The Oklahoma House has overwhelmingly approved legislation to prohibit texting while driving.

House members voted 96-2 for the bill and sent it on to the state Senate for debate and a vote. A similar bill is already pending on the Senate floor.

The bill by Republican Rep. Terry O'Donnell of Tulsa marks the second consecutive year he has authored legislation to ban texting while driving in the state. Last year, a similar bill died on the House floor.

Facing a budget hole of more than $611 million, state lawmakers said they're looking everywhere for revenue to fill that hole.

On Friday, Governor Fallin's finance secretary, Preston Doerflinger, said he may have found a source of savings: agency travel costs, agencies' memberships to other organizations and agency promotional and events expenses, or what his office calls "swag."

Editor's Note: This is the sixth installment in a series reported jointly by Oklahoma Watch and KGOU Radio.

When offenders leave prison to re-enter society, one of the steepest barriers they face is finding a job.

Then they encounter a second barrier: paying hundreds or thousands of dollars in fees to reinstate a driver’s license so they can look for and keep a job.

Oklahomans who lose a license because of failing to pay a traffic fine or appear in court on the matter may have to pay several hundred dollars to restore the license.

Updated 6:30 a.m.

Most central Oklahoma schools have canceled classes Tuesday due to continuing icy conditions, including Oklahoma City, Norman, Edmond, El Reno and Deer Creek Public Schools.

Several area universities have also delayed their openings.

OU Alert: OU Norman campus opening at 10AM Tuesday, Feb. 24

— OU Sooners (@UofOklahoma) February 23, 2015

A Tulsa-based construction company has been selected to complete the repair and restoration of the interior of the state Capitol.

State officials announced Monday the selection of Manhattan Construction as the contractor on the project. A total of three vendors had submitted proposals.

State Capitol Project Manager Trait Thompson says the interior work should begin next year and will be capped at $91 million.

Renovations to the building's exterior are expected to begin this spring. That contract was awarded to JE Dunn Construction and capped at $25 million.

Former U.S. Sen. Tom Coburn is visiting with Republicans in the Oklahoma Legislature and urging them to join the list of states calling for a convention to amend the U.S. Constitution.

Coburn met separately Monday in Republican caucus meetings in the House and Senate to talk about the idea of a convention of the states to address the growing power of the federal government.

Separate measures in the House and Senate would call for a constitutional convention, which is authorized under Article Five of the U.S. Constitution.

An Oklahoma prosecutor says the Department of Human Services didn't do enough to help an Oklahoma City girl whose grandmother is accused of dressing as a witch to abuse her.

The Oklahoman reports that Oklahoma County District Attorney David Prater says the department should have done more after the girl's mother called the department's hotline in June to say there was a phone video of 49-year-old Geneva Robinson grabbing her daughter.