Senator Daisy Lawler, Chair of the Senate Task Force on Illegal Immigration Issues, said she was pleased with the group’s first meeting held Monday at the State Capitol.

Members of the task force heard presentations from representatives of the Oklahoma Department of Human Services, the Oklahoma Health Care Authority and the Oklahoma Hospital Association. Additionally, the Immigrant Policy Project Program Director of the National Conference of State Legislatures presented statistics illustrating the scope and costs of illegal immigration nationwide.

After hearing reports that a second Oklahoma lottery prize had been claimed by a trust, rather than an individual, Sen. Clark Jolley announced he would file legislation for the 2007 session to close the loophole enabling individuals to form anonymous trusts after finding they had a winning ticket. Jolley, R-Edmond, said this loophole undermines the integrity of the lottery.
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Responding to a recent assertion by University of Oklahoma President David Boren that the legislature should not have a role in setting tuition rates, Sen. Jim Wilson on Thursday said it is still the legislature’s function to represent taxpayers on higher education issues.

Before a Tuesday meeting of the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Education, Boren said the Oklahoma Legislature should not function like a board of regents and should let universities continue to set their own tuition rates.
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For years, the Oklahoma Council on Law Enforcement Education and Training (CLEET) has rented or borrowed space from other government agencies in order to conduct its training academies for peace officers. That will change next month when the K.O. Rayburn Training Center in Ada welcomes its inaugural academy.

Although there had been concerns raised that the agency would not have the funds needed for the first academy in the new facility, Sen. Susan Paddack, D-Ada, and Sen. Kenneth Corn, D-Poteau, worked to expedite $500,000 in funds designated for the center.
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Sen. Jeff Rabon on Tuesday called upon Congress to make available additional funding for emergency drought relief needed by Oklahoma farmers and ranchers.

U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Mike Johanns this week granted a request from Governor Brad Henry asking that a disaster designation be granted to all 77 counties. The disaster declaration makes Oklahoma farmers and producers eligible for low-interest loans through the USDA Farm Services Agency, but additional relief is needed to assist Oklahoma farmers through the state’s worst drought in decades, Rabon said.

Issues ranging from Post Traumatic Stress Disorder to the construction and purchasing processes of the Office of Central Purchasing are among four additional interim study requests that have been approved by Senate President Pro Tempore Mike Morgan.
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State Sen. Cal Hobson said the fact that 99 percent of the funding for the so-called Tax Payer Bill of Rights (TABOR) has come from out-of- state contributors shows that there is virtually no support for the initiative in the Sooner State. The veteran lawmaker was responding to a report in Friday’s Journal Record newspaper which examined financial records filed with the state Ethics Commission. Hobson said it was time for out-of-state millionaires to stop meddling in Oklahoma’s business.

The Chairwoman of the Senate Agriculture Committee Tuesday encouraged members of Oklahoma’s Congressional Delegation to co-sponsor and support legislation in the U.S. Senate that would replace an out-dated law that gives foreign interests an unfair advantage over Oklahoma meat and poultry producers.

Senator Daisy Lawler’s Task Force on Illegal Immigration has announced its first meeting and added new members.

During the 2006 legislative session, Lawler authored Senate Resolution 125, requesting the creation of the panel.

Based on 2000 census figures, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security estimated that approximately 46,000 illegal immigrants or undocumented workers live in Oklahoma, representing a 188 percent increase from figures obtained in the 1990 census.

(State Capitol, Oklahoma City) – State Sen. Randy Brogdon, a proponent of a spending limitation amendment known as the Stop Over Spending (SOS) initiative, responded Wednesday to a recent, misleading rant against the proposal by State Sen. Cal Hobson, D-Lexington. SOS is also known as the Taxpayer Bill of Rights (TABOR).