The Oklahoma State Legislature began the new session Monday with the governor's State of the State address and a focus on the proposed higher education bond issue.

In his annual address, Gov. Brad Henry told legislators he will push for speedy passage of the $500 million bill for capital improvements at state college and university campuses.

"No longer can we abide overcrowded facilities, crumbling classrooms, obsolete equipment or deteriorating research labs," Henry said in the speech.

OU President David L. Boren and other state college and university leaders have expressed support for the issue.

The bill is expected to reach a vote in the Senate within the first three weeks of the session.

"That will begin to take shape in this first round of committee meetings," said Robin Maxey, spokesman for Senate President Pro Tempore Cal Hobson.

He said the bill, which Hobson authored, is expected to pass in the Senate despite some worries about the plan to fund it through the new state lottery.

If the bill passes the Senate vote, it will go to the House of Representatives for more study and another vote. Ray Carter, director of the House media division, said the bond issue may face similar funding questions in the House.

"There's support for it in the House, but there's some concern about funding it," Carter said.

The bill's processing in the House may be complicated by a new set of rules, Carter said. The chamber approved rules Monday that will, among other changes, ensure that the first five weeks of the session are spent in committees instead of the first three weeks.

Even without the new rules, Carter said it would be hard to predict how quickly the bond issue could come to a vote in the House.

"There's really no guarantee on any type of a timeline," he said.

Other issues that could affect OU will come up later in the session, said Danny Hilliard, OU's director of government relations.

Hilliard said Oklahoma lawmakers will consider dedicating a funding source for the Oklahoma Higher Learning Access Program. The program provides financial aid for college to lower- and middle-income high school students who qualify by taking certain classes, making good grades and staying out of trouble with the law.

Hilliard said the program has not been able to accept all students who meet the program's standards in recent years.

"There are students who qualify for this program, and the problem is it's not always been fully funded," he said.

Carter said the bills related to the program may not come up until the legislature begins budget appropriations later in the session.

Maxey said that when the legislature begins discussing the program, he expects Senate leaders to advocate it.

"It is the commitment of Senate leadership to fully fund OHLAP," he said.

Hilliard said he also hopes to see more money appropriated for higher education budgets by the end of the session.

He said the legislature has more revenue this year than in the past few years and that he's optimistic some of the new money will go to colleges and universities. However, he said he knows many groups will be vying for a piece of that revenue.

"There's always so many needs, so many new programs and so many new ideas," Hilliard said. "There will be stiff competition for those dollars."
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