Just 19 days remain until obstruction by Senate Democrats leads to a shut down of state government, the Senates GOP leader said Monday. And, a Democrat state senators statement at a candidate forum last week is the latest evidence that Senate Democrats may have been planning to force a government shutdown all along.
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Assistant Majority Leader State Sen. Gilmer Capps said Oklahoma's aerospace industry took a major step forward Tuesday with the approval of an operator's license for the Oklahoma Spaceport in Burns Flat.

It creates the first inland spaceport in the nation and allows the Oklahoma Spaceport/Clinton-Sherman Airport to serve as a site for the launch and recovery of sub-orbital reusable space vehicles.

State Capitol, Oklahoma City – The public’s safety will be put in jeopardy if Senate leader Mike Morgan and the Senate Democrats shut down the state government because of their refusal to compromise with Democrat Governor Brad Henry and Republican House Speaker Todd Hiett in budget negotiations.

“The public’s safety will be put at risk if Sen. Morgan and Senate Democrats continue their obstruction and shut down the state government in 18 days,” stated Senate Republican Leader Glenn Coffee, R-Oklahoma City.

Senate Republican Leader Glenn Coffee said he is disappointed that Senate leader Mike Morgan and the Senate Democrats have refused to consider a Senate GOP proposal that could prevent a government shutdown from occurring on July 1.

“It is very disappointing that Sen. Morgan and Senate Democrats have refused to consider our proposal to pass a stand-still, stop-gap budget bill to prevent a government shutdown if a final budget agreement is not in place by July 1,” Coffee said.

State Senator Jim Wilson, Chair of the Senate Tourism and Wildlife Committee said Oklahoma’s state parks and resorts will be open for the July 4 weekend even if there is a state government shutdown.

Wilson (D-Tahlequah) said there is enough generated revenue to keep them open.

“I want to make it clear to everyone, including the lieutenant governor, that Oklahoma’s state parks and resorts will be open during the July 4 holiday weekend,” Wilson said. “There will be no shutdown. It will be business as normal.”

Senate President Pro Tempore Mike Morgan said Friday that the tax cut and budget framework agreed to by state leaders is an historic victory for working and middle class families in Oklahoma.

The agreement includes raising the Oklahoma standard deduction to the level of the federal standard deduction over the next four years – a provision that will historically and dramatically change the tax structure in Oklahoma.
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Senate Republican Leader Glenn Coffee of Oklahoma City commented on the budget agreement by House Speaker Todd Hiett, Senate President Pro Tem Mike Morgan, and Gov. Brad Henry.

“Thankfully Senate Democrats have backed down from their obstructionism that brought us to the brink of a government shutdown. If Republicans ran the State Senate, the state budget would have been completed on time and this costly special session would not have been necessary,” stated Coffee.

A new law intended to keep cases of animal abuse and neglect from going unnoticed will provide important safeguards against tragic cases of animal cruelty, said Sen. Cal Hobson.

Hobson, Senate author of House Bill 1672, said the signing of the new law represented the culmination of years of hard work by many people in an effort to secure protections for animals in Oklahoma.
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State Sen. Harry Coates says the new Disney and Pixar film “Cars” could be a real boon for tourism in Oklahoma. That’s because one of the main characters in the film is based on a constituent in his district and her Route 66 Rock Café in Stroud.

“I’ve known Dawn Welch for many years and she’s a huge promoter for Stroud, Route 66 and our entire state,” said Coates, R-Seminole. “It’s a windfall for all of Oklahoma that Disney and Pixar decided to make a movie about Route 66.”
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“(Senate Democrat leader Mike) Morgan said legislators will have to be cautious about tax cuts the next four years. ‘We can't get tax-cut crazy. And when we come back next year, we need to think about what we've done this year’.” – Reported in The Oklahoman, June 16, 2006.

Senate Republican Leader Glenn Coffee said that comments made Thursday by the Senate’s Democrat leader make him concerned that Senate Democrats may try to block parts of a historic tax cut agreement next year.