Press Releases

Responding to a recent assertion by University of Oklahoma President David Boren that the legislature should not have a role in setting tuition rates, Sen. Jim Wilson on Thursday said it is still the legislature’s function to represent taxpayers on higher education issues.

Before a Tuesday meeting of the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Education, Boren said the Oklahoma Legislature should not function like a board of regents and should let universities continue to set their own tuition rates.
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After hearing reports that a second Oklahoma lottery prize had been claimed by a trust, rather than an individual, Sen. Clark Jolley announced he would file legislation for the 2007 session to close the loophole enabling individuals to form anonymous trusts after finding they had a winning ticket. Jolley, R-Edmond, said this loophole undermines the integrity of the lottery.
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State Sen. Jim Reynolds, R-Oklahoma City, said that a Democrat state senator who on Monday accused Oklahoma police departments and law enforcement officers of extorting money from Hispanic illegal aliens should provide evidence of the alleged wrongdoing.

Senator Daisy Lawler, Chair of the Senate Task Force on Illegal Immigration Issues, said she was pleased with the group’s first meeting held Monday at the State Capitol.

Members of the task force heard presentations from representatives of the Oklahoma Department of Human Services, the Oklahoma Health Care Authority and the Oklahoma Hospital Association. Additionally, the Immigrant Policy Project Program Director of the National Conference of State Legislatures presented statistics illustrating the scope and costs of illegal immigration nationwide.

Students across the state will have a chance to visit one-on-one with their State Senator and find out what it's like to write and pass laws and make budget decisions. It's all part of a national program called America's Legislators Back to School, sponsored annually by the National Conference of State Legislators. The program officially kicks off for 2006 during the third week of September and continues throughout the school year.
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State Sen. Jim Wilson has called on the Oklahoma Health Care Authority (OHCA) to take advantage of a new electronic medical data sharing network. Wilson says the network, called SMRTNET for secure medical records transfer network, has been offered at no charge to OHCA, and would help reduce preventable medical errors, improve care and save tax dollars. Wilson said participation by OHCA in the system will not only respond to the requirements set forth in HB 2842 (the Medicaid Reform bill) but will save time and money.
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