Two bills authored by State Senator John Sparks (D-Norman), which would protect land owners from damages by trespassers overwhelmingly passed the Oklahoma Senate today.

Senate Bill 1735 and Senate Bill 2111 would allow property owners to protect their land from activities that destroy property, including damage from recreational use by all-terrain vehicles and hunting and fishing activities.

“This bill makes trespass violators accountable for the damages they cause to personal property. Responsible government means protecting property owners,” Sparks said.

Legislation to prevent election fraud has won the support of the full Senate. The measure, Senate Bill 1150, was approved Thursday. Sen. John Ford, principal author of the bill, said it would simply require voters to show some form of identification at the polls.

Major components of the Senate Republicans’ education reform agenda received bipartisan support in the Oklahoma Senate on Thursday.

The Senate voted in favor of a tax credit for private school scholarship programs, an expansion of charter school sponsors to include federally-recognized Native American tribes, and a pilot program that would deregulate 10 public school districts.

State Sen. Kenneth Corn is blasting an amendment that was narrowly approved by the full Senate on Thursday as devastating to public education, particularly in the state’s largest cities. The amendment would give tax credits for those donating money for scholarships to be used by families who want to remove their children from public school and enroll them in private institutions.
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Freedom of Information Oklahoma, a statewide organization actively supporting organizations and individuals working to open records or provide access to government, has honored the Directors of the state Senate Communications Division and Information Systems Department with its annual Sunshine Award.

Malia Bennett has been the Senate’s Director of Communications since 2003. The Communications Division works with all 48 members of the Senate, and assists media and the public by providing information on the business of the Senate.

The state Senate recently approved a bill that would establish a task force to study state agency roles and responsibilities to help ensure that mentally ill women who have been incarcerated are successfully reintegrated into society.

Sen. Constance N. Johnson, author of Senate Bill 1959, explained that with Oklahoma leading the nation in the incarceration of women, the state must begin treating the cause rather than the symptoms.

Parents of multiples would have the right to keep their children in the same classroom under legislation approved unanimously by the State Senate. The measure, Senate Bill 2037, is awaiting consideration by the House Education Committee. The bill’s author, Sen. Jonathan Nichols, R-Norman, said he was contacted by a mother of twins about the problem.
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The Oklahoma State Senate gave unanimous approval to a resolution honoring Makenna Smith, Miss Oklahoma 2007. The resolution was requested by Senate President Pro Tempore Mike Morgan and Co-President Pro Tempore Glenn Coffee, with all of the members of the Senate co-authoring the measure.

“Makenna has done a wonderful job representing our state and promoting a very important cause—her platform has been seat belt safety, and I’m sure she’s been an effective spokesperson for this important public safety issue,” said Morgan, D-Stillwater.
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Senator James A. Williamson, the co-chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, made the following statement regarding a study by the Oklahoma Bankers Association regarding House Bill 1804, Oklahomas illegal immigration law.
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Legislation to strengthen penalties for assaulting a pregnant woman has cleared its first hurdle in the State Senate. Sen. Debbe Leftwich is Senate author of House Bill 1897, which was approved Wednesday by the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Public Safety and Judiciary.

Domestic violence is the number one cause of death for pregnant women. Oklahoma needs to do more to address such violence before it results in the death of a woman and her baby, said Leftwich, D-Oklahoma City.