Healthcare, Insurance Reform, Education and Public Safety Legislation that has Stalled in Both Chambers Will be Discussed Including the Patient's Bill of Rights, Nick's Law, Steffanie's Law, and the OHLAP Enhancement Act

Democratic Legislators from across Oklahoma will be joined at a State Capitol Press Conference by advocates for health care and insurance reform on Monday, April 14th at 11 A.M. in Room 432-B to discuss the fate of several responsible measures that have been killed by Republican legislators paralyzed by the powerful insurance lobby.

Gumm Says Proposal Means Higher Taxes for Current Oklahomans

A rural leader with a successful background in economic development says a tax break for newcomers is a “backwards way” to grow rural Oklahoma.

Senator Jay Paul Gumm, D-Durant, said proposed amendments to the bill intended to help bring the Seattle SuperSonics to Oklahoma City would create a “grossly unfair” tax scheme in which current residents of the state pay more income tax than newcomers.

State Sen. Harry Coates said he was outraged that his private correspondences had been taken and used online without permission. Coates, R-Seminole, said he has also been the target of blogs posted fraudulently using his name, as well as numerous phone calls to his office, home and to other relatives, of an abusive and sometimes obscene nature.

Another historic painting will soon grace the walls of the State Capitol following a dedication in the Senate Chamber Wednesday. The piece of art, by Timothy Tyler, depicts American Rough Rider and Territorial Governor Frank Frantz fighting in the bloodiest and most famous battle of the Spanish-American War, the Battle of San Juan Hill.

An omnibus pro-life bill passed the Oklahoma State Senate Wednesday with a bipartisan vote.

Senate Bill 1878 by Senator Todd Lamb, R-Edmond, and Representative Pam Peterson, R-Tulsa, contains several pro-life initiatives, passing the Senate with a vote of 38-10.

The Oklahoma State Senate today unanimously approved a proposal by Senator Susan Paddack, a Democrat from Ada, urging federal funding or private donations for automated external defibrillators (AED) devices that could save a student’s life in a medical emergency.

Paddack said Senate Bill 923, which is also know as the Zachary Eckles and Luke Davis Automated External Defibrillators in Schools Act, encourages school districts to make automated external defibrillators available at each school.

In spite of overwhelming, bipartisan support in the State Senate, a plan to create a state Veterans Health Insurance Program appears dead in the Oklahoma House, its Senate author, State Sen. Andrew Rice, D-OKC, said today.

Rice said that Rep. Ron Peterson, R-Broken Arrow, Chairman of the House Economic Development and Financial Services Committee, has informed veterans groups that he will not allow the bill to be heard.

With a unanimous vote, the Oklahoma Senate gave its final approval Tuesday to a bill that would establish a public umbilical cord blood bank in Oklahoma.

House Bill 3060 – written by Senator Jay Paul Gumm, D-Durant, and Rep. Rebecca Hamilton, D-Oklahoma City – would give Oklahoma families a way to donate umbilical cord blood. The blood is often discarded as medical waste following the birth of a healthy baby, but is rich in adult stem cells that can be used to treat a variety of ailments.

“The Oklahomans who demonstrated at the Capitol today are asking for fairness from insurance companies. They are demanding the right to act on the best advice of their physician when considering clinical trials as a way to improve their chance to live. I hope the Republican leadership in the State House of Representatives will hear their pleas and will at least allow a vote on Steffanie’s Law.

Senator Brian Bingman’s mining bill received the Governor’s approval on Friday signing it into law.

Senate Bill 706 prevents the needless waste of municipalities’ time and resources and relieves the burden put on their governments in the reconsideration of mining permits. Bingman applauded the effort to make for a more efficient government.