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.
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2010 Jim Thorpe Award winner Patrick Peterson was honored on the floor of the state Senate on Monday. The Senate unanimously approved Senate Resolution 1, recognizing and commending the standout cornerback from Louisiana State University.

In one of its first orders of business for the 2011 Legislative Session, the State Senate unanimously approved Senate Resolution 2 honoring the life of the country’s 40th President, Ronald Reagan, and recognizing the 100th anniversary of his birth. The resolution, by Sen. Cliff Branan, also designates February 6-12, 2011 as “Ronald Reagan Week” in the State of Oklahoma.
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“I remain optimistic about the direction our state is going after hearing Governor Fallin’s remarks today. I appreciate her sense of focus on agenda items like reducing government spending, balancing our state budget without tax increases and job creation. I also appreciate her willingness to support priorities such as education, public safety, better healthcare and transportation funding. read more.

The recent murder/suicide of a young mother of a 14-month old by the baby’s father in the Mid-Del area of central Oklahoma County once again draws attention to a sobering statistic in the state. More women are murdered in Oklahoma by their significant others than in most other states. In an effort to address the problem, Sen. Constance N. Johnson has filed legislation to help fight domestic violence in the state.
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The Senate Judiciary Committee met for the first time in the 2011 session on Tuesday approving five lawsuit reform measures that are key components of the Senate Republican legislative agenda.

“We have been working on lawsuit reform for years, taking mostly an incremental approach because we did not have the numbers or a Republican governor to support strong reforms,” said Senator Anthony Sykes, R-Moore, Judiciary Committee Chairman. “These bills protect Oklahomans, our doctors and our businesses from frivolous lawsuits.”