The State Senate Monday gave bipartisan approval to five sanctity of life bills, providing more safeguards for the unborn.

Senate President Pro Tempore Glenn Coffee said he was encouraged by his colleagues’ efforts and success in pushing for strong, pro-life reforms.

“Senate Republicans continue to fight for life of the unborn, and we saw members from both parties join together in supporting this great cause,” said Coffee. “Oklahomans have consistently voted and called for measures like these, and today we have held true to Oklahoma values.”

A bipartisan effort has put a bill on Governor Henry’s desk to make certain health insurance companies cover the same illnesses for children with autism as they do children without such a diagnosis.

That assurance is contained in Senate Bill 2045. When the bill was before the Senate, Senator Jay Paul Gumm proposed the language as an amendment, which senators overwhelmingly approved. The amended bill passed both the Senate and House of Representatives and is now on its way to the governor.
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On a bipartisan vote of 38 to 8, the full Senate on Wednesday gave its approval to a voluntary measure aimed at persuading more Oklahoma restaurants to go smoke-free. State Sen. Clark Jolley, R-Edmond, and Rep. Kris Steele, R-Shawnee, are authors of the “Clean Air in Restaurants Act.” Jolley explained the goal of House Bill 2774 is to provide restaurants with financial incentives to go completely smoke-free by 2012.
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State Sen. Jerry Ellis, D-Valliant, and Sen. Jim Wilson, D-Tahlequah, are protesting plans by Oklahoma City to purchase the water of Sardis Lake—plans they say would be premature, given a statewide water study mandated by the State Legislature will not even be completed for another two years.
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Senate President Pro Tem Glenn Coffee today named Co-Chairmen and Co-Vice Chairmen of the 2010 Redistricting Committee. Senators Clark Jolley (R-Edmond) and Mike Schulz (R-Altus) will serve as Co-Chairmen of the committee, joined by Co-Vice Chairmen Senators Andrew Rice (D-OKC) and Sean Burrage (D-Claremore).

The state Senate on Tuesday congratulated the University of Oklahoma women’s basketball team for a season that saw the Lady Sooners reach the Final Four of the NCAA Tournament for a second consecutive year. The team is the first in state history to appear in consecutive Final Fours, and one of just eight programs in women’s college basketball history to achieve the feat.

State Sen. Randy Brogdon said he is extremely pleased that a measure to strengthen Oklahomans’ Second Amendment Rights will soon be on the governor’s desk. Senate Bill 1685, the “Oklahoma Firearms Freedom Act,” authored by Brogdon, R-Owasso, and Rep. Charles Key, R-Oklahoma City, was approved by the House on Tuesday.
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Citing sovereignty rights protected by the Tenth Amendment to the United States Constitution, the state Senate on Tuesday approved a resolution stating that insurance regulation should occur exclusively at the state level.

Although the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) instituted new standards related to ground-level ozone just two years ago, the federal agency has already proposed revisions to those limits—revisions that could push every state in the country into non-attainment status.
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State Senator Jay Paul Gumm said Oklahoma now has a stronger law on the books when it comes to protecting children from sexual predators. That’s after Gov. Brad Henry signed Senate Bill 2064 into law on Tuesday. The measure, by Gumm, a Democrat from Durant and Rep. Randy Terrill, R-Moore, increases the “zone of safety” around schools, childcare facilities, playgrounds and parks.
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