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Education help for military families

Tulsa Beacon

The Senate Education Committee unanimously approved two bills to help the children of military families easily transition into the Oklahoma education system when their parents are transferred to the state.   Sen. Frank Simpson, R-Springer, said the bills were necessary to help lessen the stress of military families regarding their children’s education when they’re preparing to…

Heartbeat bill passed by committee

Tulsa Beacon

In an effort to slow down abortion, Sen. Paul Scott authored Senate Bill 1859, which passed out of the Senate Health and Human Services Committee.  The bill would require doctors to recognize life just as they do death through heartbeats and brainwaves or the lack of such activity.  Beginning at six weeks, SB 1859 would…

Improving financial accountability

Tulsa Beacon

The Oklahoma Senate approved legislation to improve fiscal transparency and accountability of Oklahoma’s state agencies. Senate Bill 177, by Sen. Ron Sharp, was one of the seven recommendations made by the multi-grand jury in May 2018 following the discovery of financial issues at the State Department of Health. SB 177 requires state agencies to provide…

Cutting rules for small businesses

Tulsa Beacon

Social media has allowed at-home food business owners to reach larger numbers of potential customers, but Oklahoma’s strict regulations have kept many from growing and succeeding.  Sen. Adam Pugh, R-Edmond, wants to remove unnecessary regulations for these small business owners with his Senate Bill 1714, the Homemade Food Freedom Act, which passed unanimously out of…

Free state park access to veterans

Tulsa Beacon

Under current state law, honorably discharged veterans get free entry to all state parks and museums.  However, the law is written assuming state parks charge per person rather than per vehicle, which parks are starting to do.  To ensure these veterans continue getting free entry, Sen. Frank Simpson, R-Springer, authored Senate Bill 1185 at the…

Reform bill for nurse anesthetists

Tulsa Beacon

After years of stalled attempts to modernize Oklahoma statutes dealing with Certified Registered Nurse Anesthetists (CRNAs), compromise legislation has cleared the full Senate.  Senate Bill 801 would bring Oklahoma in line with much of the country in how CRNAs are regulated.  The bill, authored by Sen. Paul Rosino, was approved unanimously. “The crux of the…

Tulsa Public Schools OKs layoffs due to budget shortfall

Tulsa Beacon

Tulsa Public Schools will eliminate 90 jobs as part of a plan to make up for a looming $20 million budget shortfall. The Tulsa School Board followed the recommendation of Superintendent Deborah Gist’s reorganization plan by a 5-1 vote. Board member Jennettie Marshall voted no. The district will eliminate 232 jobs in the district office…

HUD to give $5.5 million to Tulsa

Tulsa Beacon

The Housing Authority of the City of Tulsa is getting $5,585,832 from The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) to make capital improvements to their properties.  (HUD) awarded more than $2.7 billion to public housing authorities (PHA) in all 50 states, as well as the District of Columbia, Guam, Puerto Rico and the…

Amnesty for moving violation tickets

Tulsa Beacon

Tulsa Municipal Court is offering an amnesty session for citizens who have outstanding moving violation citations. Moving violation amnesty begins Feb. 24, 2020, and ends March 6. The amnesty session falls in line with the Resilient Tulsa Strategy, which helps equip all Tulsans with resources to overcome barriers to thrive. Amnesty is limited to moving…

Assistance for wounded police officers

Tulsa Beacon

Legislation to protect the pension benefits of police officers injured while serving their community passed the House Banking Financial Services and Pensions Committee with a unanimous vote of 11-0 last week. House Bill 3330, authored by Rep. David Perryman, D-Chickasha, would change the disability percentage for officers disabled as a result of a violent act…