The Choctaw Nation was honored by the Oklahoma State Senate Thursday for its outstanding support of the National Guard and Reserve as well as veterans. Sen. Jay Paul Gumm, a Democrat from Durant, was author of Senate Resolution 48, praising the tribe which was the recipient of the 2008 Pro Patria Award—the highest honor bestowed for support of military men and women. The Choctaw Nation was also awarded the 2008 Secretary of Defense Employer Support Freedom Award.
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The task to return professionalism back to the appointment and management of tag agencies took yet another huge step on Thursday with wide bipartisan approval from the Senate.

Oklahoma is one step closer to making history as a bipartisan lawsuit reform bill passes the State Senate Thursday with a 42-5 vote.

House Bill 1603, authored by President Pro Tempore Glenn Coffee, is a multi-faceted measure, including several key components of reform which will improve health care access to all Oklahomans, as well as assuring small business’ health and viability in the state.

Pro Tem Coffee comments on passage of the landmark legislation:

"Today we have finally settled the issue of tort reform, and now we must continue the more important debate about lowering the cost of health care for all Oklahomans.

“The only way to lower health care premiums in Oklahoma is to enact meaningful insurance reform and the Democratic Caucus stands ready to lend our voice to help bring real relief to all Oklahoma families who struggle every day to pay for health care.”

State Sen. Jay Paul Gumm said he was extremely pleased that a tort reform provision he had authored for several years was included in the lawsuit reform bill approved by the Senate on Thursday. The provision would prevent a gun manufacturer from being sued if their product was used in the commission of a crime.
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The Oklahoma State Senate approved two pro-life measures by Majority Floor Leader Todd Lamb on Friday, advancing both to the Governor’s desk.

House Bill 1595 prohibits a person from performing an abortion solely because of the sex of the child and creates the Statistical Reporting of Abortions Act, which requires physicians who perform abortions to report certain information to the Oklahoma State Department of Health (OSDH). This legislation passed the Senate with a 35-9 vote.

Sen. Kenneth Corn on Friday said provisions included in Senate Bill 982 could potentially knock thousands of Oklahoma college students out of the Oklahoma Higher Learning Access Program (OHLAP). Corn added that the proposal fails to address a number of concerns raised by higher education leaders regarding recent legislative changes to the program.

Gov. Brad Henry, House Speaker Chris Benge and Senate President Pro Tempore Glenn Coffee announced a budget agreement today that protects the four core functions of government, including education, health care, corrections and transportation.

Those four areas are at least held harmless in this agreement, all while not tapping the state’s Rainy Day fund, leaving about $600 million in place for future needs if necessary.

A bill to offer enhanced incentives for job creation in Oklahoma is on its way to the House of Representatives for a final vote. That’s after the State Senate voted unanimously to approve Senate Bill 909 on Thursday. Sen. Mike Mazzei is the principal author of the measure.

“Following the oil bust in the 1980’s, Oklahoma began looking for innovative ways to diversify and grow our economy. One important component of achieving that goal was the passage of the Quality Jobs Act,” read more.

State Sen. Kenneth Corn said he was very disappointed that the budget agreement unveiled on Friday would eliminate all funding for the Rural Economic Action Plan, better known as the REAP program.