Senate Democratic Leader John Sparks released the following statement on the grand jury report and performance audit of the Oklahoma State Department of Health:

Sen. A.J. Griffin and Rep. Harold Wright applauded the signing of SB 1516, a continuation of the Lay Caregivers Act, which was passed in 2014. The Lay Caregivers Act allows hospital patients to designate a lay caregiver upon formal admission to a hospital facility and requires hospitals to notify the designated caregiver of the patients discharge to the patients residence or another licensed facility. The law also requires hospitals to consult with designated caregivers regarding the aftercare needs of hospital patients.

In response to multiple media inquiries regarding Senate Bill 1203 and the story in yesterdays Sunday Oklahoman, Senator Anthony Sykes, R-Moore, issued the following statement today:

Senate Democratic Leader John Sparks released the following statement on behalf of the Senate Democratic Caucus:

“After a decade of failed tax cuts and revenue failures, this session the legislature finally started to change course. For the first time in recent memory the legislature acted on new revenue and the enacted budget does not include cuts to state agencies. While this is an improvement, we should not be celebrating simply because we are beginning to repair the damage.

More Oklahoma Lottery improvements became law this year, including a bill projected to increase education funding by up to $6.5 million a year by allowing lottery tickets to be bought with debit cards.

Senate Bill 1303, by Senate Assistant Majority Floor Leader Eddie Fields and Rep. Chad Caldwell, modernizes lottery player convenience by allowing debit card purchases of lottery tickets at lottery retailers. The bill was signed by Gov. Mary Fallin on Wednesday.