The State Senate approved House Bill 2661 Wednesday, officially sending the measure to a House-Senate Conference Committee.

The 23 members of a special House-Senate committee on tort reform are scheduled to hear testimony in the first of four scheduled open hearings at 1 p.m. Thursday. Senator Mike Morgan and Representative Jari Askins will serve as co-chairs of the committee.
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Despite efforts by the Democrat leadership throughout the legislative session to kill the issue, the Senate passed a bill that sends to a vote of the people a constitutional amendment defining marriage in Oklahoma as only between one man and one woman and prohibiting the state from recognizing homosexual marriages performed outside Oklahoma.

About 30 of the remaining 149 survivors of the attack on the U.S.S. Oklahoma have come to Oklahoma City for their annual reunion. On Thursday morning some of those veterans came to the State Capitol to be honored by lawmakers. Later, at a press conference, they shared their frustrations in trying to secure a permanent memorial for the U.S.S. Oklahoma at Pearl Harbor.

Senator Jim Reynolds has been working with the group for two years on the project. He said it is high time for the U.S.S. Oklahoma to have the kind of memorial the ship and crew deserved.
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Gov Brad Henry has signed legislation to make sure out-of-state sex offenders with Oklahoma spouses don’t evade the state’s sex offender registry.

The legislation also shortens the amount of time convicted sex offenders have to register with the Department of Corrections and local police, from three days to two days.

Sen. Jay Paul Gumm is principal author of Senate Bill 1096. Gumm filed the bill in response to a constituent who was concerned about the safety of his grandchildren.
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Senator Charles Ford announced the unveiling of a portrait of Ambassador Jeane J. Kirkpatrick, the latest in a series of paintings commissioned by the Oklahoma State Senate Historical Preservation Fund, Inc. The portrait by nationally- renowned artist Mike Wimmer of Norman, was unveiled during a ceremony in the Senate Chamber this afternoon.

“Ambassador Kirkpatrick is an amazing woman who has accomplished many feats in her lifetime. She is truly an inspiration to many women and men alike,” said Senator Ford, President of the Senate Historical Preservation Fund, Inc.
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Senate President Pro Tempore Cal Hobson and House Speaker Larry Adair Monday announced plans to study the issue of deregulation of telecommunications in the coming legislative interim.

The announcement effectively shelves Senate Bill 1119 in this Legislature.
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Gov. Brad Henry has given the green light to legislation cracking down on movie piracy. Senator Glenn Coffee is principal author of the measure and said it will give local law enforcement the authority to go after people who illegally videotape movies.

“This is a huge problem for the film industry. The Motion Picture Association of America estimates losses of $3 billion last year because of this type of theft and it’s expected to climb even higher,” explained Coffee, R-OKC.
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A work of art depicting one of the most prestigious scientist’s of the late 19th and early 20th century will now grace the walls of the State Capitol, according to Sen. Charles Ford, R-Tulsa.

A portrait of George Washington Carver in Tulsa, an African American who revolutionized the research methods and agricultural processes of the day was dedicated today in the Senate Chamber. Artist Mike Wimmer of Norman created the painting, which was sponsored by Sen. Maxine Horner, D-Tulsa.
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UPDATE: Dems Seeking to Stop Gay Marriage Ban Vote in Oklahoma

Former Democrat Governor David Walters has joined efforts by state Democrat leaders to keep the people of Oklahoma from voting on the Marriage Protection Constitutional Amendment at this fall’s general election.

In a recorded phone message to voters, Walters asks citizens to call House Speaker Larry Adair (D) and demand that he kill House Bill 2259, which would send the Marriage Protection Constitutional Amendment to a vote of the people in the November general election.

Senator Charles Ford announced the unveiling of a portrait of “The Buffalo Skinner’s Cart,” by Gordon Snidow, is the latest in a series of paintings commissioned by the Oklahoma State Senate Historical Preservation Fund, Inc.

Snidow has been the foremost storyteller of the contemporary cowboy for over forty years and is one of America’s outstanding fine artists.
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