Oklahoma lawmakers will have several prominent issues waiting for them when they convene today at noon to kick off the spring sessions of the state House of Representatives and state Senate.

These include dealing with an unbalanced state budget during a national recession, pressure from higher education officials for more funding and the need for cooperation between a newly Republican controlled legislature and a Democratic governor.

Gov. Brad Henry will deliver his annual State of the State address today when the legislature convenes. He is expected to talk about his plans for 2009 and present his budget for the state.

Senate Republicans, who are in the majority for the first time in the history of the Oklahoma State Senate, have announced their plans for the spring session. The session will last until May 29.

They called “for a fairer and more business friendly tax policy, reform of the archaic and business-unfriendly legal system in Oklahoma, and to continue to improve our state’s infrastructure” in a press release.

The Senate Democrats also released their agenda for the session, stating in a press release they want to build on “Oklahoma’s strength in the energy sector to grow the economy and protect the environment.” They also said they want to make college more affordable.

Oklahoma higher education officials said in November they would freeze tuition if lawmakers granted them more than $80 million in new state funding. Legislators, however, have so far balked at this proposal.

In a e-mail letter sent to all OU students, faculty and staff members, OU President David Boren acknowledged the state will not be able to provide the new funding higher education officials desire.

“Because of this shortfall, it is very unlikely that the state will be able to provide sufficient funding increases for the university,” Boren said in the e-mail.

He said he remains optimistic that tuition will remain at its current level and no faculty layoffs will have to occur.