The state Senate on Wednesday approved a resolution congratulating Rumble the Bison on his first birthday with the Oklahoma City Thunder, and declaring February 17, 2010, “Rumble the Bison Day”.

The Senate Judiciary Committee on Tuesday approved legislation allowing for expungement of a person’s criminal record if the offense was a nonviolent felony, the person has not been convicted of subsequent crimes and ten years have passed since the initial conviction.

Sen. Joe Sweeden said his proposal would empower people to rebuild their lives after they have paid their debt to society.

Sen. Constance N. Johnson is encouraging her legislative colleagues to consider legislation that would establish alternative placement programs for non-violent offenders in Oklahoma. Johnson said alternative placement could ultimately reduce some of the state’s funding obligations to the Department of Corrections.

Johnson has filed Senate Bill 2329, making persons convicted of non-violent and drug-related crimes eligible for the Non Violent Offender Alternative Placement program.

SB 1862, the charter school expansion bill authored by Senate President Pro Tem Glenn Coffee, passed out of the Appropriations Committee today.

The bill will give the mayors of Oklahoma’s two largest cities chartering authority, while removing the number of caps on allowed charter schools, a major education reform that will increase opportunity for students and parents in the state’s two largest cities.

Key points of SB 1862 include:

· Allow municipalities with a population of 300,000 or more to sponsor/authorize charter schools;

The Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Public Safety and Judiciary on Wednesday approved legislation that would allow Oklahoma law enforcement officials to monitor the state’s most dangerous sex offenders through electronic monitoring devices.

With as many as 17,000 victims of human trafficking brought into the United States each year, those captives wind up in every state in the nation, including Oklahoma. That’s according to Sen. Clark Jolley who won approval by the Senate Appropriations Committee on Wednesday for a measure directed at human trafficking. A second measure, by Sen. Todd Lamb was approved by both chambers last session and is awaiting final consideration in the 2010 session.
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The Senate welcomed Miss Oklahoma 2009 Taylor Treat to the Oklahoma State Senate Tuesday. Sen. Susan Paddack presented the University of Oklahoma senior with Senate Resolution 84 recognizing her many talents and accomplishments.

"This is a special day. The Treat family have been life-long friends. I’ve known the family since before there was a Taylor Treat,” said Paddack, D-Ada. “There are a lot of people who are beauty queens but Taylor Treat is as beautiful on the inside as she is on the outside. She is an amazing young woman who has made us so proud in Ada.”
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The full Senate has given approval to a bill designed to help more Oklahoma students complete high school. Senate Bill 2139 was approved unanimously on Tuesday. Sen. John Ford, author of the measure, said that currently of 100 students beginning as freshmen in Oklahoma, on average only 75 complete high school.

The members and staff of the Oklahoma State Senate are mourning the passing of long-time Senate webmaster, Charles Israel. Israel, 48, had battled Muscular Dystrophy for years, yet diligently carried out his responsibilities managing the Senate website even as the illness progressed. He also was the point-man for Executive Nominations heard by the Senate, ensuring proper protocol was followed at all stages of the process. Israel passed away early Wednesday morning after suffering a massive stroke late Tuesday afternoon while at work.
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The Senate gave overwhelming bipartisan support today to Senate Bill 2330, authored by Senator John Ford, which gives local empowerment to education professionals, bringing them together to improve Oklahoma’s education system.

Senate Bill 2330 is a voluntary measure that gives an individual school or a group of schools the opportunity to opt out of programs or state unfunded mandates within their given districts. By opting out, this allows them to save money or maximize the education experience.