State Sen. Charlie Laster announced this week that he has decided not to seek another term in the Oklahoma State Senate. Although the Shawnee Democrat would not have been term limited until 2016, Laster said it was time to refocus his attention on his family and his legal career.

As a result of radio talk show host Michael Savage's offer of $1 million to Newt Gingrich to drop out of the race for the Republican presidential nomination, two south Oklahoma City lawmakers are expressing concern over when the Oklahoma County District Attorney might suddenly choose to file charges against Savage for offering a bribe.

Senate Democratic Leader Sean Burrage has chosen Sen. Jerry Ellis to serve as Assistant Democratic Floor Leader. That position was vacant after Burrage was chosen to succeed Sen. Andrew Rice as Democratic Leader.

In an effort to stimulate Oklahoma’s economy and allow the state to be more competitive with out-of-state companies, Sen. Harry Coates filed the Oklahoma Guest Worker Program Act Monday. Senate Bill 995, which is similar to Utah efforts, would allow illegal immigrants to legally work in the state providing a boost to sales and tax revenues. The bill will stop workers from continuing to flee to surrounding states such as Texas as well as attract hundreds of workers back to jobs that are chronically unfilled in the state.

Sen. Harry Coates is frustrated by recent suggestions that the legislature have the citizens of Oklahoma vote to pass a bond issue to fix the State Capitol building. Coates, who has been fighting for Capitol repairs for years, believes this is an issue that needs to be addressed by the legislature and quickly, not by the people in November.

Senator David Holt, R-Oklahoma City, has introduced Senate Joint Resolution 75, which proposes an amendment to the Oklahoma Constitution that would give local taxpayers or their elected representatives the final approval before any local tax dollars are spent. If approved by the Legislature, the amendment would appear on the November, 2012 ballot for consideration by the voters of Oklahoma. The proposal is dubbed the “Lincoln Amendment” after the President who declared that the American government was “by the people” and “for the people.”

“I applaud Insurance Commissioner Doak and state legislative leaders who have worked diligently over the last year to address this gap and ensure access to health coverage for our youngest citizens.

As a father and grandfather, I know how important it is for infants to have proper medical care. The care they receive in their first year will impact them the rest of their lives. This is why it’s so imperative that we make sure all of Oklahoma’s babies have access to high quality medical care and that can only be possible through having proper health coverage.

Sen. Sean Burrage, Democratic Leader of the State Senate, issued the following statement after Department of Human Services Director Howard Hendrick announced he would retire from that position at the end of February.

“Howard Hendrick has spent a quarter of a century of his life in public service, first as a member of the State Senate for 12 years and then as DHS Director for the past 13 years. I want to thank him for that service and dedication and wish Howard and his family the very best as they begin a new chapter in their lives.

Each year, thousands of Oklahoma school students take their end-of-instruction tests in order to be able to graduate. In an effort to help more students get their high school diploma and provide educators with more classroom time for teaching, Sen. Harry Coates has filed Senate Bill 1093.

The deadline for members of the Oklahoma State Senate to file legislation for the second session of the 53rd Legislature was 4 p.m. Thursday, January 19. A total of 972 bills and 45 joint resolutions were filed with 753 Senate Bills and 41 Senate Joint Resolutions carried over from the 2011 session.

Under Senate rules, appropriations bills are not subject to the deadlines pertaining to substantive (policy) bills. Last year, 976 substantive bills and 45 joint resolutions were filed by the 2011 deadline.