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An Act
ENROLLED HOUSE
BILL NO. 2164 By: Pfeiffer of the House
and
Haste and Kirt of the
Senate
An Act relating to public corruption; amending 21
O.S. 2021, Section 344, which relates to crimes
against state revenue; modifying elements of certain
offense; modifying punishment for certain offense;
providing for removal; establishing elements of
certain offense; creating felony offense;
establishing penalties; prohibiting certain acts upon
conviction of certain offense; providing for removal
or termination upon certain circumstances; defining
term; amending 22 O.S. 2021, Sections 1181, 1181.1,
and 1181.2, which relate to removal; defining terms;
specifying scope of provisions; stating elements of
certain unlawful acts; requiring certain disclosures
for bidders; amending 74 O.S. 2021, Section 85.42,
which relates to the Oklahoma Central Purchasing Act;
providing consequence for certain unlawful acts;
requiring certification of conflict of interest
compliance by state agency head; amending 74 O.S.
2021, Section 3101, which relates to newly appointed
members of state agencies; requiring ethics training
for first-time state officers; authorizing certain
removal for failure to complete certain training;
defining terms; prohibiting certain actions by state
officer or employee; creating felony offense;
establishing penalties; requiring certain written
statement disclosing private economic interest under
certain circumstances; requiring certain statements
to be available to the public; establishing
procedures for governing body upon receipt of certain
statement; creating misdemeanor offense; establishing
penalties; authorizing certain removal or
termination; providing for voiding of certain
transaction or contract; providing exceptions;
providing construing provisions; updating statutory
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language; updating statutory reference; making
language gender-neutral; providing for codification;
and providing an effective date.
SUBJECT: Public corruption
BE IT ENACTED BY THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF OKLAHOMA:
SECTION 1. AMENDATORY 21 O.S. 2021, Section 344, is
amended to read as follows:
Section 344. A. Except as otherwise provided in this section,
every public officer, being authorized to sell or lease any
property, or make, approve, negotiate, or authorize any contract in
his or her official capacity, who voluntarily becomes interested
individually in such sale, lease or contract, directly or
indirectly, is shall, upon conviction, be guilty of a misdemeanor
felony and shall be prohibited from holding any public office in
this state. Violation of this section shall be grounds for removal
from office or termination from state employment.
B. The provisions of this section shall not apply to:
1. Municipal officers who are subject to the provisions of
Section 8-113 of Title 11 of the Oklahoma Statutes; and
2. Conservation district board members participating in
programs authorized by Section 3-2-106 of Title 27A of the Oklahoma
Statutes.
SECTION 2. NEW LAW A new section of law to be codified
in the Oklahoma Statutes as Section 365 of Title 21, unless there is
created a duplication in numbering, reads as follows:
A. Any current or former officer, employee, or contractor of a
state agency who obtains or obtained nonpublic information because
of his or her government employment, government office, or contract
with a state agency, and who corruptly, as defined by Section 94 of
Title 21 of the Oklahoma Statutes:
1. Uses such information for personal gain or benefit;
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2. Acquires or divests a pecuniary interest in any property,
transaction, or enterprise which may be affected by such
information;
3. Speculates or wagers on the basis of such information;
4. Uses such information in a way that would affect any
personal pecuniary interest, including an interest held by an
immediate family member, or business entity with which the immediate
family member is associated;
5. Discloses such information to any person, group, entity, or
others not entitled to receive such information; or
6. Aids another to commit any act set forth in paragraphs 1
through 5 of this subsection,
shall, upon conviction, be guilty of a felony punishable by a fine
not to exceed Ten Thousand Dollars ($10,000.00), by imprisonment in
the custody of the Department of Corrections for a term not to
exceed five (5) years, or by both such fine and imprisonment. Any
person convicted of violating any provision of this section shall be
prohibited from holding any public office in this state and shall be
prohibited from entering into any state contract.
B. Violation of any provision of this section shall be grounds
for removal from office or termination from state employment.
C. For purposes of this section, the term “immediate family
member” means:
1. A spouse;
2. A spouse’s parents;
3. A child by birth or adoption;
4. A stepchild;
5. A parent;
6. A grandparent;
7. A grandchild;
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8. A sibling;
9. A spouse’s siblings; or
10. A spouse of any immediate family member listed in this
subsection.
SECTION 3. AMENDATORY 22 O.S. 2021, Section 1181, is
amended to read as follows:
Section 1181. Any officer not subject to impeachment elected or
appointed to any state, county, township, city, town or other office
under the laws of the state may, in the manner provided in this
article in addition to any other methods and causes provided by law,
be removed from office for any of the following causes:
First. Habitual or willful neglect of duty, which, for a state
officer, shall include, but not be limited to, knowingly giving
false testimony to a committee of either house of the Legislature,
knowingly engaging in operations beyond the constitutional or
statutory authority delegated to the agency that the officer is
employed by or serves, or repeatedly refusing to provide information
to a committee, either house or a member of the Legislature in a
timely manner. For the purposes of this section, “timely manner”
means no more than fifteen (15) business days from the date the
request for information was received by the agency, unless extended
by written agreement.
