Sen. District 8’s Press Releases

OKLAHOMA CITY – Legislative leaders announced a Fiscal Year 2021 state budget agreement Monday designed to hold education funding harmless while limiting most budget reductions to 4% or less amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

OKLAHOMA CITY – State Sen. Roger Thompson is urging citizens throughout Senate District 8 to step up for their communities, their counties and the entire state by completing the 2020 U.S.

Senate Appropriations Chair Roger Thompson issued the following statement on Monday after Attorney General Mike Hunter responded to Thompson’s request for a legal opinion as to whether Gov. read more.

Senate Appropriations Chair Roger Thompson has won full Senate approval for legislation to modernize state agency spending and create government efficiencies. Senate Bill 1422, by Thompson, R-Okemah, was approved on Tuesday.

OKLAHOMA CITY – Senate Appropriations Chair Roger Thompson has filed a bill to reform the Oklahoma Central Purchasing Act. Thompson, R-Okemah, said the legislation will create government efficiencies while modernizing state agency spending.

State Sen. Roger Thompson, R-Okemah, issued the following statement on Monday following the news that former Sen. Roger Ballenger, D-Okmulgee, had passed away. Thompson was elected to the District 8 seat in 2014 after Ballenger announced his retirement from the Senate after eight years of service.

“Roger Ballenger was the epitome of a dedicated public servant. He represented the citizens of District 8 with integrity and was extremely gracious and helpful to me when I was elected to the Senate.

Media and internet attention over a ruling handed down by the federal 10th Circuit Court of Appeals from last winter has resulted in confusion and misinformation, said State Sen. Roger Thompson.

Last February, the federal appeals court upheld a lower court’s ruling that said a Fort Collins, Colorado city ordinance banning women from going topless violated the U.S. Constitution’s equal protection clause because it was gender specific.

State Senate Appropriations Chair Roger Thompson, R-Okemah, issued the following statement on Tuesday thanking Glen Johnson, Chancellor of the Oklahoma State System of Higher Education, for his service and leadership on behalf of the state. Johnson plans to retire from that position at the end of 2020.
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Senate President Pro Tempore Greg Treat has named Senator Roger Thompson as co-chair of the Legislative Office of Fiscal Transparency (LOFT) oversight committee.

Senate Bill 1, signed into law recently, created LOFT to serve as an independent office to provide the Legislature and the public with objective data on agency budgets and programs. LOFT will be overseen by bipartisan committee of Senate and House members. The Senate president pro tempore and the House speaker each name a co-chairs and members of the oversight committee.
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In his first legislative session as Senate Appropriations Chair, Sen. Roger Thompson helped carve out priorities for the 2020 fiscal year budget and determine how best to fund and support key agenda items aimed at moving Oklahoma forward—the end result is a balanced budget that made new investments in core services of government, increased emergency savings and accomplished it all without a tax increase.