Sen. Ron Sharp filed legislation Friday to expand the Trooper Nicholas Dees and Trooper Keith Burch Act of 2015. Senate Bill 44 strengthens the law to prohibit not just texting while driving but using any kind of hand held device while behind the wheel unless it is with a hands free accessory.
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On Tuesday, Sen. Ron Sharp filed legislation to increase accountability and transparency of taxpayer dollars through strengthening Oklahoma’s Performance Informed Budgeting (P.I.B.) system. Senate Bill 189 would remove Zero-Based Budgeting from Oklahoma statutes as the state no longer uses the system and would refocus legislators’ attention to the importance of the state’s Performance Informed Budgeting System.
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Sen. Ron Sharp filed legislation Thursday to strengthen Oklahoma’s Reading Sufficiency Act to ensure more Oklahoma students have the reading skills necessary to be promoted to the fourth grade. Senate Bill 221 will make Student Reading Proficiency Teams a permanent component in third grade retention and promotion decisions as well as provide more guidance for public schools about summer reading academies.
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Sen. Ron Sharp has filed legislation to address Oklahoma’s high number of uninsured motorists especially those with DUI convictions. Senate Bill 260 would require an individual convicted of Driving Under the Influence (DUI) to have valid auto insurance on file with the Department of Public Safety for at least one year after their conviction.
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Under Oklahoma law, sheriffs and other law enforcement officers are responsible for transporting individuals who require mental health services under Emergency Orders of Detention (EOD). This is an expensive and time consuming process for the agencies but Sen. Ron Sharp has filed Senate Bill 252 to help by allowing them to contract with third parties to provide such services.
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The Senate Appropriations Committee gave unanimous approval to the Performance Informed Budget and Transparency Act of 2015 Wednesday. Senate Bill 189, by Sen. Ron Sharp and Rep. Dennis Casey, is a new budgeting process that will allow for budget dollars to be aligned to state priorities and measurable outcomes.
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The full Senate has given its approval to a bill that will reform the budgeting process to align resources with state priorities and measurable outcomes. Sen. Ron Sharp, R-Shawnee, and Rep. Dennis Casey, R-Morrison, are the principal Senate and House authors of Senate Bill 189, the Performance Informed Budget and Transparency Act of 2015, which was approved on Wednesday.

On Monday, the Senate approved Senate Bill 261 to allow courts to terminate the parental rights of anyone who, after being properly notified of their court date and without good cause, does not show up for their jury trial. The measure, by Sen. Ron Sharp, is an effort to hold individuals in parental rights’ cases more accountable and help save time for backlogged courts.
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A measure making it illegal to text and drive is now one step closer to becoming law. Senate Bill 821, authored by the Senate Public Safety Committee, would make it illegal to operate a motor vehicle while using a hand-held electronic device to compose, send or read electronic messages while driving. The measure received overwhelming approval, with members voting 42 to 3 in favor of the legislation.

Gov. Fallin recently signed into law a measure to address Oklahoma’s historic teacher shortage. On Monday, Oklahoma Superintendent of Public Instruction Joy Hofmeister announced that the state still has around 1,000 vacant classroom positions this school year, and at least 500 others being filled by people who received emergency teaching certification.
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