“The approval of this legislation sends a clear message to the people of our state: Oklahoma Republicans do not trust you to be fair and make good decisions in the jury box.

Today the Senate Rules Committee passed a lawsuit reform measure critical to the Senate Republican Jobs agenda. The Rules Committee approved HB 2128 by a vote of 11 to 5.

“I am pleased by the efforts of my colleagues who chose to make this critical issue a priority,” said Sen. Anthony Sykes, R-Moore, who is the Senate author of the bill. “This is a vital piece of our economic development and jobs agenda, and I appreciate the compromise that we were able to garner on the issue between the Senate and the House.”

Calling it “horrific and tasteless,” State Sen. David Holt said the AFL-CIO and IAFF labor unions should stop airing a television commercial that uses images of the Oklahoma City Bombing to encourage opposition to legislation reforming how cities negotiate with employees.
read more.

The State House approved two lawsuit reform bills today authored by Senator Anthony Sykes, R-Moore. By votes of 64 to 32 and 65 to 30, SB 862 and SB 865 received broad support from the full House. The bills will now proceed to the Governor’s desk.

Senate Bill 862 will eliminate joint and several liability, while Senate Bill 865 will require that a jury be given information regarding the tax impact of awards.

Senate Democratic Caucus Chairman Tom Ivester says his fellow caucus members stand with Gov. Mary Fallin in her efforts to hold state budget cuts between three and five percent. While Republican leaders have said agencies will likely have to face cuts of 7 to 10 percent when the 2012 fiscal year begins in July, Ivester said cuts of that size would be devastating to state services.
read more.

State Senators John Ford, Clark Jolley and Dan Newberry said they were honored to author education reform initiatives championed by Gov. Mary Fallin and former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush.

Bush visited Oklahoma last August to outline reform policies that had made a dramatic difference in student achievement in his state. Wednesday he returned to Oklahoma to join Fallin, Sen. President Pro Tempore Brian Bingman, House Speaker Kris Steele and Superintendent Janet Barresi at a State Capitol press conference promoting legislation aimed at improving public education.

In a bipartisan vote of 41 to 6, the full Senate has approved a second measure to help boost Oklahomas aerospace industry. Like Senate Bill 3, House Bill 1008 will restore tax credits for the creation of new aerospace engineering positions in Oklahoma. Sen. Mike Mazzei, R-Tulsa, is principal Senate author for both pieces of legislation.

  Although Oklahoma ’s constitution mandates compulsory education for children, the re currently are no laws to ensure home-schooled children are actually being exposed to educational materials.  State Sen. Jim Wilson has introduced two bills this session to ensure a level of accountability for children being taught at home. 

Oklahoma City- The 2011 Oklahoma Legislative Session will begin Monday, and legislators are making State Department of Education reform a part of the ir agenda in the session’s first day.  President Pro Tempore Brian Bingman, R-Sapulpa, and Senator John Ford, R-Bartlesville, are co-authors of Senate Bill 718, which will give authority of the State Department of Education to the State Superintendent of Public Instruction. read more.

The Senate Education Committee has given approval to a bill to give the State Superintendent greater control over policy, while increasing accountability to the public. Senate Bill 718 was approved Monday 12 to 5. The measure was authored by Sen. President Pro Tempore Brian Bingman and Senate Education Chairman John Ford.
read more.