Around the State

Tulsa World, April 9, 2007
"Bill to freeze tuition after student enrolls goes to Senate floor"
A bill making its way through the Legislature would allow college students to lock in tuition rates.
House Bill 2103, by House Speaker Lance Cargill, R-Harrah, and Sen. Mike Johnson, R-Kingfisher, won approval last week in the Senate Appropriations Committee. It now heads to the Senate floor.
The measure allows students enrolling as freshmen to lock in their tuition rates for four years or longer, as their program dictates, Cargill said.
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The Norman Transcript, April 8, 2007
"Lawmakers want to add wind power as energy source to Oklahoma"
Oklahoma has long been known for its abundant reserves of oil and gas, but Norman-area lawmakers want to add wind power to the list of leading energy sources.
Already, 420 towering wind turbines in western Oklahoma provide about 3 percent of the state's electricity, according to the Oklahoma Wind Power Initiative, a joint project of the University of Oklahoma and Oklahoma State University.
Wind power advocates believe the potential contribution is much greater, particularly if the Legislature approves a proposed tax credit that would subsidize more than a third of the cost of purchasing and installing a small wind turbine generating system.
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Oklahoma House of Representatives, April 5, 2007
"House Speaker Cargill schedules family-friendly Saturday floor session for April 21"
A special Saturday floor session designed to make the Oklahoma House of Representatives more accessible to the state’s working families has been slated for April 21.
"Too often, Oklahoma's citizens don't have a chance to see the work of lawmakers at the Capitol," said Cargill (R-Harrah). "Those with regular jobs have a difficult time accessing the Capitol during the work week. So we want to give citizens a special opportunity to watch the House in session outside of our regularly scheduled meeting times.
"We’ll hold this unique session on the day before the anniversary of the Oklahoma land run of 1889, and what better way to celebrate that historic time in our state’s history than to make the people’s house open to them in a more convenient way."
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Oklahoma House of Representatives, April 5, 2007
"House rulings published for first time in state history"
For nearly 100 years, the rulings that governed legislative activity on the floor of the Oklahoma House of Representatives were based on nothing more than the memories of the chamber’s oldest members.
That’s no longer the case thanks to new reforms instituted by the Republican majority.
As part of the Republican commitment to open government, the Oklahoma House of Representatives has begun recording all parliamentary rulings issued on the House floor and has just published its first biannual collection of those precedents.
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Tulsa World, April 4, 2007
"House backs limits on abortion"
A bill that would limit abortions by cutting off public funding was approved by the House on Tuesday, despite opposition from the state's two leading medical associations.
Lawmakers received letters voicing opposition from the 5,000-strong Okla homa State Medical Association and the Oklahoma Osteopathic Association, which has about 1,400 members.
The House approved Senate Bill 714 by a 73-22 vote. The measure now returns to the Senate for another vote. It is likely that this is the only anti-abortion measure that has a chance of passing this session. Earlier the House passed two abortion-related bills, but they are not expected to get a hearing in the Senate.
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