OKLAHOMA CITY— The National Institutes of Health has awarded the Oklahoma Medical Research Foundation a five-year, $3.1 million grant for research aimed at reducing the main cause of death from infection. OMRF scientist Florea Lupu, Ph.D., hopes his research leads to a new therapeutic treatment for sepsis, which kills about 270,000 people per year in…
Tulsa Beacon staff photo by Charles Biggs. The Oklahoma Legislature is debating numerous bills at the Capitol in Oklahoma City.
Rep. Todd Russ, R-Cordell, filed legislation to protect children from inappropriate material in school and public libraries. House Bill 3702 would require any Oklahoma school district, charter or virtual charter school, state agency, public library, or university that offers digital or online library database resources to students in kindergarten through twelfth grade to do so…
The Senate Rules Committee unanimously approved President Pro Tempore Greg Treat’s bill to add voter identification requirements to the state Constitution. Treat’s Senate Joint Resolution 48 would send to a vote of the people a legislative referendum that would add the voter identification requirement currently in state statute to the Oklahoma Constitution. The measure maintains…
The Senate Finance Committee on approved legislation from President Pro Tempore Greg Treat that would eliminate the state grocery sales tax. Senate Bill 1495 effectively eliminates the state grocery tax by lowering the rate from 4.5 percent to zero percent. The bill does not prohibit cities or counties from levying their own grocery tax. Just…
The Senate Education Committee approved President Pro Tempore Greg Treat’s school choice bill that empowers parents with more control over their child’s education. The committee approved the Oklahoma Empowerment Act, which would allow parents to use their child’s state education dollars to pursue a variety of schooling options to secure the best education possible for…
Sen. Shane Jett is taking aim at national organizations seeking to implement social-emotional learning (SEL) programs in the state’s public school system by filing Senate Bill 1442, which would prohibit public school districts or charter schools from using federal, state or private funds to promote, purchase or utilize the concepts of SEL. Jett said organizations…
A House subcommittee has given the first approval to a bill to increase appropriations the County Improvements for Roads and Bridges Fund may receive by $30 million. House Bill 3318 raises the maximum amount that can be apportioned to the County Improvements for Roads and Bridges Fund from motor vehicle revenue from $120 million to…
Rep. Cynthia Roe, R-Lindsay, shared information regarding worries from constituents over misinformation that Congress is looking to cap nurses’ salaries. Roe, who chairs the House Public Health Committee, said she is one of many legislators whose constituents have asked if there is an effort to place a Congressional cap on salaries for nurses. “Nobody is…
The full Senate has given unanimous approval to a bill to better protect victims of human trafficking and child abduction. Senate Bill 1569, by Sen. Darrell Weaver, creates the “Address Confidentiality for Child Survivors and Their Families Act.” Oklahoma’s Address Confidentiality Program (ACP), administered by the state attorney general’s office, provides victims of domestic violence,…