Members of the Oklahoma State Senate’s Republican Rural Caucus released today their policy agenda for the 2009 legislative session, entitled their “Vision for Improving the Quality of Life in Rural Oklahoma.”

The Senate Republican Rural Caucus’ agenda calls for protecting agricultural tax exemptions, improving access to healthcare professionals and facilities in rural Oklahoma, opposing forced school consolidation, and providing more funding for county roads and bridges.

Senator John Ford, R-Bartlesville, has introduced legislation that will help protect the integrity of the election system in Oklahoma.

State Sen. Dan Newberry has filed legislation to strengthen the state’s laws on business data protection. SB 1013 adds copying customer lists and business records without authorization to the state’s criminal statutes concerning larceny of trade secrets.

Senate President Pro Tempore Glenn Coffee introduced his Uniform Anatomical Gift Act that will aid in making the process of organ donation more efficient and more accessible.

The Uniform Anatomical Gift Act, Senate Bill 622, mirrors similar laws in various states that help families throughout the nation receive vital organs for their loved ones.

Senator Jim Reynolds (R-OKC), will sponsor legislation offering property tax relief to Oklahoma homeowners in the 2009 legislative session. Reynolds’ bill will cap the annual increase in property taxes at 2.5% or the rate of inflation, whichever is less, effective January, 2010.

Sen. Randy Brogdon and Rep. Eric Proctor have filed legislation to end Oklahoma’s state sales tax on groceries by July 1, 2009. Brogdon, R-Owasso, is the principal author of Senate Bill 600, which would end the 4.5 percent state sales tax on groceries. The tax exemption would not apply to alcohol or tobacco products since they are taxed at the wholesale level.

As Chairman of the Senate Education Committee, State Senator John Ford said Tuesday that education reforms are needed to move Oklahoma’s education system forward.

Bill filing has ended for the 2009 legislative session. Thursday, January 15 was the deadline for members of the Oklahoma State Senate to file legislation for the first session of the 52nd Legislature. Senators filed 1,240 bills and 42 joint resolutions for the upcoming session. In 2008, the Senate considered 1,069 new bills as well as 31 new joint resolutions. In 2007, a total of 1,130 bills and 32 joint resolutions were filed by members of the Senate.

State Senator Andrew Rice (D-OKC) announced today that he and other members of the Senate Democratic caucus, in their continued effort to hold insurance companies accountable, will re-introduce "Steffanie's Law," in hopes the Republican controlled Legislature will give the idea a second look in a non-election year.

Each year, more than 17,000 Americans are killed by drunk drivers including approximately 275 Oklahomans and around 1.5 million drunk drivers are arrested according the Oklahoma Highway Safety Office. Having lost a loved-one in 2008 at the hands of a drunk driver, Sen. Harry Coates has filed legislation to strengthen the penalties against these individuals in hopes that other families won’t have to suffer like his and so many other families have.