President Pro-Tempore Glenn Coffee announced Tuesday that government reform will be a top priority in the upcoming legislation session.

Coffee’s legislative priorities include creating the Office of Accountability, Innovation and Privatization, instituting a government Chief Information Office, tag agency reform, and agency consolidation.

Counties spend thousands of dollars each year replacing and repairing vandalized signs and other property. To help deter vandals and assist county governments in their efforts to address this type of crime, State Sen. David Myers has authored Senate Bill 348.
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This week’s tragic murders of an El Reno woman and her four children are stark reminders of Oklahoma’s domestic violence problem, said State Sen. Debbe Leftwich. The Oklahoma City Democrat says the time has come to pass tougher penalties for domestic abuse.
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President Pro-Tempore Glenn Coffee commended the Oklahoma Business and Education Coalition (OBEC) today for their release of a study and recommendations for the future of education in Oklahoma.

“I thank Mr. Stan Lybarger of BOK Financial, OSU President Burns Hargis, and OBEC for their diligence in pursuing excellence in education in our state, and Senator Jolley for the education reform bill he will offer this session,” Coffee said. “Surely our ability to compete in a global marketplace depends on the preparedness of our students, and their readiness to enter the marketplace.

Thursday, January 15 marks the deadline for members of the Oklahoma State Senate to file legislation for the 2009 session, the first of the 52nd Legislature. By 5 p.m., 1,054 bills and 35 joint resolutions had been filed, with staff members expected to work into the evening filing the final measures. In 2008, the Senate considered 1,069 new bills as well as 31 new joint resolutions. In 2007, a total of 1,130 bills and 32 joint resolutions were filed by members of the Senate.

Bill filing has ended for the 2009 legislative session. Thursday, January 15 was the deadline for members of the Oklahoma State Senate to file legislation for the first session of the 52nd Legislature. Senators filed 1,240 bills and 42 joint resolutions for the upcoming session. In 2008, the Senate considered 1,069 new bills as well as 31 new joint resolutions. In 2007, a total of 1,130 bills and 32 joint resolutions were filed by members of the Senate.

State Senator Andrew Rice (D-OKC) announced today that he and other members of the Senate Democratic caucus, in their continued effort to hold insurance companies accountable, will re-introduce "Steffanie's Law," in hopes the Republican controlled Legislature will give the idea a second look in a non-election year.
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Each year, more than 17,000 Americans are killed by drunk drivers including approximately 275 Oklahomans and around 1.5 million drunk drivers are arrested according the Oklahoma Highway Safety Office. Having lost a loved-one in 2008 at the hands of a drunk driver, Sen. Harry Coates has filed legislation to strengthen the penalties against these individuals in hopes that other families won’t have to suffer like his and so many other families have.

As Chairman of the Senate Education Committee, State Senator John Ford said Tuesday that education reforms are needed to move Oklahoma’s education system forward.

Noting the increase in domestic violence in our culture and the necessity to assure the rights and protection of victims of such acts, Senate President Pro Tem Glenn Coffee will offer two important pieces of legislation in the upcoming legislative session to address victims’ concerns.