State Senator Kathleen Wilcoxson and State Representative Thad Balkman have filed legislation calling for a statewide vote to allow future Oklahoma governors to appoint the state school superintendent. Currently, that position is an elected, statewide office.

(NORMAN) Senate President Pro Tempore Cal Hobson said Thursday he is “humbled and honored” by the designation of the new Cleveland County Health Department facility as the Cal Hobson Center.

The new $4 million center, which located on 12th Avenue SE in Norman, held an open house Thursday afternoon in conjunction with ceremonies honoring the 25-year legislative veteran from nearby Lexington.

Hobson said there are many others worthy of praise – including the 87 employees of the Cleveland County Health Department.

State Capitol, Oklahoma City – Senate Republicans today challenged Governor Brad Henry to stand with the people of Oklahoma against recent liberal court rulings across the nation.

“We would like to know if he agrees with his fellow Democrat, Senator Bernest Cain, who said anyone who opposes the Massachusetts Supreme Court ruling on gay marriage is a bigot. Or does the governor agree with the vast majority of Oklahomans that marriage is a sacred institution that should be protected?” said Senate Republican Leader James A. Williamson, R-Tulsa.

State Senator J. Berry Harrison, D-Fairfax, presented a proclamation by Governor Brad Henry to Ralston constituent Vonda Goad and many others who suffer from Reflex Sympathetic Dystrophy Syndrome (RSD), which is also known as Complex Regional Pain Syndrome (CRPS).

(OKLAHOMA CITY) The chairman of the Senate Appropriations Committee said Monday that he will make fully funding the state’s scholarship program for deserving students whose parents can’t afford to send them to college among the top priorities when the second session of the 49th Oklahoma Legislature convenes in February.

The Oklahoma State Senate has launched a new Web site designed to increase public access and understanding of the legislative process. The changes include a simplified URL or Web address, more intuitive navigational tools, better graphics and other improvements to help the public follow events in the senate.

(OKLAHOMA CITY) Governor Brad Henry and Legislative leaders announced Thursday details of their plan to ask the Oklahoma Health Care Authority to increase the rates paid to nursing homes, hospitals, doctors and ambulance organizations that provide Medicaid services in Oklahoma.

(OKLAHOMA CITY) Senate President Pro Tempore Cal Hobson has appointed Anna-Mary Suggs, executive director of the Norman Chamber of Commerce, to the Oklahoma Commission for Teacher Preparation.

“Ms. Suggs has always been a strong advocate of education and will be a positive addition to the commission. I am confident she will work hard to ensure that we have competent and qualified teachers in every classroom,” said Hobson, D-Lexington.

State Senator Sam Helton, D-Lawton, and Representative Ray McCarter, D-Marlow, announced the dedication of I-40 to be known also as the "Purple Heart Trail" today. Senator Helton and Representative McCarter, along with Director of the Department of Veterans Affairs Phillip Driskill, officially dedicated the interstate under the provisions of Senate Bill 380, which was signed into law by Governor Brad Henry during the 2003 legislative session.

Oklahoma's right-to-work law could be eliminated by a vote of the people under a Senate joint resolution filed today by Sen. Frank Shurden, D-Henryetta.

SJR 27, which is co-authored by Rep. M.C. Leist, D-Morris, and Rep. Jerry Ellis, D-Valliant, seeks to allow Oklahoma voters an opportunity to repeal the Constitutional right-to-work provision that was approved during the 2001 special election.

Sen. Shurden said that if his right-to-work repealer measure is approved by the legislature, it will appear as a state question on the 2004 general election ballot.