The full Senate has given approval to a measure aimed at saving the lives of thousands of Oklahomans. Sen. Debbe Leftwich is the author of SB 14, which would require insurance companies to cover colorectal cancer screening.

“This is the second leading cancer killer in the nation,” said Leftwich, D-Oklahoma City. “It’s estimated that 1,880 Oklahomans will be diagnosed with colorectal cancer this year, and of those, 720 will die. Early detection would save most of them.”
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A measure designed to strengthen the Teachers’ Retirement System of Oklahoma (TRS) has won full approval from the State Senate. Sen. Mike Mazzei is the author of the bill which would substantially improve the funded liability ratio of the system over the next 20 years.

SB 1119 was approved unanimously on Tuesday. That measure would raise the dedicated stream of revenue from income and sales tax collections to pour additional money into TRS.
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A bill to give greater protection to victims of identity theft has won passage in the State Senate. The measure, Senate Bill 567, was authored by Sen. Randy Bass as a result of an incident in his district.
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A bill that would increase penalties for hunting or fishing without permission on land primarily devoted to farming, ranching or forestry was approved by the Senate on Tuesday.

Senate Bill 95, authored by Senator Kenneth Corn, would remove the requirement for the landowner to post warning signs and would require the forfeiture of hunting or fishing licenses for individuals caught violating the law.

Corn said the legislation would amend existing statutes which discouraged trespassing, but offered little punishment.
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Members of the Oklahoma Senate unanimously voted to strengthen the “Oklahoma Funeral Picketing Act” originally passed last year.

That law was passed as a response to a group from a church in Topeka, Kans. that travels the nation to protest at military funerals. Under the 2006 law, picketing is illegal beginning one hour before the funeral until one our after it, and the picketers have to be at least 500 feet away from the ceremony or cemetery.
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A bill to clarify county election questions that would result in a tax increase was approved Tuesday by the full State Senate. Sen. Anthony Sykes is the author of Senate Bill 1019. Sykes said confusion over a ballot title in a Stephens County election in 2004 had prompted him to file the legislation.
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Classifying animal waste as nonhazardous is critical for the State of Oklahoma and its livestock industry. That's according to Sen. Ron Justice, R-Chickasha, author of Senate Bill 709 which declares manure as a nonhazardous material.

"This bill is critical to the State of Oklahoma because we have such a large livestock industry. It’s approximately a $5 billion industry,” said Justice, R-Chickasha. “If this were to be classified as a hazardous material then it would not only affect all of the livestock producers but it would affect people all across the state.”
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Legislation to ensure that Oklahoma will keep its promise to pay the college tuition for thousands of deserving scholarship recipients was approved by the full State Senate Wednesday.
Senate Bill 820 creates a permanent dedicated funding source for the Oklahoma’s Promise Scholarship Program.
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Senator Jay Paul Gumm’s effort to end forever the concept of forced school consolidation is two small steps away from a vote of the people with an overwhelming bipartisan vote on the Senate floor this morning.

Senate Joint Resolution 1 would give Oklahoma voters a chance to amend the Oklahoma Constitution to prohibit any school from consolidating unless approved by a majority of voters in each of the affected school districts. In short, Gumm explained, the measure would prevent “politicians, judges or bureaucrats” from forcing any school district to consolidate.
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The full Senate has approved a bill that would ban the sale of cough medicine containing dextromethorphan (DXM) as well as spray paint to anyone under the age of 18. State Sen. Charlie Laster is author of Senate Bill 951.
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