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.”

A mother and legislator, Senator Debbe Leftwich authored and gained passage of Senate Resolution 25, declaring Thursday April 28th “Take Your Daughters and Sons to Work Day” in Oklahoma.
The resolution was unanimously adopted by the full Senate on Monday.
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The State Senate has given full approval to a measure designed to boost film and music production in Oklahoma. House Bill 1716, by Sen. Debbe Leftwich, D-OKC, and Rep. Susan Winchester, R-Chickasha, creates an income tax credit equal to 25 percent on profits for a film or music project when those profits are re-invested into another Oklahoma film or music project.
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A group of grade school students from Tulsa has helped create legislation to ensure the emergency workers from two of the nation’s worst terrorist attacks will be honored. Senate Concurrent Resolution 14 by Sen. Nancy Riley honors the first responders, or Homeland Emergency Responders (HEROs) from both the September 11 attacks in New York and Washington, D.C., as well as the bombing of the Alfred P. Murrah Building in Oklahoma City. The measure, which was unanimously approved, would declare September 11, 2005, to be “HERO Day” in the state.

Students from Bryant and Red Oak Elementary Schools looked on as Gov. Brad Henry put his signature on Senate Bill 4 which names Selenite as Oklahoma’s official state crystal. The ceremonial signing took place at the State Capitol on Wednesday.

While Sen. Kathleen Wilcoxson carried the legislation, she explained the students from the Moore School District’s gifted and talented program, Students Experiencing Appropriate Research and Creative Happenings (SEARCH) actually came up with the idea.
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State Senator Kathleen Wilcoxson, R-OKC, said she’s optimistic about legislation now headed for a conference committee that would strengthen laws against hazing as well as enact campus drinking bans aimed at protecting young people. Wilcoxson is the Senate author of HB 1970 by Rep. Fred Perry, R-Tulsa.

“When a young person goes to college and joins a fraternity or sorority, their parents never imagine their child could be harmed as a result of hazing. We believe stronger penalties could help prevent such incidents from occurring in the first place,” Wilcoxson said.
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The classification of Oklahoma’s state liability system as “moderate” by the United States Chamber of Commerce shows that Oklahoma has been successful in striking a balance between maintaining a positive business climate and protecting the rights of everyday Oklahomans to seek justice in the courts, Senate President Pro Tempore Mike Morgan said Wednesday.
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