The Oklahoma State Senate approved SB 1910 Thursday, by State Senator Constance N. Johnson, D-Oklahoma County, creating a special license plate for Oklahomans wishing to demonstrate support for the Campaign for a United States Department of Peace.

Sen. Johnson said there is a national grassroots effort being led by the Peace Alliance, a nonpartisan citizen action group, which wants Congress to create a federal Department of Peace.

The Oklahoma Senate voted Thursday to send a proposal for term limits for statewide officials to a vote of the people.

Sen. Randy Brogdon, R-Owasso, successfully attached an amendment to SB 1987 for a legislative referendum that would place a 12 year limit on the terms of Oklahoma’s statewide elected officials.

Brogdon’s proposal was adopted on a bipartisan 26 to 22 vote, with 2 Democrats joining all 24 Republican senators in support of the amendment. After adoption of the amendment, the Senate voted 31 to 17 for SB 1987.

Major components of the Senate Republicans’ education reform agenda received bipartisan support in the Oklahoma Senate on Thursday.

The Senate voted in favor of a tax credit for private school scholarship programs, an expansion of charter school sponsors to include federally-recognized Native American tribes, and a pilot program that would deregulate 10 public school districts.

Legislation to prevent election fraud has won the support of the full Senate. The measure, Senate Bill 1150, was approved Thursday. Sen. John Ford, principal author of the bill, said it would simply require voters to show some form of identification at the polls.

Two bills authored by State Senator John Sparks (D-Norman), which would protect land owners from damages by trespassers overwhelmingly passed the Oklahoma Senate today.

Senate Bill 1735 and Senate Bill 2111 would allow property owners to protect their land from activities that destroy property, including damage from recreational use by all-terrain vehicles and hunting and fishing activities.

“This bill makes trespass violators accountable for the damages they cause to personal property. Responsible government means protecting property owners,” Sparks said.

State Sen. Kenneth Corn is blasting an amendment that was narrowly approved by the full Senate on Thursday as devastating to public education, particularly in the state’s largest cities. The amendment would give tax credits for those donating money for scholarships to be used by families who want to remove their children from public school and enroll them in private institutions.

The Oklahoma State Senate unanimously approved a bill that requires state agencies and public school districts to purchase and display American and Oklahoma flags that were manufactured solely in the United States.

State Senator John Sparks, author of Senate Bill 2070, said the plan is Patriotic and is the right thing to do as a sign of support for Americans who have served and are currently serving in the armed forces.

The full Senate has given its approval to a bill that could privatize the state’s education lottery. Sen. John Ford said the lottery has not made as much money for education as supporters had claimed. He said privatization might create a more efficient operation.

A bill to reduce the amount of mercury allowed in childhood vaccinations was approved by the Oklahoma Senate today on a bipartisan 27-17 vote.

Senator Jay Paul Gumm, author of Senate Bill 1407, said the purpose of the bill was to remove a substance that causes some parents to have concern about childhood vaccinations.

Steffanie’s Law Protects Seriously Ill Patients

The Oklahoma State Senate today approved legislation in a bipartisan vote making Oklahoma the 24th state to require health insurance plans to pay the cost of routine medical care for participants in a clinical trial.

The bill’s principal author, State Sen. Andrew Rice (D-OKC), called the vote a “significant victory for patients who assume that playing by the rules and paying their premiums on time means that their insurance company can’t walk away from them”.