A bill changing the policy of a few “bad actors” in the payday lending business was the first approved by an Oklahoma Senate evenly split between Democrats and Republicans.

Senate Bill 693 by Senator Jay Paul Gumm, a Democrat from Durant, would prevent payday lenders – those that make high-interest, high-risk short term loans with a post-dated check – from cashing the check of a customer who dies before the loan matures. The measure passed without opposition 47-0 Thursday. read more.

Senator Jay Paul Gumm’s effort to end forever the concept of forced school consolidation picked up steam Monday with a unanimous, bipartisan vote in the Senate Education Committee.

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 Senate Education Committee passed legislation Monday to protect teachers and school employees from facing lawsuits for doing their jobs. The legislation had been blocked by Senate leaders in past years, but it received a committee hearing this year thanks to the Senate’s new 24-24 tie.

Senate Bill 1024, authored by Republican Floor Leader Owen Laughlin, received a “do pass” recommendation from the committee on a bipartisan 9 to 5 vote. The committee is evenly divided with 7 Republicans and 7 Democrats.
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The full Senate has given its support to a bill aimed at protecting the custody rights of deployed military parents. Sen. Randy Bass is the author of Senate Bill 158 which was approved unanimously by the Senate on Monday. The measure would postpone child custody proceedings until after a parent serving in the military had returned from deployment.

"The people who serve our country do so at tremendous sacrifice to themselves and to their families,” said Bass, D-Lawton. “They need our support, and they need laws that are supportive of them as well.”
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A measure providing a permanent dedicated funding source for the Oklahoma’s Promise scholarship program was approved by the Senate Finance Committee Tuesday and is headed for the floor of the Oklahoma State Senate.

“This bill will make certain that every student who qualifies for an Oklahoma’s Promise scholarship will receive it,” said Senate President Pro Tempore Mike Morgan, author of the measure. The legislation is part of the 2007 legislative agendas of the Senate Democrats’ and Governor Brad Henry.
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A significant reduction in the amount of revenue expected to flow into state coffers in Fiscal Year 2007 signals a need for a Constitutional amendment that will help stabilize the state budget, a veteran State Senator said Tuesday.

When the State Board of Equalization certified the final FY 2008 revenue projections Tuesday, the estimate of funds available for the coming fiscal year was about $270 million less than the amount the board initially certified in December.
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The Senate Judiciary Committee has given approval to a measure that would clarify how Oklahoma law defines child neglect. Senate Bill 790, by Senator Debbe Leftwich, was approved on Tuesday. Leftwich, D-Oklahoma City, said the legislation is supported by the Oklahoma Commission on Children and Youth and is designed to close a loophole in the statutes that can prevent neglect charges from being filed against parents, even when their lack of supervision is the cause of a child’s death.
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The authors of a “back-to-school” sales tax holiday bill say they are pleased the Senate Finance Committee unanimously approved the measure Tuesday.

Senate Bill 861 is sponsored by Republican Senator Don Barrington from Lawton and Democratic Senator Jay Paul Gumm of Durant. The measure would enact a “back-to-school” sales tax holiday on the same days as the Texas holiday.

Republican leaders of the Oklahoma State Senate commented on revisions to revenue estimates adopted by the Board of Equalization Tuesday for the upcoming 2008 fiscal year.

“While we are pleased to see the Equalization Board lower its estimate of new money available for the Legislature to appropriate, we remain concerned that the estimates may continue to paint too rosy a picture because of the national economic climate and overspending by previous Legislatures,” stated Senate Co-President Pro Tempore Glenn Coffee, R-Oklahoma City.

State Sen. Debbe Leftwich on Tuesday withdrew a measure that was before the Senate Judiciary Committee. Senate Bill 662 would have restored the right of employees to choose their own physician after being injured on the job.

“This is something that was taken away as a part of the worker’s compensation reform bill passed in the 2005 special session,” Leftwich said. “My constituents still are frustrated and upset about this change. The problem is, if we’d taken it to a vote in committee and lost, under the new Senate rules it would have been dead for two full years.”