The Senate Appropriations Committee today approved a proposal to complete the American Indian Cultural Center and Museum with one-time monies from the state’s Unclaimed Property Fund.

The fund, which is comprised of lost and unclaimed monies and no tax or fee revenue, will allow the project to be completed without further obligating the taxpayers and without taking any federal funds. Senate Bill 1651 will take $40 million out of the fund, which will be matched by $40 million in private donations, to help pay for completion of the project.

President Pro Tempore Brian Bingman issued the following statement after Tuesday’s Board of Equalization meeting, which increased its estimated shortfall for fiscal year 2015 from $171 million to $188 million.

“We already knew from the December certification that our budget would be down next year. We are obviously disappointed to see it move further in the wrong direction, but agencies have known about the downturn for several months now and have been planning accordingly.

The Senate Finance Committee has passed legislation that will help match Oklahomans with jobs identified by the state Department of Commerce as critical occupations.

Senate Bill 1639 would create the Quality Workforce Act, which would incentivize Oklahoma companies to pay for employees to gain a degree or industry certificate in high-need job areas.

A bill to lower the state’s top income tax rate by .25 percent beginning in 2015 has cleared its first hurdle in the Senate. Sen. Kyle Loveless, R-Oklahoma City, is the principal author of Senate Bill 1246. The measure was approved on a bipartisan vote by the Senate Finance Committee on Tuesday.

The Oklahoma State Senate dedicated artwork Tuesday depicting two of Oklahoma’s most beautiful landscapes, the Wichita Mountains and the Arkansas River
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On Tuesday, the Senate Health and Human Services committee defeated by a vote of 3-5 a proposal by Sen. Connie Johnson that would have allowed restaurants and other authorized entities to stock epinephrine auto-injectors (Epi-Pens) for use in emergency situations. Senate Bill 1537 would have also allowed authorized, trained and designated personnel to administer epinephrine auto-injectors, and would have provided Good Samaritan protection for those personnel when acting to administer epinephrine in emergency situations.

Senator Connie Johnson and former State Rep. Porter Davis announced a new alliance Wednesday to reform marijuana policy in Oklahoma. Johnson, a Democrat, and Davis, a Republican, share a common interest in ending marijuana prohibition in the state for medicinal, decriminalization and industrial purposes.

The Senate Appropriations Committee approved legislation today that would allow for the much-needed renovation of the nearly century-old state Capitol building.

The Senate Judiciary Committee has given unanimous support to legislation barring registered sex offenders from changing their name. Sen. Kyle Loveless, R-Oklahoma City, is the principal author of Senate Bill 1421, which was approved with a bipartisan vote of 8-0 by the Judiciary Committee on Tuesday.

Loveless explained to committee members that when he was researching another bill last year, he ran across an alarming situation.

The Senate Pensions Committee today approved legislation that will move state employees hired after Nov. 1, 2015 away from the traditional defined benefit to a defined contribution plan.

This change is only for new state employees, but will keep the promises made to current workers. The defined contribution plan will make Oklahoma better able to attract the next generation of state employees who value portability when it comes to their retirement plans, while helping lower Oklahoma’s unfunded pension liability over time.