Three former educators who are now members of the Senate Appropriations Sub-Committee on Education said Thursday that if the House doesn’t act to pass an education appropriation on Monday school boards across Oklahoma will be forced to make crucial staffing decisions without knowing how much state funding will be allocated to their districts.

The result could be a new exodus of teachers to Texas, according to the trio of lawmakers who have 96 years of experience in public education among them.

Committee Hearings Not Scheduled for Laci and Conner’s Bill, Covenant Marriage, Informed Consent, Marriage Penalty

Oklahoma families are getting the short end of the stick in the Oklahoma State Senate this year. Several pro-family bills will die this week in the Senate for lack of a committee hearing.

Among the bills not scheduled for a hearing in Thursday’s meeting of the Senate’s Health and Human Resources Committee is House Bill 1257, the “Laci and Conner Peterson” law.

A bill to help bring computer child pornographers to justice is now part of Oklahoma law. Sen. Cliff Branan, R-OKC, is principal author of SB 513, which was signed by Gov. Brad Henry yesterday. The House author of the measure is Rep. Ken Miller, R-Edmond.

“I believe this is an important step in helping stop the sexual exploitation of children through the Internet. These shocking images are evidence of a terrible crime. This bill gives law enforcement an important tool in their efforts to go after these criminals,” Branan said.

“The Senate 2020 plan is the only plan that provides new money for bridge and road maintenance in Fiscal Year 2006. Under our plan, the Oklahoma Department of Transportation will be able to both make increased payments on its debt service obligations and invest $52.1 million in bridge and road repairs in FY 2006.

“With our proposal Oklahomans will see results before the end of 2005. It will take three years before the House plan provides enough new money to ODOT to allow for increased bridge and road maintenance.

Senator Daisy Lawler said today she is pleased a bill aimed at strengthening families in Oklahoma cleared another legislative hurdle as it passed out of the Senate Appropriations Committee with bi-partisan support. She said however, she is puzzled that four Republican members of the Senate, who so often talk about the importance of ‘family values’, voted against a bill aimed at protecting those family values in Oklahoma through character education curriculum for Oklahoma school children.

Chairman Charles Laster led Democrats on the Senate Judiciary Committee Tuesday in voting for amendments that weakened House Bill 2046, the landmark workers’ comp reform bill authored by House Speaker Todd Hiett, R-Kellyville, and Sen. Scott Pruitt, R-Broken Arrow.

Before being amended, Pruitt’s bill was estimated to reduce workers’ comp costs by up to $158 million by the non-partisan National Council on Compensation Insurance. A competing plan authored by Gov. Brad Henry is estimated to only save $20 to 51 million.

House Republicans, who talk about “family values,” have put at risk a major tax cut that truly values working families, according to the chair of the Senate Finance Committee.

Senator Jay Paul Gumm, D-Durant, said the Senate Democrats’ HOPE Plan – a permanent $402 million tax cut targeted to working families – could already have been on the governor’s desk if House Republicans had simply approved the measure as is. HOPE stands for “Helping Oklahomans Prosper Economically” and senators passed the bill on March 2.

The third time won’t be a charm for lawsuit reform if Senate Judiciary Chairman Charles Laster and Senate Democrat leaders get their way.

After two straight years of having real lawsuit reform blocked by Gov. Brad Henry and legislative Democrats in favor of watered-down tort bills, proponents of reform were hoping to finally get meaningful lawsuit reform passed in 2005.

Members of the Senate Judiciary Committee voted along party lines Tuesday to send Governor Brad Henry’s Texas-Plus lawsuit reform plan to the floor of the State Senate for a vote.

Democrats supported the ground-breaking reform measure, while Republicans opposed it. Judiciary Committee Chairman Charlie Laster explained that Henry’s plan was inserted as an amendment in House Bill 2047 by Speaker Todd Hiett.

The authors of two bills to protect victims of domestic violence or rape are pushing legislative committees to approve the measures before it’s too late. This coming Thursday, April 7, is the Senate deadline for committees to act on bills from the opposite chamber, while the deadline for the House is Thursday, April 21.

The lawmakers, along with representatives of the YWCA, The Oklahoma Conference of Churches and Oklahoma’s Catholic Charities spoke in support of the bills at the State Capitol on Monday.