to a Senate budget leader who is advocating a more responsible tag cut. The Governor and minority party members are pushing a tag bill that would cut $139 million out of the state budget pie, the largest slice of which is reserved for education.

The State Corporation Commission was simply trying to protect its "political turf," not Oklahoma consumers, when it issued a report citing objections to an electric deregulation bill earlier this week, according to the Senate author of deregulation bill.

Oklahomans would already be enjoying low tag prices comparable to those in Virginia if Governor Keating had not vetoed a car tag bill last year in an effort to use the issue in this year's elections, according to a State Senate leader.

Senator Cal Hobson was responding to comments made by Governor Keating and Virginia Governor Jim Gilmore at the State Republican Party Convention in Oklahoma City Saturday.

Twenty state lawmakers are urging Governor Keating to retract his inaccurate criticism of Oklahoma college graduates and apologize for suggesting that a majority of them aren't competent enough to enter the working world.

When it comes to putting teachers into the classroom, Oklahoma is doing a better job than almost every other state in the country, according to national statistics highlighted in a new Senate report.

"I think it's a very encouraging sign. It indicates that we're doing a great job of getting personnel into the classroom where they can do the most good," said Senator Cal Hobson, chairman of the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Education.

OKLAHOMA CITY - An international health organization has given Oklahoma the only "A" in the nation for the state's efforts to stop the spread of Hepatitis A. That's according to State Senator Kelly Haney, author of a 1997 bill requiring the vaccination for Oklahoma children.

Legislation establishing a special savings account for Oklahoma's tobacco settlement funds has been approved by the full State Senate. SB 1404 by Senator Stratton Taylor passed on a 45-1 vote Monday.

Even though Oklahoma's state highway construction budget is at its highest level in state history, Oklahoma's road-building program has been plagued by innumerable delays that have thrown it far off schedule, according to an analysis by the State Senate staff.

The unexplained delays are causing problems throughout the state, but especially in the Tulsa area, according to State Senator Lewis Long.

State leaders have plenty to brag about on Oklahoma's economic development front, according to a new report by the State Senate staff. The study was compiled at the request of Senator Ted Fisher, chairman of the Senate Economic Development Committee and author of the Quality Jobs Act.

"Too often it seems like people ignore the many good things that are happening in Oklahoma and dwell on the negative. I just think that if we did a better job of promoting the attributes of our state, we'd have even better success on the economic development trail," said Senator Fisher.