Senator Mary Easley announced today that a bill to further enhance safety in the classroom received final Senate approval. Senate Bill 618 creates the “Dustin Rhodes and Lindsay Steed CPR Training Act,” which will require two employees at every Oklahoma school to receive cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) instruction.

The Democrat from South Tulsa authored the legislation following the tragic death of Dustin Rhodes and Lindsay Steed. The students both choked during school and while teachers and staff tried to help, they were unsuccessful.

“We’re very pleased that Speaker Hiett has agreed to this additional investment in healthcare in Oklahoma. It’s proof that democracy works, that the deliberative process has succeeded. We have been advoacting for weeks, along with members of the healthcare community, that Oklahoma needs to leverage additional federal dollars to fund indigent healthcare. We have been encouraging the Speaker to join us in this fight and this afternoon he has done that.”

Statement from Senator Tom Adelson
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A measure to make the Employer Quality Jobs Act more sensitive to 21st century jobs, like the ones being created in the biotech industry, has received unanimous approval from the Senate.

Principal author of Senate Bill 407, Sen. Mike Mazzei said the measure will help draw new companies and businesses with high paying jobs to Oklahoma by offering special incentives.

"This legislation is very important for companies," said Mazzei, R-Tulsa. "It lets them know that Oklahoma is a hotbed for research and new technology start-ups."
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With Memorial Day approaching, the State Senate honored an Oklahoma World War II veteran today at the Capitol with a resolution recognizing his years of service and sacrifice in the United State Air Force.

Senate Resolution 50, authored by Sen. Earl Garrison, was heard before the Senate this afternoon and recognized the outstanding war record and distinguished military career of Muskogee resident, Colonel Albert Eldon Hill who served his country for 41 years.
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Senate President Pro Tempore Mike Morgan declared Thursday that Senate Democrats are unwilling to deny injured workers the right to choose their own physician.

Morgan said he is still hopeful that Republicans will agree to the latest Democratic proposal that protects physician choice and would save Oklahoma businesses $100 million.

A bill to enable consumers to get defects with their newly built home repaired at a swift rate did not make it over its final legislative hurdle and was vetoed by Governor Brad Henry this week. Senator Todd Lamb stated that Senate Bill 431, also known as the Homeowner Construction Defect Protection Act, would have provided those who hire a builder to construct their new home with a peace of mind so if problems did arise, they would be remedied quicker and less costly than current law allows.

Lt. Gov. Mary Fallin and Senate Republican leaders said Thursday they were right when they predicted four weeks ago that Gov. Brad Henry would attempt to water down workers’ compensation reform if the issue went to a conference committee instead of receiving an up-or-down vote in the Senate.

Now it is too late in the legislative session for a good workers’ compensation reform bill to be produced – meaning the issue will have to be resolved in a special session of the Legislature this summer.

State Senators today unanimously gave final approval to a plan to invest billions of dollars in road and bridge maintenance over the next decade.

House Bill 1078 passed the Senate on a 48-0 vote.

“Today we have made an historic investment in road and bridge maintenance in our state. Oklahomans will begin seeing the results of this bill before the end of this year. In the coming decade, hundreds of bridges will be replaced and repaired while thousands of miles of highways will be resurfaced,” said Senator Kenneth Corn, author of the measure.
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The State Senate has approved a bill to provide Oklahoma nursing homes with sex offender notifications. Principal Senate author of HB 1963, Sen. Debbe Leftwich said the measure will give greater peace of mind to nursing home residents and their families. In addition to providing nursing homes with notifications of individuals on the statewide sex offender registry, it also requires notification of those who are on the state’s violent offender registry.
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Members of the State Senate Friday approved a pair of tax reduction bills that will save working families, veterans and retirees hundreds of dollars annually on their state income taxes.

Senate Bill 435 passed the Senate on a 40-7 vote. It contains provisions to raise the standard deduction – the single most effective method of lowering taxes on working families, said Senator Jay Paul Gumm, author of the measure.
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