The Senate today passed legislation that would lower the state’s income tax rate to below 5 percent if the state’s economy continues to improve.

The full Senate voted 40-0 Thursday in favor of legislation requiring advance notice before state parks can be closed. Sen. Jerry Ellis presented SB 1959 both in committee and on the floor. The measure, authored by Sen. Sean Burrage, D-Claremore, and co-authored by Ellis, D-Valliant, would require the Oklahoma Tourism and Recreation Department to notify local governments before closing any state park, parkland or public recreation facility within the state agency’s jurisdiction.
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Sen. Patrick Anderson has filed legislation that would allow Oklahoma voters to reduce the size of the Legislature by 101 members. Senate Joint Resolution 43 would send to a vote of the people a constitutional amendment creating a unicameral Legislature consisting of 48 legislators.

Transitioning to a unicameral Legislature would reduce costs, while providing increased transparency and procedural openness, Anderson said. The Nebraska Legislature has operated as a unicameral body with just 49 legislators since 1937.
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Sen. Ralph Shortey today said any potential increase in tax rates on horizontal drilling would have an adverse effect on the energy industry, and economic growth in Oklahoma.

A tax incentive establishing a one percent tax on horizontal wells is set to expire in 2015, and would rise to seven percent if allowed to sunset. Shortey said that if lawmakers are truly committed to creating a more pro-growth environment in Oklahoma, they must continue working to eliminate barriers to development like higher taxes and excessive regulation.
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Senate President Pro Tem Brian Bingman comments on U.S. Senior District Judge Terence Kern’s ruling today regarding Oklahoma’s constitutional ban on gay marriage, which was approved by 76 percent of Oklahoma voters in 2004.

Sen. Patrick Anderson has authored legislation that would enable the state to sell the campuses of the Southern Oklahoma Resources Center (SORC) in Pauls Valley, and the Northern Oklahoma Resources Center (NORCE) in Enid. Both facilities, which are slated to be closed by the state, provide care for the severely mentally disabled. SORC is set to close this April and NORCE in August, 2015.

Anderson said that after the 2012 decision to close the facilities, residents are now being forced to relocate to for-profit group homes.
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Despite enthusiastic support for three upcoming passenger railroad trips between Tulsa and Oklahoma City in February, the Eastern Flyer could already be looking at the end of the line. Tulsa Republican Brian Crain was the Senate author of legislation passed in 2011 creating a task force examining restoration of passenger rail service between the two metros. Crain said he was extremely disappointed to learn that the Oklahoma Department of Transportation (ODOT), which owns the tracks, has set a January 30 deadline for bids to sell the rail line that will carry the Eastern Flyer. read more.

A group of Republican lawmakers from the Oklahoma Senate and House of Representatives have introduced a tax cut plan for consideration in the 2014 legislative session that will lower Oklahoma’s individual income tax rate to four percent within four years.

The deadline for members of the Oklahoma State Senate to file legislation for the second session of the 54th Legislature was 4 p.m. on Thursday, January 16. By that deadline, 976 bills and 35 joint resolutions were filed. Last year at this time, a total of 1,119 bills and 34 joint resolutions were filed; 915 Senate Bills and 31 Senate Joint Resolutions still alive from the 2013 session will carry over into the 2014 session.
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“Today, I learned along with many Oklahomans that Senator Tom Coburn will resign at the end of 2014. Although Senator Coburn and I did not always see eye to eye on every issue, I believe that he is a man of honor and integrity and he has had a distinguished career in Congress. He brought to the attention of the American people the waste and reckless spending that happens in government; and I believe that no matter the political party, we can all agree that wasteful spending hurts all Americans. read more.