Senate Democratic Leader Sean Burrage issued the following comments in response to Gov. Mary Fallin’s announcement that Insure Oklahoma would receive a one year extension from the federal government.

“We are pleased and relieved to see that tens of thousands of hard-working Oklahomans won’t be forced to lose their health insurance at the end of this year.

Senate President Pro Tempore Brian Bingman issued the following statement Thursday in response to the National Council on Compensation Insurance (NCCI) filing an overall workers compensation premium level decrease for the state, as a result of the Legislature’s approval of comprehensive workers’ compensation reforms this year.

Senator Tom Ivester, D-Sayre, issued the following comments at the close of the second day of the legislature’s special session to readdress tort reform:

Senate President Pro Tem Brian Bingman announced Tuesday the hiring of Jennifer Monies as his new press secretary and senior advisor.

Monies is the Senior Vice President of Communications & Marketing for the State Chamber of Oklahoma. She replaces Nathan Atkins, who stepped down from the Pro Tem’s staff this summer to attend law school.

On Thursday, US District Judge Vicki Miles-LaGrange issued a permanent injunction against the State Election Board from certifying the results of State Question 755. State Question 755 was approved by 70% of Oklahoma voters in the November 2010 elections and would have banned the use of Sharia law and International law in Oklahoma courts.

“Ironically, this ruling comes as Major Nidal Hasan is trying to use Sharia Law as his defense at his trial for the mass murders and attempted murders of United States service members and citizens,” said State Senator Anthony Sykes (R-Moore).

Recently, Sen. Mike Mazzei (R-Tulsa), Chairman of the Senate Finance Committee and author of State Question 766, wrote a letter to all Oklahoma state Senators discussing the impact of the property tax exemption created by State Question 766 on our counties, schools and Career Tech system.

Today, Sen. Roger Ballenger issued the following comments in response to the “good news” Sen. Mazzei shared in that letter about the impact of the elimination of intangible property taxes by State Question 766 on Oklahoma schools:

Senate Democratic Leader Sean Burrage issued the following comments in response to Governor Mary Fallin’s call for a special legislative session to revisit tort reform in Oklahoma.

“The Democrats in the State Senate believe that a special session to revisit this issue is a waste of both time and taxpayer dollars,” said Burrage, D-Claremore. “At a cost of $30,000 per day, we are looking at spending close to $250,000 to fix a problem created by the Republican majority. It is clearly an issue that can wait and be addressed in the next legislative session.”

Thousands of Oklahomans who have access to health care through Insure Oklahoma will lose that coverage at the end of 2013. Two state lawmakers say that deadline means the Legislature can’t wait until the 2014 session to address the issue. The state was notified in May that federal funding for Insure Oklahoma would end as of December 31, 2013, unless changes were made to the program as mandated by the Affordable Care Act. Sen. Brian Crain, R-Tulsa, and Rep. Doug Cox, M.D., R-Grove, said the pending loss of insurance coverage for 30,000 Oklahomans should be addressed in a special session.

Sen. Patrick Anderson, Chair of the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Select Agencies, today announced the release of a report on the committee’s activities in the 2013 legislative session. Senate leadership this year reinstituted the committee, which had been dormant for many sessions.

“Our committee spent three months meeting with the 42 non-appropriated state agencies that Senate leadership asked us to review. I appreciate the time the agency employees, committee members and committee staff put into this project. It was certainly worth the time spent.

After seeing recent media coverage of the discovery of long-lost light fixtures from the Senate chamber, a Norman man finally understood the significance of the large floor lamp he had been storing in his barn.

Coy Green said he purchased the lamp at an Oklahoma City swap meet approximately 40 years ago for about $25. When Green saw a picture of the Senate chamber in 1918, along with a story about the discovery, he knew he had something special. On Tuesday, Green delivered the lamp to the state Senate.