Sen. Kenneth Corn on Wednesday filed legislation that could lead to changes in the way the state of Oklahoma provides matching funds for endowed chairs at colleges and universities.

Since 2004, the state has issued revenue bonds to provide matching funds for endowed chairs. Senate Bill 1142 would establish a permanent funding source for endowed chairs by diverting a portion of casino gaming revenues to the Oklahoma State Regents Endowment Trust Fund.

Sen. Randy Brogdon on Monday questioned Attorney General Drew Edmondson’s motives in his effort to prosecute three participants in the 2005 Taxpayer Bill of Rights petition drive. Calling the actions of the Attorney General an embarrassment to the state, Brogdon urged Edmondson to end his “politically motivated” prosecution.

For well over a decade, Oklahomas vehicle tags have borne the slogan Native America along with an Osage shield. But Sen. Clark Jolley, co-chair of the Oklahoma License Plate Design Task Force, says its time to update those tags, many of which are now a public safety concern because of fading, making them difficult to read.

Sen. Connie N. Johnson on Thursday testified before a House Interim Study Committee on removing the Governor from the parole process and provided information on the status of the Second Chance Act, which was recently approved with broad bipartisan support by the U.S. House.

The Second Chance Act would authorize $55 million in block grants to assist states in successful offender re-socialization, transition and return to civil society.

In the wake of three grand jury indictments unsealed Monday in Oklahoma City, State Sen. Randy Brogdon condemned the indictments and called them “nothing more than politically motivated.”

"Oklahomans should be outraged by the recent political attack by Oklahoma Attorney General Drew Edmondson on Paul Jacob, Susan Johnson, and Rick Carpenter,” said Brogdon, R-Owasso. “These individuals sought nothing more than to participate in their government through the initiative process protected by Oklahoma’s Constitution”.
read more.

Patients have the right to know what they are paying when hospitals and other health care providers deliver services. This, according to State Senator Jim Wilson, is currently not clear. Therefore, he has requested an interim study to research the health care industry's billing and collection practices.
read more.

“Anyone who professes to embrace a culture of life would not turn their back on 2,800 innocent children born each year in Oklahoma,” State Senator Tom Adelson (D-Tulsa) said today in response to Rep. Terrill’s criticism of the Oklahoma Health Care Authority’s rule to permit the provision of prenatal care to unborn children.
read more.

Annual Walk is set to Begin at 10:00 AM This Saturday, October 13th

Statement by Senate President Pro Tempore Mike Morgan (D-Stillwater)

“The rule adopted today by the Oklahoma Health Care Authority allowing prenatal care for innocent unborn babies sends an important message about our values here in Oklahoma.
“Access to prenatal care gives babies the opportunity to have a healthy start to their life. read more.

The first shipment of marble markers bearing the names of the 429 men who died on the USS Oklahoma will soon be headed to California. From there they’ll be sent by ship to Ford Island in Pearl Harbor, Hawaii to complete the national monument for the USS Oklahoma which will be dedicated this December. State Sen. Jim Reynolds, who has been working with USS Oklahoma survivors on this project for the past several years, said there will be a brief ceremony at the South Plaza of the State Capitol next Thursday to mark the occasion.
read more.