OK Senate Sending Big-Ticket Bills To House

The Oklahoma Senate has wasted no time in passing big-ticket items that include a $160 million bond proposal to improve the Capitol and a bill to overhaul the retirement system for new state workers.

Plans to cut the income tax and to provide $40 million for an American Indian Cultural Center and Museum are also moving quickly.

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But whether any of the bills reach the governor's desk hinges primarily on how they're received in the House, led by newly elected Republican Speaker Jeff Hickman.

Hickman must find consensus from a diverse, 72-member GOP caucus when he had no idea earlier he would be in charge.

Hickman was elected speaker a week after the session began when Republican Rep. T.W. Shannon stepped down to focus on his U.S. Senate race.