Senate President Pro Tem Glenn Coffee named the 23 members of the Senate Appropriations Committee to the General Conference Committee on Appropriations today.

“I’m very proud of the conferees on this panel,” Coffee said. “We’ve streamlined the process this year, naming members who bring direct experience in this year’s appropriations process, and we anticipate a productive path toward moving the budget forward in the coming days.

Senators named to the GCCA include:

Senator Mike Johnson - Chair

The State Senate gave final passage to Senate Bill 834 – the School District Empowerment Program sponsored by Senator John Ford (R-Bartlesville) today. The bill now heads to the Governor’s desk for his approval.

If signed by the Governor, the School District Empowerment Program will remove many of the unfunded state mandates currently restricting the ability of local school districts to best decide how to use resources to benefit their students.

Beginning November 1, trucking companies will finally be able to purchase oversize and/or overweight annual vehicle permits to replace the current permits which have to be requested with each delivery. The new annual permit was created by House Bill 2054, which was recently approved by the Governor. Sen. Bryce Marlatt is the Senate principal author of the measure.

Calling the latest press conference by Senate Republicans nothing but chest pounding and political cover, Democratic Leader Charlie Laster said Oklahomans should be outraged with the outcome of the GOP’s first 50 days.

Noting that Republicans have held the majority in the State Senate for fifty legislative days of the 101-year history of the state of Oklahoma, Senate Republicans marked the occasion with a news conference to shine light on their many accomplishments in a very short time.

Note to Editors: Senator Jay Paul Gumm, author of the original Nick’s Law that would have required insurance companies to provide coverage for the diagnosis and treatment of Autism, issued the following statement on the passage of Senate Bill 135 today.

House Bill 1059 by Senator Jonathan Nichols unanimously passed the Senate and allows greater access to dental care for Oklahomans in need.

House Bill 1059 permits out-of-state dental licensees participating in public health initiatives or disaster community service events to receive a special volunteer license, who wish to donate their expertise for the dental care and treatment of indigent and needy persons of the state.

The action of my colleagues in the Senate today leaves me disappointed but unbowed.

This is not the end of this fight. Indeed, this is just the beginning. We’ve worked too hard for too many years to let one more defeat stop us in what will ultimately be victory for reform and a benefit for all Oklahomans.

I would remind my colleagues that Republicans won our current majority based largely on our vow to bring lawsuit reform to our state, and that position is shared by a large majority of Oklahomans – Republican, Democrat, and independent.

The State Senate has given its approval to a measure allowing voters to decide whether all official business of the state should be conducted in English. The Senate voted on Wednesday evening to approve House Joint Resolution 1042, authored by Senator Anthony Sykes. Sykes said a compromise was worked out earlier in the day prior to the vote.