Second. Gross partiality in office.
Third. Oppression in office.
Fourth. Corruption in office, which shall include the use of
public office or authority to procure or attempt to procure a
personal benefit, profit, or perquisite.
Fifth. Extortion or willful overcharge of fees in office.
Sixth. Willful maladministration.
Seventh. Habitual drunkenness.
Eighth. Failure to produce and account for all public funds and
property in his or her hands, at any settlement or inspection
authorized or required by law.
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SECTION 4. AMENDATORY 22 O.S. 2021, Section 1181.1, is
amended to read as follows:
Section 1181.1. All elective or appointed officers in the State
of Oklahoma this state, including elective or appointed officers of
the state and elective or appointed officers in each county, city,
town or school district of the State of Oklahoma this state, but
excluding any elective officers liable to impeachment, shall be
subject to removal from office in such manner and for such causes as
now provided by law, or as may be provided by law passed subsequent
to this act section and Section 1181.2 of this title, and any such
officer or officers may be removed or ousted from office for any act
or acts of commission or omission or neglect which may be committed,
done or omitted during the term in which such ouster or removal
proceedings may be filed, and any such officer or officers, may be
removed or ousted from office for any act or acts of commission,
omission or neglect committed, done or omitted during a previous or
preceding term in such any office.
SECTION 5. AMENDATORY 22 O.S. 2021, Section 1181.2, is
amended to read as follows:
Section 1181.2. The complaint, petition, accusation or
proceeding for removal or ouster from office may include allegations
or charges of any act or acts of commission, omission or neglect
which may be committed, done or omitted during the term of office in
which such ouster or removal proceeding may be filed, and may also
include allegations or charges as to any act or acts of commission,
omission or neglect committed, done or omitted during a previous or
preceding term in such any office.
SECTION 6. NEW LAW A new section of law to be codified
in the Oklahoma Statutes as Section 85.22A of Title 74, unless there
is created a duplication in numbering, reads as follows:
Any agreement or collusion among bidders or prospective bidders
in restraint of freedom of competition by agreement to bid at a
fixed price or to refrain from bidding for any purpose or by any
manner prohibited in Section 2 of this act shall render the bids of
such bidders void. Any agreement or collusion among state officers
or employees and bidders or prospective bidders intended to create a
sole-source acquisition in contradiction to Section 85.44D.1 of
Title 74 of the Oklahoma Statutes or to give a bidder or prospective
bidder a competitive advantage, for any purpose or by any manner
prohibited in Section 2 of this act, whether or not in exchange for
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anything of value, shall render the bids of such bidders void.
Persons willfully violating this section shall, upon conviction, be
guilty of a felony. Any person convicted of violating any provision
of this section shall be prohibited from holding any public office
in this state and shall be prohibited from entering into any state
contract.
SECTION 7. NEW LAW A new section of law to be codified
in the Oklahoma Statutes as Section 85.22B of Title 74, unless there
is created a duplication in numbering, reads as follows:
Any disclosure by an employee of a public agency of the material
terms of a bid submitted in response to a bid notice issued by a
public agency in advance of the time set for opening of all bids so
submitted shall be unlawful. It shall be unlawful for any person to
solicit, possess, provide, or receive information which is to be
contained in a bid notice of a public agency, for use in preparing a
bid, in advance of the date on which the bid notice is to be made
equally and uniformly known to all prospective bidders and the
public. It shall be unlawful for any employee of a public agency to
withhold or impede the distribution of such information after notice
of the bid has been given, unless the solicitation of bids has been
withdrawn or the particular information in question has been deleted
or replaced through alteration of the bid notice and the withdrawal
or alteration has been made equally and uniformly known. Any
violation of this section for any purpose or in any manner
prohibited in Section 2 of this act shall be a felony and shall
render the proceedings void and require a new solicitation and
award. Any person convicted of violating any provision of this
section shall be prohibited from holding any public office in this
state and shall be prohibited from entering into any state contract.
SECTION 8. NEW LAW A new section of law to be codified
in the Oklahoma Statutes as Section 85.22C of Title 74, unless there
is created a duplication in numbering, reads as follows:
A. Each bidder and each recipient of a sole-source contract
shall accompany a bid with a written statement under oath disclosing
the following information:
1. Any known business or familial relationship then in effect
or which existed within one (1) year prior to the date of such
statement between any officer or director of the bidding company and
any officer or employee of the state agency receiving the bid;
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2. The nature of any such known business or familial
relationships then in effect or which existed within one (1) year
prior to the date of such statement with any officer or employee of
the state agency receiving the bid; and
3. The names of all known persons having any such business or
familial relationships and the positions they hold within their
respective companies, firms, or state agencies.
B. If no business or familial relationships listed in
subsection A of this section exist, a bidder or recipient shall
submit a written statement under oath that no such relationships
exist.
SECTION 9. AMENDATORY 74 O.S. 2021, Section 85.42, is
amended to read as follows:
Section 85.42. A. 1. Except as otherwise provided for in this
section or other applicable law, any agency, whether or not such
agency is subject to the Oklahoma Central Purchasing Act, is shall
be prohibited from entering into a sole source sole-source contract
or agreement or a contract or agreement for professional services
with or for the services of any person, who has terminated
employment with or who has been terminated by that agency for one
(1) year after the termination date of the employee from the agency.
