State Senator Richard Lerblance (D-Hartshorne) held a meeting today with the Oklahoma Rural Water Association and the Oklahoma Municipal League in an effort to address water rights issues.

The meeting was a result of a bill that Senator Lerblance filed at the beginning of the legislative session. There have been long-term problems between rural water districts and municipalities as to who has the water rights when expansion is necessary.

For the second time in as many weeks, the Senate’s Republican Leader implored Gov. Brad Henry in a letter to get off the sidelines and help line up the votes needed to withdraw the marriage protection constitutional amendment from a Senate committee.

“The deadline to withdraw SJR 38 from committee for consideration on the Senate floor is Thursday, March 11, 2004. Without your immediate help, this bill will die,” wrote Senate GOP Leader James A. Williamson, R-Tulsa. “All I ask is that you devote as much time to protecting marriage as you have to expanding gambling in our state.”

Senate Appropriations Chairman Mike Morgan Tuesday announced a plan to give state employees a long-overdue, two-phase pay raise.

Morgan said the Senate measure would give state workers a 5-percent pay raise beginning January 1, 2005, and then an additional 3-percent raise beginning July 1, 2005.

State employees last received a pay increase in 2000.
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The State Senate passed a bill today renaming a portion of Interstate 240 in Oklahoma City in honor of the late Senator Keith Leftwich, according to Senate President Pro Tempore Cal Hobson (D-Lexington) and President Pro Tempore Emeritus Stratton Taylor (D-Claremore), authors of the bill. Under the provisions of SB 969, I-240 between the intersections of I-35 and I-44 in South Oklahoma City will be known as the “Keith Leftwich Memorial Loop.”
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Legislators recently announced International Student Awareness Day at the Oklahoma State Capitol on March 24th. The annual event gives international students from high schools, colleges and universities from around the state the opportunity to learn more about Oklahoma and to celebrate the state's cultural diversity.
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The Senate voted 44-0 in support of a measure requiring individuals who discover computer child pornography to notify local police. Senator Glenn Coffee is author of Senate Bill 1091, which is primarily aimed at computer service technicians.

“This legislation is really no different from our existing laws requiring photo lab employees to report it to the police when they find pictures of child porn,” explained Senator Coffee, R-OKC.
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The Senate has approved a measure aimed at saving the lives of Oklahoma public school students. Senate Bill 1474 would require that at least one teacher and one support staff member in each school receive training in cardiopulmonary resuscitation each year.

The Senate originally voted on the measure on Monday, but with a vote of 24 yes and 19 no votes, the measure was one vote short of the minimum 25 needed to win approval. The Senate reconsidered the bill on Thursday granting approval by a vote of 25 to 17.
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The authors of a landmark workers compensation reform bill praised the House of Representatives for its bipartisan support in passing the measure Thursday, and challenged Governor Brad Henry and the Senate Democrat leadership to support the legislation to save Oklahoma jobs.

House Bill 2619, authored by Ron Peterson, R-Broken Arrow and Sen. Scott Pruitt, R-Broken Arrow passed the House Thursday on a 95 to 1 vote.

Senator Charles Ford, R-Tulsa, has seen many things during his 38 years in the state Legislature.

One thing he has never seen is Democrat legislative leaders abandon their trial lawyer allies – and he doesn’t expect them to start now by allowing meaningful lawsuit reform and workers compensation reform legislation to pass the Senate.

Senate President Pro Tempore Cal Hobson and House Speaker Larry Adair announced Thursday they plan to officially appoint the General Conference Committee on Appropriations next week to begin the budget reconciliation process.

“The budget process begins in earnest in General Conference,” said Hobson, D-Lexington. “The sub-committees on both sides of the rotunda will begin writing the specifics of the budgets for each agency.”
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