OKLAHOMA CITY An effort to allow state harm-reduction services to continue without the sunset date of July 1, 2026, passed the House Administrative Rules Committee last week.
House Bill 2012 is authored by Rep. Daniel Pae (R-Lawton), who has been involved with this legislation since first introduced in 2021 by former Sen.
John Michael Montgomery (R-Lawton). At the time, the proposal was known as Senate Bill 511 and was signed into law by Gov. Kevin Stitt.
Montgomery resigned from the Senate in 2023, and Pae has continually helped promote the benefits of state harm-reduction services. Pae’s HB 2012 would authorize various entities, including government agencies, religious institutions, nonprofit organizations, for-profit companies and tribal governments to engage in harm-reduction services with the State Department of Health. These services are directed at reducing drug use and preventing infectious disease outbreaks. In part, the bill details that no state funds can be used to purchase hypodermic needles.
Agencies and entities are encouraged to provide education, testing, referrals and safe disposal of used needles.
Responsibilities would include providing education about infectious disease transmission, rapid testing for HIV and other infections, medical and mental health service referrals and distribution of clean needles and testing kits.
The bill, if passed, would also require registered providers of harm-reduction services to report quarterly to the State Department of Health on various topics, including the number of clients served, referrals made and syringes distributed and collected. The State Commissioner of Health would create the rules for the implementation of these requirements.
“These programs save lives,” Pae said in a press release.
“By extending harm reduction programs, we are preventing the spread of disease and connecting people to critical resources.
The data speaks for itself. Harm reduction works, and it’s our responsibility to ensure they continue.”
Last October, Pae led a legislative interim study on the impact of these programs. Statistics show that between 2022 and 2024, Oklahoma’s four registered harm reduction organizations served 8,896 clients, distributed 578,330 syringes, provided 25,125 naloxone kits, reported 1,212 overdose reversals and referred 1,528 people for substance use education or STI/HIV testing.
HB 2012 passed through committee by a 10-5 vote and now moves to the full House for consideration.
In addition, Pae co-sponsored five bills with various senators that have been put on General Order and can now go before the full Senate floor. They are:
• SB 128, which pertains to forcible entry and detainer. If passed, it will extend the time period for certain appearances and increase the time period for service of summons from five to 10 days and no more than 15 days for most eviction cases.
The goal of the measure is to provide more time for defendants in eviction proceedings, ensuring they have adequate notice and opportunity to respond.
• SB 190, which pertains to income tax and would reauthorize donations of tax refunds for the benefit of a regional food bank. Oklahoma taxpayers are allowed to donate a por tion of their tax refund through an existing income tax checkoff program.
This measure, if passed, would extend the program’s authorization until Jan. 1, 2026, and includes a minor technical update to reference the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended.
• SB 275, which pertains to housing and would create the Oklahoma Workforce Housing Commission (OWHC). The measure, if passed, would allow the commission to implement certain reports and plans for expansion of affordable housing.
The OWHC would be a 15-member body that would address housing needs across the state starting Jan. 1, 2026.
It would be composed of members appointed by the governor, the Senate President Pro Tem and the House Speaker with the goal of representing diverse backgrounds, including urban and rural communities.
• SB 799, which pertains to students and would amend the state’s existing law regarding electronic communications between students and school personnel.
It also introduces a specific provision for homeless students.
The measure, if passed, states that when school personnel communicate electronically with a student, the student’s parent or guardian or in the case of home less students, an alternate adult such as a liaison or a case manager must be included in the communication. Exceptions can be made in emergencies, as long as the pa rents or guardians or the adult liaisons are informed afterwards.
• SB 813, which pertains to victim protective orders and, if passed, would modify state law by enhancing procedures for emergency orders. In part, peace officers would be required to take more active steps when handling protective order requests, which includes attempting to serve the order. In addition, a process for peace officers handling and filing the paperwork involved is outlined.
This includes providing both the victim and the order subject with copies of the completed order and returning the original order to the district court.
Rep. Stacy Jo Adams (R-Duncan) is co-sponsor of SB 14, which was referred to the Senate Business and Insurance Committee last week.
The measure, named the Privacy and Conscience Protection Act, would establish new protections for employees and contractors in regard to COVID-19 vaccination and immunization status information.
If passed, state statutes would be amended to existing state employment discrimination laws to include medical privacy. Employers would be required to provide employees with a “certification of disclosure exemption” form to refuse disclosing their COVID-19 vaccination status. Employers would be prohibited from penalizing or retaliating against employees who do not disclose their vaccination status.
