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.
read more.

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.
read more.

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.
read more.

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.
read more.

The Oklahoma Senate passed two measures earlier this week to encourage the manufacturing of alternative fuels in the state. House Bill 1556, by Representative Mike Jackson and Senators David Myers and Patrick Anderson, and HB 1398, by Rep. James Covey and Sen. Owen Laughlin, both received unanimous approval from the Senate and are now waiting for further consideration from the Governor.
read more.

Senate Republican Leader Glenn Coffee said important work for the 2005 legislative session is “to be continued” in a special session.

“This has the potential to be a pretty good legislative session if we can pass a meaningful workers’ compensation reform bill during the special session,” stated Coffee, R-Oklahoma City.

“The biggest disappointment was the lack of action on lawsuit reform – one of the most important economic issues facing our state,” Coffee said.

Members of the State Senate voted Friday to fund an $11.4 million supplemental appropriation for public schools, Appropriations Chairman Johnnie Crutchfield said.

House passage will allow the money to be used to help schools off-set costs that have arisen over the last five years as a result of a $3,000 pay raise for all state teachers which became effective in 2000.