Alva Review-Courier -

As we continue to hear legislation on the Senate floor ahead of our March 24 deadline to pass measures out of our chamber, we’ve approved a myriad of bills that will position our state for continued success.

I know many of you dealt with the frustrations of trying to renew your driver license or transition to a REAL ID over the last two years. The Covid-19 pandemic really put a wrench into things, with tag agencies being affected with staff shortages due to quarantine and limited operational hours. Throw in implementing the REAL ID software systems that had numerous technical issues, and it was a true recipe for disaster. You may recall the ID megacenters that were opened in Oklahoma City and Tulsa over the last few months to help remove the backlog of Oklahomans that needed services, but we knew there was still more work to be done.

After working with legislators, tag agents and the executive branch, “Service Oklahoma” was born. This would be a new entity combining services within the Department of Public Safety and the Oklahoma Tax Commission to be housed within the Office of Management and Enterprise Services (OMES). Under this new franchise system, tag agencies could apply to become Service Oklahoma locations, which would take a lot of the confusion out of what each tag agent offers. Each location would have the same hours and same high-level of customer service, and their services could even expand in the future, opening the door for Oklahomans to have access to other government documents like birth certificates and marriage licenses. The measure creating Service Oklahoma sailed through the Senate, and I’m excited for this bill to be considered by the House and governor so we can begin to implement this much-needed system.

I’d like to take a moment and brag on several of our outstanding leaders and students across Senate District 19. PT Plastic Injection Molding Co. in Enid recently received the Occupational Safety and Health Administration Safety and Health Achievement Recognition Program award for their exemplary health and safety program that is a model for worksite safety and health.

Sharla Sharp, Covington-Douglas Public Schools, received the Olan Isbell Merit Award from Professional Oklahoma Educators (POE), given in honor of POE founder Olan Isbell. Ms. Sharp wears many hats at Covington-Douglas and is their counselor, testing coordinator, psychometrist, teachers senior English and is the senior class sponsor.

Zachary Paul Heitschmidt teaches science and social studies at Kildare Schools in Ponca City and received the POE Junior High Merit Award for his dedication to his students.

Krystal Archer, Enid High School; Lake Lyon, Cherokee High School; Elizabeth Bain, Chisholm High School; Emma Taylor, Pond-Creek Hunter High School; and Makenna Bailey, Pond-Creek Hunter High School, were all named Academic All-Staters by the Oklahoma Foundation for Excellence, and Michael P. Wright received the North Star Award through the Boy Scouts of America. I’m proud of all these students for their accomplishments in and out of the classroom.

I was proud to present citations to these outstanding teachers, students, and business leaders. We truly do have the best here across our district.

Finally, it was an honor welcoming all of our guests for Enid Day to the Capitol. As always, I enjoyed our conversations about how we can move our state forward.

Thank you for allowing me to represent our conservative values here at the Capitol. Please feel free to reach out if there is anything I can help you with. You can contact me at 405-521-5630 or via email at [email protected].