Audio

The full Senate has approved a measure to set a graduation goal of 100 percent for Oklahoma high school students. Senate Bill 985, by Sen. Kathleen Wilcoxson, would also establish guidelines to give a more accurate picture of graduation rates that will enable an “apples to apples” comparison with other states.
read more.

The Senate on Wednesday approved a measure that would create a task force to study the redistricting of district attorney and judicial districts.

Sen. Kenneth Corn, author of Senate Bill 990, said the bill was needed to ensure that areas throughout the state are receiving adequate judicial representation.

The full Senate has given approval to another measure aimed at strengthening the Teachers Retirement System of Oklahoma (TRS). Sen. Mike Mazzei is the author of Senate Bill 1092 which was approved by the Senate on Tuesday.

State Sen. Jay Paul Gumm has won full Senate approval for a measure to give liability protection to gun manufacturers. Sen. Gumm said the language was based on a similar law in South Dakota’s statutes.

“This simply says that if a bad person takes a gun and shoots somebody, the gun manufacturer cannot be held liable for the criminal actions of that individual,” said Gumm. “It holds the manufacturer harmless.”

Gumm said the liability protection would not apply to manufacturers who build a defective product.

State Capitol, Oklahoma City – The evenly divided Oklahoma Senate made history Tuesday by passing a pro-life bill that prohibits state funds, facilities, and employees from being used to perform abortions.

Senate Bill 714 is authored by Sen. James A. Williamson, R-Tulsa. The bill passed on a bipartisan 34 to 13 vote Tuesday, with 10 Democrats joining Republican senators to pass the legislation.

State Sen. Randy Bass has won approval from the full Senate on a bill to help growing military communities meet infrastructure needs. Senate Bill 751 would also extend the deadline originally approved in a 2002 bill designed to help two of the state’s largest tire manufacturing facilities, Goodyear and Michelin. Bass, D-Lawton, said both provisions were important to Oklahoma’s economy.
read more.

A measure that would prohibit state employees from being discriminated against on the basis of their religion was passed by the full Senate on Wednesday.

Senate Clark Jolley said Senate Bill 793 was intended to correct a problem that emerged last year when employees at a state agency were notified they could be discharged for referencing prayer or saying “Merry Christmas” during the holiday season.

Senator Jay Paul Gumm’s effort to end forever the concept of forced school consolidation is two small steps away from a vote of the people with an overwhelming bipartisan vote on the Senate floor this morning.

Senate Joint Resolution 1 would give Oklahoma voters a chance to amend the Oklahoma Constitution to prohibit any school from consolidating unless approved by a majority of voters in each of the affected school districts. In short, Gumm explained, the measure would prevent “politicians, judges or bureaucrats” from forcing any school district to consolidate.
read more.

Classifying animal waste as nonhazardous is critical for the State of Oklahoma and its livestock industry. That's according to Sen. Ron Justice, R-Chickasha, author of Senate Bill 709 which declares manure as a nonhazardous material.

"This bill is critical to the State of Oklahoma because we have such a large livestock industry. It’s approximately a $5 billion industry,” said Justice, R-Chickasha. “If this were to be classified as a hazardous material then it would not only affect all of the livestock producers but it would affect people all across the state.”
read more.