Legislation to make Oklahoma’s schools and campuses safer is gaining national attention. State Sen. Todd Lamb was a featured speaker at the National Association of School Resource Officers (NASRO) conference this month in Phoenix, Arizona.

District 31 State Senator Don Barrington wants to expand the Back to School Sales Tax Holiday to include basic school supplies. Barrington said all signs point to last weekend’s Sales Tax Holiday being a resounding success.

Barrington successfully enacted the Back to School Sales Tax Holiday law in 2007 after years of failed attempts by other legislators. Under the current law, created by Barrington’s Senate Bill 861, clothing and shoes valued at less than $100 can be purchased free of sales tax during the first weekend in August.

Data from the Oklahoma Tax Commission show that the state’s individual income tax collections grew slightly for Fiscal Year 2008, which concluded on June 30, the co-chairman of the State Senate Finance Committee noted today.

“There were a lot of dire predictions by opponents of tax relief that income tax cuts would drastically shrink income tax revenues. But the facts tell a different story – revenues from individual income taxes continue to grow,” said State Sen. Mike Mazzei, R-Tulsa.

Oklahoma's second "Back-to-School" sales tax holiday will be this weekend, and the law's chief proponent says the holiday will boost the economy and benefit families struggling with high energy prices.

"Last year, the sales tax holiday performed exactly as many of us predicted: it boosted retail sales by a whopping $100 million for the month of August," said Senator Jay Paul Gumm, who fought for years to pass the measure. "The holiday will do the same this year."

With six grandchildren and five great-grandchildren, people might think Ladell Maxwell Brown would be enjoying a leisurely retirement—they’d be wrong. The energetic Ada woman continues to work at the real estate company she founded 40 years ago and has done volunteer work for numerous civic organizations ranging from the Ada Arts and Humanities Council to the Salvation Army.

State Senator Don Barrington, the author of the law that created Oklahoma’s sales tax holiday, is excited about this weekend’s tax-free event after seeing how successful it was in 2007.

“Oklahoma’s sales tax holiday helps families save money on purchases of clothing and shoes, and it provides a boost to Oklahoma’s economy, too,” said Barrington, R-Lawton.

Oklahoma’s sales tax holiday for 2008 runs from 12:01 a.m. this Friday, August 1 through midnight on Sunday, August 3.

Senate President Pro Tempore Mike Morgan and Co-President Pro Tempore Glenn Coffee have been named recipients of the Lifetime Achievement award by the Higher Education Alumni Council of Oklahoma (HEACO). The leaders and other members of the Senate will be formally honored next week during HEACO’s annual meeting. The ceremony will be held at noon on Thursday, July 24, at the Nigh University Center of the University of Central Oklahoma.

Morgan, who is leaving office this year due to term limits, said he was extremely honored by the HEACO award.

Senate Business and Labor Committee co-chairs, Senators Debbe Leftwich and Harry Coates, are furious with the actions taken by the Construction Industries Board (CIB) Thursday during its July meeting and are considering requesting an audit of the agency. The legislators, while pleased to see a permanent administrator hired, were disappointed by the boards decision to retain Jerry Regier as the boards Interim Administrator.

(State Capitol, Oklahoma City) – The leaders of the Oklahoma State Senate announced their approval today of 33 requests for legislative studies.

The study requests were approved by Senate President Pro Tempore Mike Morgan, D-Stillwater, and Co-President Pro Tempore Glenn Coffee, R-Oklahoma City.

The Senate leaders said the studies are assigned to the Senate committee with jurisdiction over the subject matter contained in the request.

Oklahoma Republican House members today rolled out laughable media statements saying the Oklahoma Education Association is trying to force rural school consolidation.