Republicans in the House are turning their heads to the problems that come with credit card debt and bankruptcy by killing a bill being backed by the State Chamber of Commerce. Senate Bill 378 would have required students who graduate from an Oklahoma school to take one semester of Personal Financial Economics but was killed when House leaders refused to hear the bill in committee.

State Sen. Clark Jolley, R-Edmond, said he was confident a measure giving tax exemptions to organizations that help feed Oklahoma’s needy citizens will make it all the way to Gov. Brad Henry. Jolley said the measure is extremely important to organizations like Edmond’s Hope Center. Jolley is Senate principal author of the measure, while Rep. Ken Miller, R-Edmond is principal author in the House.
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Leaders of both chambers of the state Legislature today announced a bipartisan agreement that outlines a framework for the state’s budget for the next fiscal year. The agreement now allows subcommittees of the General Conference Committee on Appropriations to move forward in working out the details of a final budget.

State Senator Randy Brogdon, a Republican Whip in the Oklahoma State Senate, said Thursday that a bipartisan budget agreement between House Republicans and Senate Democrats seemed to fall quickly into place once Gov. Brad Henry’s representative stopped participating in the negotiations.

“I think it is obvious that Gov. Henry’s my-way-or-the-highway approach is getting in the way of bipartisanship at the Capitol. It is amazing how quickly an agreement was reached on the budget once the governor’s representative was out of the room,” said Brogdon, R-Owasso.

Senator Judy Eason McIntyre was pleased when the Senate passed House Bill 1524, a measure aimed at protecting service animals owned by people with disabilities. The House of Representatives author is Al Lindley, a Democrat from South Oklahoma City.
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A transportation measure that will provide millions in much-needed funding for Oklahoma's roadways and bridges passed the Senate today. House Bill 1218, authored by Rep. Jim Newport, R-Ponca City, and Sen. David Myers, R-Ponca City, will increase funding for the State Highway and Construction Maintenance Fund to $170 million over a five-year period beginning July 1, 2005. The monies will come from growth in car license tag fees.
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Republicans are recklessly misleading Oklahomans when they claim the House Republicans’ road maintenance scheme won’t dramatically slash funding for education and other vital state services, State Senator Kenneth Corn said Thursday.

The Poteau Democrat said the House plan would rob $1.4 billion from education over the next 15 years

The measure, House Bill 1218, won approval in the Senate Thursday and is likely headed for a Senate-House Conference Committee.

Senator Debbe Leftwich announced today that House Bill 1653, the Graduated Drivers License Act, cleared the full Senate. The measure will provide teenage drivers with more time to develop their driving skills and learn in a low risk setting.

The Democrat from South Oklahoma City co-authored the legislation with Representative Danny Morgan, a Prague Democrat. Senator Leftwich stated that the measure follows in the footsteps of her late husband, Keith Leftwich, who brought the issue of a graduated driver’s license to the forefront.

A bill to give victims of rape and domestic violence greater economic protection won’t be heard this session after the House failed to vote on the measure by their April 21 deadline for committee action on Senate bills. State Sen. Debbe Leftwich said while she and other supporters were deeply disappointed, they were not surprised.
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Senate President Pro Tempore Mike Morgan has announced that 45 of the Senate’s 48 members have been assigned to the General Conference Committee on Appropriations.

“We have found in recent years that including nearly all of the members in the appropriations process allows our budget to truly reflect the values of the Oklahomans we represent,” Morgan said. “Having reached an agreement with the House on sub-committee allocations, it’s time for the heavy lifting on the budget to begin.”