In an unanimous 94-0 vote last week, the House of Representatives passed HB 1373, authored by Rep. Brad Boles (R-Marlow), known as the Commercial Solar Facility Decommissioning Act. The measure was engrossed and is now ready to move to the Senate for consideration.
HB 1373 would establish critical statutory protections for landowners hosting industrial solar facilities.
It would ensure that solar companies are held accountable for decommissioning activities. Currently, the state lacks regulations governing the removal of solar infrastructure if a company goes out of business or doesn’t decommission in a timely manner once production ends.
“This bill would make sure that landowners are not left with the financial and logistical challenges of decommissioning solar facilities,” Boles said in a press release.
In addition, this measure also introduces new requirements for solar companies, such as requiring financial assurance to the landowner that must be at least equal to the estimated amount by which the cost or r emoving the solar power facilities from the property. It also specifies that the property be restored to as near as reasonably possible to the condition prior to the solar facility installation.
Another Boles-authored measure, HB 1371, passed the House Energy and Natural Resources Oversight Committee last week.
It pertains to Oklahoma’s Production Revenue Standard Act and seeks to modify rules about interest earned on oil and gas production proceeds.
In part, a provision will be added addressing proceeds that are returned as undeliverable or if a payment check is never cashed by the royalty owner.
Those proceeds will no longer earn interest, if the bill becomes law.
Rep. Trey Caldwell (R-Lawton), along with Pae and multiple other state representatives co-sponsored House Concurrent Resolution 1006. The measure calls on Congress to propose an amendment to the U.S. Constitution.
The amendment sought would clarify the authority of Congress and states to limit and regulate the expenditure of funds used to influence political campaigns, elections and ballot measures. It seeks to ensure that elected representatives remain accountable to their constituents.
Reasonable regulations on campaign financing are necessary, states the resolution, to protect the interests of citizens and prevent undue influence from out-of-state and foreign entities. The resolution was adopted by the House and is ready to go to the Senate for possible approval.
The Strong Readers Act, SB 841, co-sponsored by Rep. Toni Hasenbeck (R-Elgin), was placed on General Order last week and is ready to be heard on the full Senate floor.
The measure seeks to modify the current act by enhancing reading assessment and intervention strategies for kindergarten through third-grade students.
If passed, schools will be required to screen students at the beginning, middle and end of each school year for reading skills.
State-approved screening instruments that assess phonological awareness, decoding, fluency, vocabulary and comprehension will be required.
Reading intervention plans will be required within 30 days for any students identified as having reading deficiencies.
Three bills that Rep.
Gerrid Kendrix (R-Altus) either authored or co-sponsored were engrossed last week in the House and are ready to go to the Senate for hearings. They are:
• HB 1200, which pertains to revenue and taxation and would modify Oklahoma’s tax code. The measure primarily focuses on corporations and how they calculate their state taxable income and apportionment factors.
Two key options are outlined in the proposal. Qualifying corporations can either use a single sales factor (100% based on sales) or they can continue to use a three-factor apportionment method that equally considers property, sales and payroll. The goal of the bill is to pr ovide more flexibility in how corporations calculate their state tax liability and make Oklahoma more business-friendly.
• HB 1220, which pertains to utilities and the securitization revenue stream of certain obligations issued by the Development Finance Authority.
Specifically, the bill addresses restrictions on municipalities’ ability to impose taxes and fees on certain utility-related financial obligations.
• HB 2729, which pertains to amending the state’s administrative law by changing how courts review state agency interpretations of regulations and laws. The measure, if passed, would specifically eliminate judicial preference to agency interpretations.
Courts, administrative law officers and hearing examiners would be required to conduct their own independent review when interpreting regulations, statutes or sub-regulatory documents. It seeks to limit agency power.
The bill has also been referred to as the “doctrine of Chevron deference,” which is a legal test that limits the courts’ ability to interpret unclear administrative rules. According to a legislative press release, the U.S.
Supreme Court overturned the Chevron deference in June 2024. The decision required courts to defer to an agency’s interpretation of administrative rules rather than independently reviewing the intent.
Rep. Dick Lowe (R-Amber) had one bill engrossed last week in the House week and it’s ready to be heard in the Senate. HB 1089 pertains to amusements and sports; specifically horse racing. The measure seeks to amend the existing state horse racing legislation and modify the negotiation requirements and representation for horsemen’s organizations.
If passed, rules will be updated pertaining to organizations, such as racetracks, negotiating with off icial representatives of different horse breeds participating in live race meets.