On a bipartisan vote, the full Senate has approved legislation to remove the statutory trigger required to reduce the state’s income tax from 5.5 percent to 5.25 percent, clearing the way for that reduction to take place in tax year 2010. Senator Mike Mazzei is the author of Senate Bill 315 which was approved on Tuesday.
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The full Senate has voted unanimously to approve a measure increasing the penalty for a person who causes the injury or death of a person while driving with a license that has been suspended, revoked, canceled or denied. Senate Bill 1170 was approved 48-0 by the Senate on Tuesday.

The State Senate approved one of President Pro Tem Glenn Coffee’s government reform measures today, moving Oklahoma toward a more efficient and effective government. SB 980 provides for a state Chief Information Officer, overseeing and consolidating state information technology services under one roof.

“I’m very excited about this very common sense reform passing the Senate today,” said Coffee. “This new office will greatly enhance the efficiency of state government.”

Senator John Ford’s Senate Bill 268 passed the State Senate Tuesday with a 44-4 vote.

Senate Bill 268 requires that schools on the School Improvement List for four consecutive years implement alternatives to the way their schools are governed. Schools on this list have for a certain amount of time failed to meet the requirements of adequate yearly progress.

The state Senate on Wednesday approved legislation to aid counties in reconstructing structurally inadequate or functionally obsolete bridges and roads. Authored by Sen. Brian Bingman, Senate Bill 832 would create the County Bridge Replacement Revolving Fund.

Bingman said the measure would allow the state to make more substantial and efficient investments to improve the condition of the state’s rural roads and bridges.

The State Senate has approved a measure to eliminate the 4.5 percent state sales tax on groceries. Sen. Mike Mazzei, R-Tulsa, is the author of Senate Bill 318. Mazzei said the bill would phase out the grocery tax over a five-year period. The bill passed on a bipartisan vote of 38 to 8.

“We’re only one of about 16 states in the country that charges this tax. This is something we really need to consider for our own citizens,” Mazzei said. “Furthermore, this is money that families and individuals will put right back into our economy in other goods and services.”
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The State Senate has approved a measure to cut the growth of annual property tax increases. Senate Joint Resolution 5, by Sen. Jim Reynolds, was passed on Wednesday. The legislation would let Oklahomans vote to lower the current property tax cap of five percent to three percent.

“Thousands of Oklahoma citizens are begging for relief,” said Reynolds, R-Oklahoma City. “This tax is especially difficult for many low-income and elderly people on fixed incomes.”
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The Oklahoma State Senate passed SB 738, a bill which would significantly restructure the office of the Chief Medical Examiner, bringing long overdue professional management to the office, and providing for greater accountability from the office.

“This office has been floundering in a dysfunctional morass for some time,” said Senate President Pro Tem Glenn Coffee, author of SB 738. “This legislation will bring this vital office back to the highly performing operation we need it to be, serving the needs of the citizens of Oklahoma.”

Legislation that would prohibit convicted sex offenders from operating ice cream vending trucks has been approved by the Oklahoma Senate.

Senate Bill 1147 by Sen. Jay Paul Gumm would criminalize the operation of ice cream trucks by registered sex offenders. The bill was suggested by a constituent concerned about how close the vendors get to children in communities across the state.

Responding to a study reported Wednesday by the Associated Press, Senate President Pro Tem Glenn Coffee and Senator Anthony Sykes said the Pew Center’s Public Safety Performance Project uses flawed data and is affiliated with an organization that is proven soft on criminals.