Oklahoma veterans programs will receive less federal funding than expected next year, a development that makes Governor Keating's proposed cuts to the state veterans budget even more damaging than previously thought, according to a State Senator who has been leading the fight against the reductions.

State Senator Dave Herbert will unveil a proposed blueprint for the expansion of passenger rail service in Oklahoma. The plan would link Oklahoma's two major metro areas and northern Oklahoma with high-speed rail lines that would also tie in would link with Amtrak lines running the length of the country.

The plan will formally be unveiled at a State Capitol news conference on Monday.

State Senator Dave Herbert has unveiled a master plan for the expansion of passenger rail service in Oklahoma that would link Tulsa, Oklahoma City and northern Oklahoma with Amtrak lines running the length of the country.

The three-phase program is contingent on the passage of SJR 37, a proposal by Sen. Herbert that would ask Oklahoma voters to temporarily raise the state gas tax by one-cent and use the revenue to expand rail service.

Citing the concerns of the University of Oklahoma's athletic director, a State Senate leader is calling for Governor Keating to withdraw his controversial proposal to ban the teaching of remedial courses at OU and Oklahoma State University. The legislation, HB 1710, is currently awaiting action in a Senate committee.

A Senate leader has decided to kill a controversial proposal by Governor Keating that could have crippled athletic programs at the University of Oklahoma and Oklahoma State University.

The proposal in question, HB 1710, would have banned the teaching of remedial courses at the state's two comprehensive universities - an action that athletic officials claim would have put them at a competitive disadvantage in recruiting and retaining student athletes.

Despite Republican claims to the contrary, car tag reform is alive and well at the State Capitol, according to the leader of the Oklahoma State Senate.

Senate President Pro Tempore Stratton Taylor pointed out that two tag bills have been reported out of Senate Committee and will soon be heard by the full Senate.

Oklahoma City - The principal authors of a state bill to ban remediation at Oklahoma's two premier universities today called it "tragic and appalling" that opponents of the measure apparently have little interest in stemming the state's alarming remediation rate.

The remarks by state Representative Carolyn Coleman, R-Moore, and State Senator Kathleen Wilcoxson, R-OKC, came amid attacks from Senator Keith Leftwich (D-Oklahoma City) that House Bill 1710 would cripple sports programs at the University of Oklahoma and Oklahoma State University.

The Oklahoma State Senate has approved a $2,000 pay raise for state employees. SB 959 passed on a unanimous 46-0 vote Wednesday afternoon. The legislation is expected to be approved by the House on Thursday and will then go to the Governor for his signature.

Legislation that will soon be considered by the State Senate would slash the annual tag fees paid by Oklahoma motorists, charging them a flat fee of $15, $45 or $85 depending on the age of their vehicle.

If approved by the full Legislature and the Governor, the measure will also give Oklahoma some of the lowest tag and excise fees in the region -- lower than Texas, Arkansas, Kansas, Missouri and Colorado.

Oklahoma City - A bill that would have saved millions of dollars through cost-sharing of school administrations is apparently dead for the session. Senate author Carol Martin and House author Joan Greenwood were told House Education Appropriations Subcommittee Chairman Jack Begley would not allow his committee to hear the bill this session.