Press Releases

Realistic State Budget Must Come Before Massive Tax Cuts

Senate President Pro Tempore Mike Morgan said Monday that any package of tax cuts should be negotiated by Senate and House leaders in conference committee – once a framework for a realistic state budget has been established.
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The State Senate has given unanimous approval to a bill targeting Internet ''phishing." House bill 2473, by Sen. Glenn Coffee, R-Oklahoma City, and Rep. Fred Perry, R-Tulsa, would outlaw the increasingly common scam in Oklahoma.

"When we say we're against phishing, we're not talking about the fishing you do at the lake," explained Coffee. "Phishing is a scam used by identity thieves to lure Internet users into providing financial and personal information."
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Calling it an outrageous invasion of privacy, Senator Randy Bass, a Democrat from Lawton, vowed to push for passage of a bill that would protect Oklahomans from this senseless act. Today a bill he authored to do just that won the approval of the full Senate. The Senator said House Bill 2903 now heads back to the House of Representatives for final passage and could be signed into law by Governor Henry in a matter of days.

State Sen. Scott Pruitt’s legislation to lower the state income tax rate from 6.25 percent to 4.9 percent has cleared another major hurdle. Senate Bill 2022, containing the largest tax cut in the history of the state, has now been approved by the House of Representatives.

“This is a huge victory for Oklahoma taxpayers,” said Pruitt, R-Broken Arrow. “This is not just a token rebate—this is a tax cut that over the next few years is going to put literally thousands of dollars back in the pockets of Oklahoma families.”

Senator Tom Adelson said today that under the guise of Medicaid reform House Republicans wish to take away legal protections for one population group while requiring those protections for everyone else.

“Under state law, private insurance companies must provide coverage for preventive health care their doctors and health care providers say they need,” the Tulsa Democrat said.

For 2005 in Tulsa and Oklahoma County, Medicaid paid for:
80,000 children to receive their immunizations;
Breast cancer treatment for 41,027 women;
7,456 mammograms; read more.

State Sen. Debbe Leftwich and Rep. Rebecca Hamilton are calling for a house committee to vote on legislation to give victims of sexual assault or domestic violence some economic protection. Senate Bill 935 was approved unanimously by the full Senate last year. It eventually was assigned to the House Rules committee but no further action was taken during the 2005 session. The lawmakers are asking for the bill to be heard before the final deadline for House committee action in two weeks.

The Chairman of the Senate Appropriations Sub-Committee on Natural Resources and Regulatory Services Thursday questioned why House leaders appear to be stalling on providing extra funding to help rural fire departments repair and replace worn out equipment.

Governor Brad Henry signed into law Tuesday a measure that provided a total of $9 million for rural fire departments, which included setting aside $2 million immediately to help with equipment needs.
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Note to Editor: Senator Jay Paul Gumm, Chairman of the Senate Finance Committee and a Democrat from Durant, made the following statement in response to a press release from Senator Ron Justice on the so-called “Come Home Oklahoma” Act.

The Senate Finance Committee killed legislation earlier this week that would have helped boost economies in rural communities. House Bill 3126, authored by Senator Ron Justice (R-Chickasha) and Speaker of the House Todd Hiett (R-Kellyville), would have helped broaden Oklahoma’s tax base and attract out-of-state residents into communities that have declining populations.
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Two key members of the Senate budget team said Wednesday that the General Appropriations bill passed by the Oklahoma House of Representatives last week would lead to another severe funding shortfall at the Oklahoma Department of Corrections and the furloughing of Oklahoma Highway Patrol Troopers.
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The latest attack news release from the Speaker of the House is “deceptive at best” about actions of the Senate Finance Committee, the panel’s chairman said Wednesday.

In a news release, Republican Speaker Todd Hiett lamented the Senate Finance Committee’s defeat of the so-called “Come Home Oklahoma” act, a tax giveaway to individuals who may have never set foot in Oklahoma – part of the REDI initiative.
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- Obstruction by Senate Democrats will mean fewer new jobs, higher health care costs for Oklahomans

State Senate Democrats have killed a meaningful lawsuit reform bill, once again proving their loyalty to their trial lawyer allies. Tuesday, Senate Democrats defeated the most meaningful lawsuit reform bill in state history during a meeting of the Senate Judiciary Committee.

Senator Clark Jolley on Monday praised the Senate's unanimous passage of a measure that would prohibit public utilities from distributing the social security numbers of their customers.

Jolley noted public utilities are currently forced to release social security numbers when requested, adding that a recent local newscast indicated they had obtained the social security number of a House member by simply requesting the information.
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Statement by Senate President Pro Tempore Mike Morgan

“I, too, believe Oklahomans deserve to know where their leaders stand on critical issues – like the issues of making significant investments in education, healthcare and public safety.

“In the Senate we are going to focus on these crucial policy issues that are important to every Oklahoman and we won’t allow ourselves to get bogged down in an ideological debate.”