Motivated by potential energy cost savings and reduced hydrocarbon emissions, State Senator Andrew Rice (D-Oklahoma City) today urged the Oklahoma legislature to adopt his bipartisan bills to encourage public institutions in the state to adopt energy saving policies.

In a meeting with the media on Wednesday, Rice unveiled two bills: the first to convert large state-owned vehicle fleets to compressed natural gas (CNG) or any other alternative fuel, and a second bill requiring Oklahoma public schools to establish annual energy savings goals beginning next year.
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State Senator Mike Johnson, R-Kingfisher and co-chairman of the Senate Appropriations Committee, said fully funding the Department of Corrections will remain a top budget priority in the 2008 legislative session despite a new Tax Commission estimate that revenues will be lower than originally estimated.

“The MGT performance audit was very clear that the Legislature must end the budget practice created by former Democrat Senator Cal Hobson that deliberately under-funded prisons every year and made DOC come begging for supplemental funding,” Johnson said.

With Monday’s announcement that Legislators will actually have $195 million less to spend for the coming budget, employees with the State Department of Corrections worry their officers will be placed in even greater danger as a result. Sen. Jim Wilson said Tuesday the problem has been ignored far too long.

The Senate Health and Human Resources Committee unanimously approved legislation Thursday that would create a 13-member task force to examine the HIV/AIDS problem in Oklahoma’s minority communities and make recommendations for action.

Senate Bill 1829, was authored by State Senator Judy Eason-McIntyre, D-Tulsa, and will now go to the full Senate for consideration.

With the Oklahoma Restaurant Association and the American Cancer Society supporting a proposal to lift exemptions on public smoking bans, State Sen. David Myers is hopeful Senate Bill 1875 will receive a favorable hearing when it is considered by the Business and Labor Committee on Monday.

“The facts are simple. Tobacco is Oklahoma’s leading cause of preventable death,” said Myers, R-Ponca City. “Every year, 5,800 Oklahomans die because of tobacco, and secondhand smoke exposure kills another 700 of our citizens. Too many people are dying because of smoke and secondhand smoke.”

A House bill protecting insurance companies from legislative mandates is a “sellout” to a special interest and a “stake in the heart” of Oklahomans who are often victims to arbitrary insurance policy rules that deny them access to quality health care, Oklahoma State Senator Andrew Rice, D-OKC, said today.

A bill that would establish the Oklahoma Health Care Workers and Educators Assistance program passed out of the Appropriations Subcommittee on Education this week.

Senator Susan Paddack (D-Ada), author of Senate Bill 1687, said the proposed law is designed to encourage Oklahomans to enter the nursing and healthcare profession and help those prospective students through financial assistance. Paddack said the bill would give more Oklahomans an opportunity to follow a career path in the healthcare industry as well as represent a smart investment for the future.

An aggressive marketing ploy by tobacco companies is putting private information and public health of Oklahoma young adults at risk. That’s according to State Sen. Randy Bass who has authored legislation aimed at the use of driver license scanning.

“These Symbols of Pride Should be Made in America”

OKLAHOMA CITY- State Senator John Sparks, a Democrat from Norman, said today a bill he filed will require state agencies and public school districts to purchase American and Oklahoma flags manufactured solely in the United States. Senate Bill 2070 passed the General Government Committee and will go to the full Senate for a vote.

State Sen. David Myers said he was extremely pleased to win the support of the Business and Labor Committee on Monday. His legislation, Senate Bill 1875, would lift exemptions included in the 2003 law banning smoking in public places.

“I know this is just one step, and we have a long way to go, but this is a good start,” said Myers, R-Ponca City. “Too many Oklahomans are facing unnecessary health risks because of secondhand smoke. It kills hundreds of our citizens every year. They need our help.”