Press Releases

Cimarron Equality Oklahoma, a radical homosexual organization, is deliberately misleading the public about the Marriage Protection Constitutional Amendment that is scheduled for a public vote this November.

“Cimarron is misleading the public about the Marriage Protection Amendment in an attempt to scare Oklahoma voters into voting against it. They know that 80 percent of Oklahoma voters oppose legalizing same-sex marriages, so they’re trying to dupe the public in order to advance their radical agenda,” said Senate GOP Leader James Williamson, the author of the amendment.

Senate President Pro Tempore Cal Hobson and House Speaker Larry Adair announced Thursday they plan to officially appoint the General Conference Committee on Appropriations next week to begin the budget reconciliation process.

“The budget process begins in earnest in General Conference,” said Hobson, D-Lexington. “The sub-committees on both sides of the rotunda will begin writing the specifics of the budgets for each agency.”
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Senator Charles Ford, R-Tulsa, has seen many things during his 38 years in the state Legislature.

One thing he has never seen is Democrat legislative leaders abandon their trial lawyer allies – and he doesn’t expect them to start now by allowing meaningful lawsuit reform and workers compensation reform legislation to pass the Senate.

Art Treasures of the Oklahoma State Capitol has been nominated for two 2004 Oklahoma Book Awards. State Senator Charles Ford headed the project to document the original paintings and sculptures of the State Capitol. read more.

The authors of a landmark workers compensation reform bill praised the House of Representatives for its bipartisan support in passing the measure Thursday, and challenged Governor Brad Henry and the Senate Democrat leadership to support the legislation to save Oklahoma jobs.

House Bill 2619, authored by Ron Peterson, R-Broken Arrow and Sen. Scott Pruitt, R-Broken Arrow passed the House Thursday on a 95 to 1 vote.

The Senate has approved a measure aimed at saving the lives of Oklahoma public school students. Senate Bill 1474 would require that at least one teacher and one support staff member in each school receive training in cardiopulmonary resuscitation each year.

The Senate originally voted on the measure on Monday, but with a vote of 24 yes and 19 no votes, the measure was one vote short of the minimum 25 needed to win approval. The Senate reconsidered the bill on Thursday granting approval by a vote of 25 to 17.
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The Senate voted 44-0 in support of a measure requiring individuals who discover computer child pornography to notify local police. Senator Glenn Coffee is author of Senate Bill 1091, which is primarily aimed at computer service technicians.

“This legislation is really no different from our existing laws requiring photo lab employees to report it to the police when they find pictures of child porn,” explained Senator Coffee, R-OKC.
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Legislators recently announced International Student Awareness Day at the Oklahoma State Capitol on March 24th. The annual event gives international students from high schools, colleges and universities from around the state the opportunity to learn more about Oklahoma and to celebrate the state's cultural diversity.
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Senate Appropriations Chairman Mike Morgan Tuesday announced a plan to give state employees a long-overdue, two-phase pay raise.

Morgan said the Senate measure would give state workers a 5-percent pay raise beginning January 1, 2005, and then an additional 3-percent raise beginning July 1, 2005.

State employees last received a pay increase in 2000.
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The State Senate passed a bill today renaming a portion of Interstate 240 in Oklahoma City in honor of the late Senator Keith Leftwich, according to Senate President Pro Tempore Cal Hobson (D-Lexington) and President Pro Tempore Emeritus Stratton Taylor (D-Claremore), authors of the bill. Under the provisions of SB 969, I-240 between the intersections of I-35 and I-44 in South Oklahoma City will be known as the “Keith Leftwich Memorial Loop.”
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For the second time in as many weeks, the Senate’s Republican Leader implored Gov. Brad Henry in a letter to get off the sidelines and help line up the votes needed to withdraw the marriage protection constitutional amendment from a Senate committee.

“The deadline to withdraw SJR 38 from committee for consideration on the Senate floor is Thursday, March 11, 2004. Without your immediate help, this bill will die,” wrote Senate GOP Leader James A. Williamson, R-Tulsa. “All I ask is that you devote as much time to protecting marriage as you have to expanding gambling in our state.”

The Senate Republican leader praised Lt. Gov. Mary Fallin today for showing leadership in offering an alternative to Gov. Brad Henry’s proposed tobacco tax hike.

State Senator Richard Lerblance (D-Hartshorne) held a meeting today with the Oklahoma Rural Water Association and the Oklahoma Municipal League in an effort to address water rights issues.

The meeting was a result of a bill that Senator Lerblance filed at the beginning of the legislative session. There have been long-term problems between rural water districts and municipalities as to who has the water rights when expansion is necessary.

Senator Jay Paul Gumm has won support for a measure aimed at keeping jobs in Oklahoma. Senate Bill 1247 targets businesses that accept state incentive dollars then leave within 7 to 10 years of accepting the money.

“Economic development experts across the country have proclaimed Oklahoma’s business incentives to be among the best in the nation. We’re saying if you are a business that accepts those incentives and then decides to leave our state in just a few years, you’re going to have to pay back that money,” said Gumm, a Democrat from Durant.
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The State Senate has given its unanimous approval to a measure requiring out-of-state sex offenders to register with local law enforcement if they have a spouse who lives in Oklahoma. The bill would also shorten the amount of time convicted sex offenders have to register with the Department of Corrections and local police from three to two days.
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The full Senate has given approval to a measure that would create the Oklahoma School of the Arts. Senator Mark Snyder is author of Senate Bill 1501 and said the school would be similar to the Oklahoma School of Science and Mathematics (OSSM.)
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