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Oklahoma Senate
Senate Republicans have unveiled their agenda for the 2019 legislative session. State Sen. Stephanie Bice, who holds dual leadership roles as Finance Chair and Assistant Majority Floor Leader, said the legislative priorities her caucus has identified will include key reforms, a continued commitment to education and an emphasis on increased transparency and accountability.
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The Oklahoma Senate on Thursday advanced a series of criminal justice reform measures that provide uniformity of certain drug offenses, improve parole supervision, and cap excessive sentences for nonviolent offenses, among other reforms.
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A bill requiring informed consent for nursing home patients and their families regarding the use of powerful antipsychotic drugs has been signed into law. State Sen. Stephanie Bice, R-Oklahoma City, is the principal author of Senate Bill 142. Rep. Tammy West, R-Bethany, is the principal House author. The measure deals with the overuse of powerful antipsychotic drugs for nursing home patients who have not received a psychiatric diagnosis, nor has informed consent been given by the patients or their representatives.
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State Sen. Micheal Bergstrom has filed a bill that would cap tax credits at $25 million statewide for electricity generated by zero emission facilities, including wind energy, and another that could use the savings to provide a graduated teacher pay raise over the next three years.
“The national debt just surpassed $20 trillion this week, and it is projected to increase by a trillion dollars a year for the next decade. This is just not sustainable,” said Bergstrom, R-Adair. read more.
State Senator Micheal Bergstrom, R-Adair, has proposed a three phase plan aimed at providing pay raises for state teachers and state employees.
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County sheriffs throughout Oklahoma have received much-needed support with the passage of Senate Bill 244 this past session. The measure, by Senate principal author Micheal Bergstrom, R-Adair, and House principal author Rep. Zack Taylor, R-Seminole, ends a practice that often resulted in county jails having to pay for the cost of housing inmates awaiting transport to facilities operated by the Oklahoma Department of Corrections (DOC). The new law took effect on August 30.
read more.Self-driving cars, e-scooters, more commercial uses for drones and drone-ports and the expanded use of electric vehicles were all part of the discussion at an interim study held this week by the Senate Transportation Committee. The Monday hearing was requested by Sen. Micheal Bergstrom, who serves as vice-chair of the committee. He said emerging transportation technologies bring with them a host of opportunities and concerns that need to be addressed sooner, rather than later.
read more.State Sen. Micheal Bergstrom, R-Adair, has been appointed to serve on the Oklahoma Route 66 Centennial Commission, a 21-member panel that will help plan the state’s celebration of the 100th anniversary of “The Mother Road.”
read more. In September, Oklahoma prisons went on lockdown. It began with a gang-related fight in the Northeast Oklahoma Correctional Center in Vinita before spreading to prisons throughout the state. A coordinated uprising, which resulted in injuries to correctional officers, the hospitalization of 36 inmates and the death of one inmate. All coordinated with cellphones.
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