Oklahoma House passes anti-texting while driving bill

House Bill 1965 by Rep. Terry O’Donnell, R-Catoosa, would make texting while driving a secondary offense punishable by a $250 fine. The bill is named for Trooper Nicholas Dees, who died when he was hit by a truck whose driver was allegedly distracted by social media on his phone, and Dees’ partner Keith Burch, who was seriously injured in the crash.

“The tragic accident that killed Nicholas Dees and seriously injured Keith Burch was completely preventable,” said Rep. Mike Christian, R-Oklahoma City, and a former trooper. “It was a direct result of a driver so absorbed in his electronic media that he ran into both troopers at high speed while they were working the scene of another accident. This is a fitting tribute to both troopers that this act bears their names.”

The House voted 96-2 for the measure, but only after nearly an hour of criticism from Democrats who said it did not go far enough. Their chief complaint was that, under HB 1965, texting while driving will be a secondary offense, meaning law officers could not stop a motorist for texting. Instead, motorists could only be charged after being stopped for a primary offense such as speeding or erratic driving. The bill now moves to the Senate.

Also Tuesday:

On a tie vote, the House Common Education Committee turned down a measure to require private schools receiving public money to comply with the same financial reporting mandates as public schools.

Author Katie Henke, R-Tulsa, said her bill would “level the playing field.”

“If you take public dollars, you have to play by the same rules (as public schools),” Henke said.

Currently, the bill would only apply to the approximately 400 recipients of the Lindsey Nicole Henry scholarship program for children with special needs. In view of pending Senate legislation paving the way for school vouchers, however, the issue could have much broader implications.

School choice advocates attacked Henke’s bill, saying it would undercut private schools by making them comply with the same financial reporting as public schools.

“The reason private schools work so well, and they do work well; and the reason home schooling works so well, and it does work well, is that they are free,” said Rep. Chuck Strohm, R-Jenks. “They are living the American Dream free of the shackles public schools are required to operate under.”

Strohm, who received substantial support from a school choice group in last year’s election, said private schools should not be subject to requirements as public schools because private school parents are “more engaged” and “know what’s going on” in their schools.

Henke disputed assertions from Strohm and Rep. Dan Fisher, R-El Reno, that private schools are necessarily more successful.

“How would we know?” she said. “We’ve demanded public schools ... do this. Why is that private schools don’t?”

Rep. Shane Stone, D-Oklahoma City, said Republicans “can’t go back to your district and say you’re conservative if you vote ‘no’ on this.”

The measure died on an 8-8 vote, with four Republicans joining the committee’s four Democrats in support.

A measure that would essentially pay out-of-staters to move into one of 25 Oklahoma counties projected to lose population over the next 60 years passed the House 64-11.

HB 1747, by Rep. Tom Newell, R-Seminole, would give a five-year state income tax exemption to anyone moving from out of state to one of the counties. Nowata and Craig counties in northeastern Oklahoma are included in the list.