Kurt Gwartney

The House Judiciary Committee this week approved workers' compensation legislation by Senate President Pro Tem Brian Bingman (R-Sapulpa), but didn’t get in any hurry about it.

The novel-length bill that would move the decision on how to compensate injured workers from a court-based system to an administrative one is another step closer to being law. The hearing on the bill was delayed by two weeks while the House made changes to fix some problems in the plan.

UPDATE: Oklahoma's two U.S. Senators split over Thursday's vote to begin debate on a bipartisan gun control bill. Sen. Tom Coburn was one of 16 Republicans voting to debate the legislation. Sen. Jim Inhofe voted with other GOP members to block debate.

Coburn told a town hall recently in Oklahoma City he was interested in finding a way to keep guns out of the hands of criminals and the mentally ill, but was concerned about keeping any data from turning into a firearm registry.

UPDATE: A winter weather advisory is in effect until 1 p.m. Wednesday for northern, southwest and central Oklahoma.

Forecasters say freezing rain and sleet are likely to accumulate on power lines and tree limbs. Strong northwest winds will also make it more likely for lines and limbs to fall.

Power outages are most likely, according to the forecast, in central and north-central Oklahoma.

The risk for severe storms and tornadoes is less than earlier forecast, but dangerous thunderstorms are still possible.

U.S. Sen. Tom Coburn (R-Okla.) told a crowd at an Oklahoma City town hall that a .45-caliber handgun with 10 rounds in it is no different than an AR-15.

“There isn’t a gun that’s made that isn’t an assault weapon,” he said after one man recommended a ban on military-style assault guns.

After answering several questions last week related to controlling firearms, Coburn told the nearly 150 people in the room that he wouldn’t answer any more questions about guns.

“What I’m trying to do right now is both protect the Second Amendment and the 10th Amendment for Oklahoma if we want to do something different,” Coburn said.