The full State Senate gave approval Thursday to legislation that will provide access to quality health care for more of Oklahoma’s uninsured children.

Senate Bill 424 is a major part of the Senate Democrats’ 2007 Legislative Agenda, but the measure was presented on the floor by Republican Senator Brian Crain. Crain co-chairs of the Senate Appropriations Sub-Committee on Health and Social Services with Democrat Tom Adelson, author of the measure.

The bill passed on a 28-14 vote with six Republicans joining 22 Democrats in favor of the measure.

State Sen. Randy Bass has won approval from the full Senate on a bill to help growing military communities meet infrastructure needs. Senate Bill 751 would also extend the deadline originally approved in a 2002 bill designed to help two of the state’s largest tire manufacturing facilities, Goodyear and Michelin. Bass, D-Lawton, said both provisions were important to Oklahoma’s economy.
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State Sen. Jeff Rabon on Monday urged the Oklahoma House of Representatives to act quickly in approving a bill to provide supplemental funding for education.

Rabon said the Legislature must provide approximately $40 million in order to cover the costs of teacher pay raises approved last year and the increasing cost of health insurance benefit rates, or schools could be forced to cut personnel.

“Leaders in both the Senate and the House are mindful of the urgent needs of several state agencies and are working diligently to reach a consensus on how to best address them. Negotiations on a package of supplemental appropriations are continuing and I am confident that we are close to reaching an agreement.”

The Oklahoma Senate today said every family should be able to bank potentially life-saving umbilical cord blood from newborns through a publicly funded cord blood bank.

Senators approved Senate Bill 139 by Senator Jay Paul Gumm. The measure would create the Oklahoma Public Cord Blood Bank at the University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center.
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Legislation to give liability protection to volunteers who provide transportation services for charitable organizations or not-for-profit corporations was approved by the full Senate on Monday. Sen. Debbe Leftwich is the author of SB 113. She said the measure was recommended by the Oklahoma County Senior Summit, a biannual conference to discuss issues important to seniors.

The full Senate has given approval to another measure aimed at strengthening the Teachers Retirement System of Oklahoma (TRS). Sen. Mike Mazzei is the author of Senate Bill 1092 which was approved by the Senate on Tuesday.

A bill to provide immunity from lawsuits to charity volunteers easily passed the Oklahoma Senate Tuesday on a 42 to 5 vote. Senate Bill 507 by Sen. Cliff Branan extends liability protections to volunteers who provide transportation services as part of their duties for charitable organizations, so long as the volunteer is not grossly or intentionally negligent.

State Sen. Jay Paul Gumm has won full Senate approval for a measure to give liability protection to gun manufacturers. Sen. Gumm said the language was based on a similar law in South Dakota’s statutes.

“This simply says that if a bad person takes a gun and shoots somebody, the gun manufacturer cannot be held liable for the criminal actions of that individual,” said Gumm. “It holds the manufacturer harmless.”

Gumm said the liability protection would not apply to manufacturers who build a defective product.

State Sen. Randy Brogdon has won national recognition for his legislation known as “The Taxpayer Transparency Act.” Senate Bill 1, by Brogdon, would create an online database to show where every single penny of the public’s money is being spent. The bill was approved unanimously this month in the Senate.