State Senator Anastasia A. Pittman will serve as keynote speaker for the luncheon kickoff for the 45th Annual Miss Black Oklahoma and Miss Black Oklahoma Teen pageant events next week. This year’s luncheon will be held on Tuesday, July 28th at 12pm at the Waterford Hotel in Oklahoma City.

After Tuesday’s luncheon event, the pageant will be held the following weekend on Saturday, August 1, at 7:00pm at the Freede Little Theater located inside the Civic Center Music Hall in Oklahoma City.
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A measure intended to update and clarify Oklahoma’s existing car seat law, making it easier for parents and caregivers to understand the best and safest way to restrain their child in their vehicle, was signed into law on Friday by Governor Mary Fallin.

“We know that in Oklahoma alone, the number of children who died or were seriously injured in car accidents could have been cut in half with the proper use of child restraint systems,” said Sen. Randy Bass, D-Lawton. Bass is the Senate author of the measure.
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Gov. Mary Fallin has signed into law Senate Bill 312, which consolidates local election dates to either one cycle in the spring or one cycle in the fall. This follows the successful adoption of other proposals championed by Sen. David Holt (R-Oklahoma City) to encourage higher voter turnout after dramatic recent declines.
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Two doctors currently serving in the Oklahoma Legislature are authors of a new law aimed at raising awareness of sudden cardiac arrest (SCA). Unlike a heart attack, which occurs when blood flow to the heart is blocked, sudden cardiac arrest is triggered by an electrical malfunction that causes the heart to simply stop beating. Death occurs within minutes if a victim doesnt receive treatment.
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A bill requiring schools to report if a teacher is fired due to criminal activities was signed into law on Wednesday, according to the bill’s author, Senator John Sparks, D-Norman.
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Community leaders, parents, teachers, homeschool educators, and other interested groups are invited to attend an educational think tank meeting next week designed to discuss and define the vision of the curriculum in Oklahoma schools. The event, hosted by Sen. Anastasia A. Pittman and Rep. George Young, will be held at the State Capitol in Oklahoma City on June 18 at 3pm.

Discussion will primarily focus on three areas, including:
Identification of priority issues relating to diversity, inclusion and curriculum; read more.

OKLAHOMA CITY Senate Democratic Leader Randy Bass, D-Lawton, today released the following statement in response to the United States Supreme Courts decision in King v. Burwell:

The Affordable Care Act is far from perfect, but it is working. The subsidies are helping more than 87,000 Oklahomans access quality, affordable health coverage. But we can, and must, do more for hard working Oklahomans and their families.
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Senate President Pro Tempore Brian Bingman released the following statement Thursday in response to the United States Supreme Courts decision in King v. Burwell:
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Sen. Ervin Yen was among several lawmakers who filed legislation this session to ban texting while driving. Yen, a cardiac anesthesiologist, was successful in amending the final bill approved by both chambers to make the ban of hand-held electronic devices while driving enforceable as a primary offense. Yen, R-Oklahoma City, issued the following statement after Gov. Mary Fallin signed House Bill 1965 into law.
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Sen. Kevin Matthews (D-Tulsa) will be joining his constituents from north Tulsa tonight for a peaceful rally calling for the resignation of Tulsa County Sheriff Stanley Glanz and major department changes to address the culture that has caused continual distrust of law enforcement within the black community. The One Tulsa Rally-Justice will be held at 7pm in the Blue Dome Area in the 2nd and Elgin parking lot.
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