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Senate President Pro Tempore Mike Morgan and Co-President Pro Tempore Glenn Coffee have extended their congratulations to Miss Oklahoma winner, Makenna Smith. The Oklahoma City University graduate student interned at the Senate in 2005 when she was completing her bachelor’s degree at the University of Oklahoma.

“We’re very proud that one of our former interns will be representing our state in the Miss America pageant. We’re certainly wishing her all the best from everyone here in the State Senate,” Morgan said. read more.

A task force has been authorized to examine how state funds are distributed to Oklahoma public schools—that’s after Gov. Brad Henry signed Senate Bill 925 into law this week. Sen. Clark Jolley is principal author of the legislation, co-authored by Rep. Ken Miller. Jolley said he appreciated the governor’s support of the study.

“This is long overdue. It’s been about two decades since anyone took an in-depth look at the school funding formula,” said Jolley, R-Edmond. “We need to determine whether it is efficient, fair, and whether it could be simplified.”
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Legislation that will increase funding to Child Advocacy Centers (CACs) and Multi-Disciplinary Child Abuse Teams was signed by Gov. Brad Henry this week.

Sen. Jonathan Nichols, R-Norman, originally authored an amendment that was included in HB 1282. The amendatory language that is now law earmarks a $3 fee on criminal filings for programs that investigate child abuse cases. The new fee could generate as much as one million new dollars for Child Advocacy Centers (CACs) and Multi-Disciplinary Teams.
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At a State Capitol news conference Monday, State Sen. Randy Brogdon addressed recent criticism of his bill, the Taxpayer Transparency Act, and encouraged Gov. Brad Henry to sign the bill into law.
Senate Bill 1, authored by Brogdon (R-Owasso) and Rep. Paul Wesselhoft (R-Moore), requires the Office of State Finance to create and maintain a searchable Website to let citizens see how state tax dollars are used.
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