Sen. Kim David (R-Porter) announced Thursday that bond authorization for construction of a new state public health lab (PHL) will be considered in the Joint Committee on Appropriations and Budget later this session.

The Senate unanimously passed legislation Wednesday to change how first-time Driving Under the Influence (DUI) offenses are handled in Oklahoma. Sen. Kim David is the author of Senate Bill 643, also known as the Impaired Driver Elimination Act 2 (IDEA2), which is strongly supported by Mothers Against Drunk Driving (MADD). The legislation would create the Impaired Driver Accountability Program (IDAP) within the Department of Public Safety (DPS).

Sen. Pres. Pro Tempore Mike Schulz issued the following statement Wednesday after the Senate Appropriations Committee approved House Bill 1845, the REAL ID Act, co-authored by Schulz and House Speaker Charles McCall.

The Senate Appropriations Committee approved legislation Wednesday to construct a new state health lab. Sen. Kim David, R-Porter, is the author of Senate Bill 236 to authorize the Oklahoma Capitol Improvement Authority to issue nearly $59 million in bonds for the construction of the new facility.

David said the lab has faced losing its accreditation since 2008, which would be detrimental and extremely costly for the state, and this year the legislature must act.

“I commend Governor Fallin on a speech that discussed her vision of how to build a stronger Oklahoma. My colleagues in the Senate and I look forward to learning more about her budget proposals and other policy goals as the session moves forward. Senate Republicans have a shared commitment to putting Oklahoma on a sustainable, long-term path to success. The Senate Republican agenda lays out our vision of how to build a more prosperous state. It begins with growing the economy, investing in our students and teachers, and ensuring our state’s health and safety.

Every year, state agency heads and their staff come to the Capitol for annual budget hearings—it gives them an opportunity to explain to lawmakers how the dollars they receive are used as well as giving legislators a chance to ask about funding priorities and other related issues. Those hearings are now underway in the Senate.

Senate Appropriations Chair Kim David said this year some of those hearings will take place in state agencies headquarters and facilities, rather than in committee rooms at the Capitol.

Oklahoma could see its incarceration rates, especially those among nonviolent female offenders, decrease in the coming years thanks to a new innovative alternative-to-incarceration pilot program approved by the governor Tuesday. Senate Bill 1278, by Sen. Kim David and Rep. Leslie Osborn, will create a “Pay-for-Success” contract pilot program to help nonviolent female offenders get the substance abuse treatment, counseling and other services they need to become self-sufficient, productive citizens.

For years, Oklahoma has locked up more women per capita than any state in the country. These women often leave behind children who are at greater risk for eventually becoming a part of the corrections system themselves. This session State Sen. Kim David is championing legislation authorizing a new pilot program to keep nonviolent female offenders out of prison. On Wednesday, the full Senate gave unanimous approval to her legislation, Senate Bill 1278, co-authored by Senate Minority Leader Sean Burrage.

Earlier this week, the Senate Appropriations Committee gave unanimous approval to a measure seeking to lower Oklahoma’s high female incarceration rate. Senate Bill 1278, by Sen. Kim David, would authorize the Office of Management and Enterprise Services (OMES) to enter into a Pay-for-Success (PFS) contract pilot program for those criminal justice programs that have had proven outcomes with reducing public sector costs associated with female incarceration.

On Thursday, the State Senate approved Senate Resolution 41 declaring Friday, February 7th as Wear Red Day in Oklahoma. The resolution, by Sen. Kim David, is an effort to support the American Heart Association’s (AHA) Go Red for Women program to help bring awareness to one of the state’s top killers, heart disease.