State Sen. Casey Murdock said legislation giving counties an opportunity to opt out of Oklahoma’s medical marijuana law approved last year was his effort to represent the will of the people in Senate District 27.

Legislation to add school nurses or other designated employees to those who can administer life-saving opiate antagonists has been signed into law by Gov. Kevin Stitt. Current law includes first-responders, such as emergency medical technicians, law enforcement and firefighters.

The full Senate has given approval to a pair of bills dealing with a study of the Arbuckle-Simpson Aquifer—the sole water source for much of south-central Oklahoma. State Sen. Greg McCortney, R-Ada, is the author of the measures.

An earlier five-year study was undertaken in the mid-2000’s. It was the first comprehensive study of the Arbuckle-Simpson Aquifer and helped determine the maximum annual yield and establish the amount that private owners were entitled to access.

The full Senate has given unanimous approval to Senate Bill 841, the Prescription Access and Affordability Act, by Sen. Greg McCortney. The Ada Republican said the legislation will give better consumer protections for Oklahomans and protections for local pharmacies who want to help customers save money on prescriptions.

SB 841 would expand consumer access to pharmacies and make it easier to understand how much they’re going to pay for prescriptions and additional information that would be helpful for them when purchasing prescription medication.

The Senate Rules Committee voted unanimously Tuesday to send the legislation known as the Unity Bill to the full Senate for approval. Sen. Greg McCortney is the chair of the Rules Committee and Senate principal author of House Bill 2612, creating the safety and regulatory framework necessary for Oklahoma’s medical marijuana industry after voters approved State Question 788 last June. The measure has already been approved by the House.

State Sen. Greg McCortney won committee approval Monday for a bill renaming the closed Southern Oklahoma Resource Center in Pauls Valley. Under Senate Bill 7, the facility, long known as SORC, will be called the Washita Valley Complex.

The long-time institutional care facility provided residential care for adults with severe disabilities but closed in 2015 after the Department of Human Services decided to move residents to community-based services.

State Sen. Greg McCortney has filed legislation to add school nurses or other designated employees to those who can administer life-saving opiate antagonists. Currently, state law includes first-responders, including emergency medical technicians, law enforcement and firefighters. Senate Bill 85 would amend that law to include school medical personnel or an employee designated by the school’s administration to be able to administer opiate antagonists, a treatment that can temporarily reverse the effects of an opioid overdose, allowing time to seek emergency medical care.

Senator Greg McCortney, R-Ada, issued the following statement in response to the House minority leader's call for a special session on medical marijuana:

On Tuesday afternoon, the Senate Transportation Committee approved two bills by Sen. Kevin Matthews to bring high speed rail to Tulsa and eventually throughout the state. Senate Bill 1082 creates the “High Speed Transit Rail Expansion Commission” and Senate Bill 1379 directs the Department of Transportation to enter into agreements for light rail passenger service in Tulsa.