Statement by Senator Stratton Taylor,
Senate President Pro Tempore

"Unlike Mr. Daxon, we agree with the statements made by Governor Keating. As Governor Keating said Tuesday, the budget agreement forged by legislative leaders is an excellent first step. As the governor also pointed out, the legislative proposal has many similarities to Governor Keating's original budget in the sense that it protects such important programs as education, health, veterans and mental health.

Senator Carol Martin said she is disappointed with this weeks ruling by the State Supreme Court that an initiative petition she headed to have English declared the official language of Oklahoma was ruled unconstitutional.

"Not only do I disagree with the question of its constitutionality, I also believe the ruling of the court was premature. "I believe that the Supreme Court was quite zealous in their ruling in that the people of Oklahoma have not yet had an opportunity to vote on the petition and further considering the fact that we withdrew our petition," said Senator Martin.

(Oklahoma City) During the last decade, Oklahoma did more to increase teacher salaries than almost any other state in the country, according to new statistics released by the National Education Association.

From the 1990-91 to 2000-01 school year, Oklahoma ranked 6th highest in the country for the percentage increase it granted in teacher salaries. When adjusted for inflation during that 10-year period, teacher pay rose by 8.2 percent in Oklahoma, well above the national average of just 0.5 percent, according to the NEA.

Sen. Keith Leftwichs effort to eliminate annoying telemarketing calls has cleared another legislative hurdle. SB 950 received final passage in the Senate Tuesday.

The Telemarketer Restriction Act creates a list of Oklahoma residents who do not wish to receive unsolicited telemarketing phone calls. The statewide registry will be maintained by the Attorney Generals office.

This bill is now one step closer to becoming law, said Senator Leftwich. SB 950 is now on its way to the Governors office for his signature.

Oklahoma is among the first states in the nation to pass legislation regulating Human Transporters with passage of SB 1473. The device, nick-named Ginger when it was first unveiled last year, is a revolutionary, pedestrian-friendly, battery-powered, self-balancing 2-wheel device with built-in gyroscope stabilizers. Senator Glenn Coffee, R-OKC and Representative David Braddock, D-Altus are authors of the measure.

Senator Scott Pruitt has authored a resolution calling for the United States Government to fully support Israel during this latest round of violence in the Middle East. The measure was approved unanimously by the full Senate Wednesday afternoon.

"Oklahoma knows first hand the tragedy and the horror of terrorism. We know how destructive it is, and we lament the tragic loss of life by the Israeli and Palestinian people during recent hostilities in the region," said Pruitt.

Oklahoma City - Legislation that would ban smoking in state owned and state leased buildings, including the State Capitol, gained the final approval from the Senate today and is now headed to the Governor's desk for consideration.

Senate Bill 1553, authored by Senator Ben Robinson (D-Muskogee) and Representative Ray Vaughn (R-Edmond) passed in the Senate after the House approved a committee substitute earlier this week. Before the bill even progressed to the House, the Senate removed original language that banned smoking in many other public places, including restaurants.

Senator Carol Martin has successfully carried Governor Frank Keating's nomination for Dennis Howard to serve another five-year term as a member of the State Board of Agriculture. That nomination won full Senate approval Thursday.

"Dennis Howard is a native of Waurika, and has served all of Oklahoma well in his duties within the Department of Agriculture. He has aggressively sought new ways to promote agriculture in our state and help our producers find new markets," said Senator Martin, R-Comanche.

OKLAHOMA CITY - Using existing Next Generation High-Speed Rail (NGHSR) demonstration funding, the Federal Railroad Administration is currently teaming with the Oklahoma Department of Transportation in order to perform precision aerial digital mapping of the developing high-speed corridor between Texas and Oklahoma's two largest metropolitan areas, according to Senator Dave Herbert, D-Midwest City.

Senator Scott Pruitt (R - Broken Arrow) today presented a resolution to Benjamin Netinyahu that he authored calling for the United States Government to fully support Israel during this latest round of violence in the Middle East. The former Israeli President was speaking at an American Legislative Exchange Council Summit in Las Vegas, Nevada.