Sen. Kenneth Corn on Wednesday filed legislation that could lead to changes in the way the state of Oklahoma provides matching funds for endowed chairs at colleges and universities.

Since 2004, the state has issued revenue bonds to provide matching funds for endowed chairs. Senate Bill 1142 would establish a permanent funding source for endowed chairs by diverting a portion of casino gaming revenues to the Oklahoma State Regents Endowment Trust Fund.

Members of the Legislature traveled to Guthrie, the State’s first capital, for a joint ceremonial session on Thursday to pay tribute to Oklahoma’s one-hundredth birthday. The session was held at the Legislative Hall, now a part of the Scottish Rite Temple, where legislators met nearly 100 years ago.

State Sen. Glenn Coffee, the co-president pro tempore of the Oklahoma Senate, has been selected by the Aspen Institute for a fellowship program honoring public leaders identified as "the true rising stars" of American politics.

Term-limited state Sen. Owen Laughlin is about to enter his final year in office, and he believes legislative term limits have been a great thing for Oklahoma.

So Laughlin is naturally disappointed that a senior Democrat Senator, Mary Easley of Tulsa, has introduced a bill for the 2008 legislative session that would repeal term limits for state legislators.

OKLAHOMA CITY –One of the first bills filed for the 2008 session of the Oklahoma Legislature would extend an important tax break to the surviving spouses of disabled veterans.

Senator Jay Paul Gumm filed Senate Bill 1131, which would allow surviving spouses of veterans with a 100 percent service-connected disability to keep the veterans’ sales tax exemption.

State Capitol, Oklahoma City – State Sen. Glenn Coffee, the co-president pro tempore of the Oklahoma Senate, said Thursday that prison legislation proposed by Democrat Sen. Richard Lerblance is premature.

“It is premature to choose a course of action for the Department of Corrections until the Legislature receives the report of the independent performance audit of prisons at the end of this year,” said Coffee, R-Oklahoma City.

Challenges Legislators to Find Political Will to Fund Important Public Safety Initiative

OKLAHOMA CITY--As prison overcrowding continues to plague the Department of Corrections (DOC), State Senator Richard Lerblance (D-Hartshorne) wants to tackle the issue head on by increasing space at Oklahoma prisons by adding approximately 3,818 beds.

State Sen. Owen Laughlin, R-Woodward, has filed legislation that seeks to reverse this week’s state Supreme Court ruling that makes counties liable for the cost of medical care for jail inmates even if the health condition existed prior to being jailed.

“This court ruling could literally bankrupt some county governments, especially in rural areas like my district, so it is imperative that the Legislature fix this problem,” said Laughlin, who represents northwest Oklahoma and the panhandle.

The State of Oklahoma has suffered another blow because of Gov. Brad Henry’s veto of bipartisan lawsuit reform legislation during the 2007 legislative session.

For the fourth consecutive year, the Judicial Hellholes report published by the nonpartisan American Tort Reform Association (ATRA) gives Oklahoma a “dishonorable mention.”

“America’s job-creators pay attention to the Judicial Hellholes report. This is very bad news for Oklahoma, and it is the latest in a long list of damaging publicity Gov. Henry created for our state with his veto.

The first step was taken Friday in a journey that could save Oklahoma families millions as Senator Jay Paul Gumm filed Senate Bill 1153, the “Freedom from Hunger Act.”

The measure would remove the state’s portion of the sales tax on groceries; if enacted, the bill would save Oklahoma families 4.5 cents on every dollar they spend at the grocery store. Families spending $500 per month on groceries would save $270 annually on sales taxes under the bill.