The full Senate Appropriations Committee on Wednesday approved a measure to strengthen penalties for assaulting a pregnant woman. House Bill 1897 would allow felony charges to be filed against a person who assaults a woman and causes her to miscarry.

Senate author Debbe Leftwich noted that domestic violence is the number one cause of death for pregnant women and that the state has a responsibility to address this tragic problem.

In response to the recent independent truckers strike protesting the increasingly high cost of fuel, state Senator Kenneth Corn has filed a resolution requesting that the President open the Strategic Petroleum Reserve for increased sales. Senate Concurrent Resolution 64 also calls upon Congress to formulate a national energy policy and investigate the profits of energy industries.

Corn said the President should open the Strategic Petroleum Reserve to counterbalance high costs and reduce the risk of further strikes and economic hardship.

The Oklahoma State Senate recognized Cherokee Nation Principal Chief Chad Smith and his wife Bobbi on Thursday with a standing ovation. Smith, along with several other members of the Cherokee Nation were there as part of the 8th annual Cherokee Nation Legislative Day at the State Capitol.

Sen. Jim Wilson, D-Tahlequah, introduced Smith and credited him and the Cherokee Nation for partnering with the state on a variety of projects including education, healthcare and transportation.

The full Senate Appropriations Committee on Wednesday approved a measure that would remove language requiring the Board of Equalization to certify three percent growth in the General Revenue Fund before appropriating $50 million to the Rebuilding Oklahoma Access and Driver Safety (ROADS) Fund.

Sen. Kenneth Corn, Senate author of House Bill 2551, said passage of the bill would fulfill a funding commitment to the Oklahoma Department of Transportation and allow the state to make a more substantial investment to improve the condition of roads and bridges.

Senator Brian Bingman’s mining bill received the Governor’s approval on Friday signing it into law.

Senate Bill 706 prevents the needless waste of municipalities’ time and resources and relieves the burden put on their governments in the reconsideration of mining permits. Bingman applauded the effort to make for a more efficient government.

“The Oklahomans who demonstrated at the Capitol today are asking for fairness from insurance companies. They are demanding the right to act on the best advice of their physician when considering clinical trials as a way to improve their chance to live. I hope the Republican leadership in the State House of Representatives will hear their pleas and will at least allow a vote on Steffanie’s Law.

With a unanimous vote, the Oklahoma Senate gave its final approval Tuesday to a bill that would establish a public umbilical cord blood bank in Oklahoma.

House Bill 3060 – written by Senator Jay Paul Gumm, D-Durant, and Rep. Rebecca Hamilton, D-Oklahoma City – would give Oklahoma families a way to donate umbilical cord blood. The blood is often discarded as medical waste following the birth of a healthy baby, but is rich in adult stem cells that can be used to treat a variety of ailments.

In spite of overwhelming, bipartisan support in the State Senate, a plan to create a state Veterans Health Insurance Program appears dead in the Oklahoma House, its Senate author, State Sen. Andrew Rice, D-OKC, said today.

Rice said that Rep. Ron Peterson, R-Broken Arrow, Chairman of the House Economic Development and Financial Services Committee, has informed veterans groups that he will not allow the bill to be heard.

The Oklahoma State Senate today unanimously approved a proposal by Senator Susan Paddack, a Democrat from Ada, urging federal funding or private donations for automated external defibrillators (AED) devices that could save a student’s life in a medical emergency.

Paddack said Senate Bill 923, which is also know as the Zachary Eckles and Luke Davis Automated External Defibrillators in Schools Act, encourages school districts to make automated external defibrillators available at each school.

An omnibus pro-life bill passed the Oklahoma State Senate Wednesday with a bipartisan vote.

Senate Bill 1878 by Senator Todd Lamb, R-Edmond, and Representative Pam Peterson, R-Tulsa, contains several pro-life initiatives, passing the Senate with a vote of 38-10.