Press Releases

Sen. Connie N. Johnson on Thursday testified before a House Interim Study Committee on removing the Governor from the parole process and provided information on the status of the Second Chance Act, which was recently approved with broad bipartisan support by the U.S. House.

The Second Chance Act would authorize $55 million in block grants to assist states in successful offender re-socialization, transition and return to civil society.

For well over a decade, Oklahomas vehicle tags have borne the slogan Native America along with an Osage shield. But Sen. Clark Jolley, co-chair of the Oklahoma License Plate Design Task Force, says its time to update those tags, many of which are now a public safety concern because of fading, making them difficult to read.

Sen. Randy Brogdon on Monday questioned Attorney General Drew Edmondson’s motives in his effort to prosecute three participants in the 2005 Taxpayer Bill of Rights petition drive. Calling the actions of the Attorney General an embarrassment to the state, Brogdon urged Edmondson to end his “politically motivated” prosecution.

Sen. Kenneth Corn on Wednesday filed legislation that could lead to changes in the way the state of Oklahoma provides matching funds for endowed chairs at colleges and universities.

Since 2004, the state has issued revenue bonds to provide matching funds for endowed chairs. Senate Bill 1142 would establish a permanent funding source for endowed chairs by diverting a portion of casino gaming revenues to the Oklahoma State Regents Endowment Trust Fund.

Members of the Legislature traveled to Guthrie, the State’s first capital, for a joint ceremonial session on Thursday to pay tribute to Oklahoma’s one-hundredth birthday. The session was held at the Legislative Hall, now a part of the Scottish Rite Temple, where legislators met nearly 100 years ago.

State Sen. Glenn Coffee, the co-president pro tempore of the Oklahoma Senate, has been selected by the Aspen Institute for a fellowship program honoring public leaders identified as "the true rising stars" of American politics.

Term-limited state Sen. Owen Laughlin is about to enter his final year in office, and he believes legislative term limits have been a great thing for Oklahoma.

So Laughlin is naturally disappointed that a senior Democrat Senator, Mary Easley of Tulsa, has introduced a bill for the 2008 legislative session that would repeal term limits for state legislators.

OKLAHOMA CITY –One of the first bills filed for the 2008 session of the Oklahoma Legislature would extend an important tax break to the surviving spouses of disabled veterans.

Senator Jay Paul Gumm filed Senate Bill 1131, which would allow surviving spouses of veterans with a 100 percent service-connected disability to keep the veterans’ sales tax exemption.

Challenges Legislators to Find Political Will to Fund Important Public Safety Initiative

OKLAHOMA CITY--As prison overcrowding continues to plague the Department of Corrections (DOC), State Senator Richard Lerblance (D-Hartshorne) wants to tackle the issue head on by increasing space at Oklahoma prisons by adding approximately 3,818 beds.

State Capitol, Oklahoma City – State Sen. Glenn Coffee, the co-president pro tempore of the Oklahoma Senate, said Thursday that prison legislation proposed by Democrat Sen. Richard Lerblance is premature.

“It is premature to choose a course of action for the Department of Corrections until the Legislature receives the report of the independent performance audit of prisons at the end of this year,” said Coffee, R-Oklahoma City.