Senate Democratic Caucus Chairman Tom Ivester says his fellow caucus members stand with Gov. Mary Fallin in her efforts to hold state budget cuts between three and five percent. While Republican leaders have said agencies will likely have to face cuts of 7 to 10 percent when the 2012 fiscal year begins in July, Ivester said cuts of that size would be devastating to state services.

The State House approved two lawsuit reform bills today authored by Senator Anthony Sykes, R-Moore. By votes of 64 to 32 and 65 to 30, SB 862 and SB 865 received broad support from the full House. The bills will now proceed to the Governor’s desk.

Senate Bill 862 will eliminate joint and several liability, while Senate Bill 865 will require that a jury be given information regarding the tax impact of awards.

Calling it “horrific and tasteless,” State Sen. David Holt said the AFL-CIO and IAFF labor unions should stop airing a television commercial that uses images of the Oklahoma City Bombing to encourage opposition to legislation reforming how cities negotiate with employees.

Today the Senate Rules Committee passed a lawsuit reform measure critical to the Senate Republican Jobs agenda. The Rules Committee approved HB 2128 by a vote of 11 to 5.

“I am pleased by the efforts of my colleagues who chose to make this critical issue a priority,” said Sen. Anthony Sykes, R-Moore, who is the Senate author of the bill. “This is a vital piece of our economic development and jobs agenda, and I appreciate the compromise that we were able to garner on the issue between the Senate and the House.”

“The approval of this legislation sends a clear message to the people of our state: Oklahoma Republicans do not trust you to be fair and make good decisions in the jury box.

Sen. Ralph Shortey has won full Senate approval for Senate Bill 908, which would establish criminal forfeiture provisions for crimes related to illegal immigration.

The full Senate has taken a major step toward addressing Oklahoma’s $16 billion unfunded pension liability with unanimous approval Wednesday of a major reform measure.

State Sen. Mike Mazzei is the author of Senate Bill 891 and chairman of the Senate Select Committee on Pensions. He said the biggest part of that $16 billion in unfunded liability is in the Oklahoma Teachers Retirement System (OTRS), with $10 billion in unfunded liability.

Today the Oklahoma Senate approved a bill that will give businesses and individuals the opportunity to play a role in providing quality education for Oklahoma children. Known as the “Oklahoma Equal Opportunity Education Scholarship Act,” Senate Bill 969 by Senator Dan Newberry, R-Sand Springs, passed with bi-partisan support by a vote of 30 to 14.

The Oklahoma State Senate concluded official business Wednesday, one day before the required deadline to hear all Senate bills that had passed committee. Constitutionally, the Senate or House must receive approval from the opposite chamber in order to adjourn from legislative business early.

The full Senate has given approval to a measure letting voters decide whether to cut the growth of annual property tax valuations. Senate Joint Resolution 5, by Sen. Jim Reynolds, R-Oklahoma City, would give voters the option of lowering the current property valuation cap from a maximum of five percent to three percent, or the rate of inflation, whichever is lower.