OKLAHOMA CITY - Governor Keating's Transportation Secretary has been "shooting from the lip with little regard to accuracy" in his recent attacks on a legislative program for roads and highways, according to a Senate budget leader.

"I'm really surprised to see this kind of misinformation coming from Neal McCaleb," said Senator Larry Dickerson, chairman of the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on General Government and Transportation. "He knows what the real budget numbers are, but at Governor Keating's direction, he's deliberately trying to mislead Oklahomans on this point."

OKLAHOMA CITY -Oklahoma should concentrate on improving services such as education instead of cutting taxes if it wants to improve the state's economic fortunes, according to a visiting economist.

Dr. Steven Gold, a senior fellow at the Urban Institute and nationally known economist, testified before the Senate Education Committee today.

OKLAHOMA CITY - American Airlines has decided to restore jet service between Oklahoma City and Dallas-Fort Worth, according to two leaders of the Oklahoma Senate.

"We have it on good authority that the official announcement will be forthcoming very soon," said Senator Stratton Taylor, President Pro Tempore of the Oklahoma Senate. "This is going to be a great boost to our economic development efforts."

OKLAHOMA CITY -Oklahoma should concentrate on improving services such as education instead of cutting taxes if it wants to improve the state's economic fortunes, according to a visiting economist.

Dr. Steven Gold, a senior fellow at the Urban Institute and nationally known economist, testified before the Senate Education Committee today.

Statement from Senator Stratton Taylor, President Pro Tem:

"I'm continually astounded at the amount of taxpayers money Governor Keating is willing to waste in his attempt to get his hands on as much power as possible. If he carries through with his threat to file yet another expensive lawsuit, no one will suffer more than the Oklahoma taxpayer. The Governor should admit defeat gracefully and move on, instead of attempting to stick taxpayers with another large legal tab.

OKLAHOMA CITY - Saying the Oklahoma Supreme Court "has stopped Governor Keating's power grab dead in its tracks," Senator Darryl Roberts is applauding the high court for a dismissing a lawsuit that would have given the Governor unprecedented control over state appointments and pension systems.

"The message from the court was pretty clear. The Governor's power grab is illegal, no matter what kind of face he tries to put on it," said Senator Roberts.

OKLAHOMA CITY -Governor Keating's vetoes of separate appropriations for the State Auditor and Inspector's Office and the Oklahoma Tax Commission have wiped out a mandated pay raise for those agencies' employees, even though the Governor had already approved the pay hikes in separate legislation less than two months ago.

OKLAHOMA CITY - The leaders of the Oklahoma House and Senate have announced a final agreement on property tax reform legislation, saying the resulting package will provide Oklahoma homeowners with an additional layer of protection against "unfair and excessive property tax increases."

The legislation will be voted on this week, either Wednesday or Thursday.

OKLAHOMA CITY - After months of hard work and sometimes contentious debate, a permanent solution for the annual midterm funding problems has been enacted into law. Governor Keating officially signed HB 2055 today.

"Basically, we've done away with an annual headache that's plagued both our growing schools and state lawmakers," said Senator Don Williams, one of the chief architects of HB 2055. "We've created a system that will get our schools the money when they need it, making it easier for them to budget and meet the needs of their students."

OKLAHOMA CITY -The Oklahoma Legislature is making good on its promise to deliver targeted tax incentives to the state's energy industry, reaching final agreement on legislation that will help preserve Oklahoma's existing oil and gas infrastructure.

"We've made a concerted effort to keep one of Oklahoma's most important industries alive and profitable," said Senator Stratton Taylor, President Pro Tempore of the Oklahoma Senate. "We don't want to see any more energy jobs lost or another well plugged because of an unrealistic tax code."