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The Oklahoma Senate on Thursday approved legislation to encourage more classroom time for students.

Senate Bill 441 by Senator Marty Quinn is one of four agenda items of Senate Republicans. The bill passed on a 31-17 vote and now goes to the House for consideration.
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The Senate unanimously approved legislation Thursday to modify the state’s “habitual offender” statute in an effort to decrease Oklahoma’s overcrowded prison system. Senate Bill 287, by Sen. Bill Coleman, modifies convictions for second and subsequent nonviolent, nonsexual felony offenses. The bill requires these offenders to serve no more than the maximum sentence plus one-fourth of the sentence that could have been imposed for a first conviction of the current offense.
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A program that began as a way to encourage private/public partnerships to divert women from prison is being expanded to all state agencies. The full Senate voted in favor of Senate Bill 210 on Monday, creating the Pay for Success Act. State Sen. Roger Thompson is the principal author of the measure, which he describes as a way to create new programs to solve wide-ranging challenges in government without risking public dollars.
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The Oklahoma Senate on Monday overwhelmingly approved a bill from President Pro Tempore Greg Treat that creates a legislative watchdog office to provide both lawmakers and the general public independent data on agency budgets and performance.

Senate Bill 1 creates the Legislative Office of Fiscal Transparency (LOFT) and advanced on a 38-10 vote. The bill is a key component of the Senate Republicans’ agenda for the 2019 session.
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The Oklahoma Senate overwhelmingly passed two government accountability measures that are a part of a larger deal to give the governor the ability to hire the heads of five of the largest state agencies.

Senate President Pro Tempore Greg Treat’s bills would give the governor the ability to hire and fire the head of the Oklahoma Health Care Authority (SB 456) and the director of the Oklahoma Department of Transportation (SB 457) with Senate confirmation.
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The Oklahoma Senate overwhelmingly passed two government accountability measures that are a part of a larger deal to give the governor the ability to hire the heads of five of the largest state agencies.

Senate President Pro Tempore Greg Treat’s bills would give the governor the ability to hire and fire the head of the Oklahoma Health Care Authority (SB 456) and the director of the Oklahoma Department of Transportation (SB 457) with Senate confirmation.
read more.