Any contract or agreement entered into in violation of this
subsection shall be void. Any person found to have violated this
subsection shall be prohibited from entering into any state contract
for a period of five (5) years from the date of the execution of the
contract or agreement. The provisions of this subsection shall not
prohibit an agency from hiring or rehiring such person as a state
employee.
2. Any chief administrative officer of an agency, whether or
not such agency is subject to the Oklahoma Central Purchasing Act,
shall not enter into any contract for nonprofessional or
professional services for the purpose of or which would result in
the circumvention of the full-time equivalent full-time-equivalent
employee limitation established by law for such agency.
B. Each contract, including change orders, extensions,
renewals, or amendments, entered into by any person or firm with the
State of Oklahoma shall include a statement certifying that no
person who has been involved in any manner in the development,
approval, or negotiation of that such contract while employed by the
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state shall be employed or given anything of value to fulfill any of
the services provided for under the contract. Each contract,
including change orders, extensions, renewals, or amendments, shall
include a statement from the chief executive officer or head of the
contracting state agency certifying that no known officer or
employee of the contracting state agency who has any direct or
indirect financial, pecuniary, or other personal interest in the
contract has been involved in any manner in the development,
approval, or negotiation of the contract through influence,
decision, recommendation, or otherwise. This subsection shall not
preclude faculty and staff of the institutions within The Oklahoma
State System of Higher Education from negotiating and participating
in research grants and educational contracts. Nor shall this This
subsection shall not apply to Oklahoma Department of Commerce
personnel who contract to provide services to the Oklahoma Capital
Investment Board.
C. As used in this section, person is defined as “person” means
any state official or employee of a department, board, bureau,
commission, agency, trusteeship, authority, council, committee,
trust, school district, fair board, court, executive office,
advisory group, task force, study group, supported in whole or in
part by public funds or entrusted with the expenditure of public
funds or administering or operating public property, and all
committees, or subcommittees thereof, judges, justices and state
legislators.
D. Notwithstanding anything to the contrary in this section,
the following sole source sole-source or professional services
contracts are allowed at any time:
1. A contract for professional services at any time with a
person who is a qualified interpreter for the deaf; and
2. A contract between a business entity that is a part-time
certified court reporter and the Administrative Office of the
Courts, on behalf of the district courts, or the Office of the
Attorney General.
E. Provided the provisions specified in subsection B of this
section are satisfied, the following professional services contracts
are allowed:
1. The Department of Transportation, Oklahoma Water Resources
Board, Department of Environmental Quality, Oklahoma Tourism and
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Recreation Department, the Oklahoma Turnpike Authority and the
Oklahoma Department of Agriculture, Food, and Forestry may contract
with a person who has retired from state service;
2. To maintain public health infrastructure and preparedness,
the State Department of Health and city-county health departments
may contract with a physician assistant, registered nurse Registered
Nurse, advanced practice nurse, nurse midwife Nurse-Midwife,
registered dietician, occupational therapist, physical therapist or
speech-language pathologist who has retired from state service; and
3. The Department of Mental Health and Substance Abuse Services
may contract with a physician, registered nurse Registered Nurse,
registered pharmacist or person meeting the definition of a licensed
mental health professional, as defined in Title 43A of the Oklahoma
Statutes, who has separated and/or retired from state service.
SECTION 10. AMENDATORY 74 O.S. 2021, Section 3101, is
amended to read as follows:
Section 3101. A. The chief executive officer of any state
agency, board, commission, council or other governing body of any
department, system or authority is shall be required, as part of his
or her duties, to brief any newly appointed member of such governing
body within two (2) weeks from the date of the member’s appointment
regarding his duties and responsibilities and those of the body to
which he the member has been appointed, providing the new member
with a copy of the statute or Constitutional constitutional
provision pertaining thereto, a copy of the last twelve (12) monthly
operating budgets showing all disbursements and receipts of such
department or agency, and a copy of all rules and regulations
existing in said the agency, and other pertinent information that
will assure that the new appointee is advised of such duties and
responsibilities. The briefing may be delegated in part to the
executive director or other managing officer of any department,
system or authority under supervision of the governing body, the
responsibility for its accomplishment remaining that of the chief
executive officer.
B. Beginning January 1, 2027, each person elected or appointed
for the first time as chief executive officer or head of a state
agency, board, bureau, trust, commission, council, department,
system, or authority shall be required within one (1) year after
taking the oath of office to attend a course directed by the Ethics
Commission. The curriculum for the course shall include, but not be
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limited to, conflicts of interest, impartiality, misuse of office,
misuse of authority, and financial disclosures. A certificate of
completion shall be awarded to those persons who attend and
successfully complete the course, and a list of such persons shall
be maintained by the Ethics Commission. Any person who fails to
satisfy the education requirements of this section shall cease to
hold office commencing at the next scheduled meeting of the
governing body following the first-year anniversary of the person’s
taking the oath of office.
SECTION 11. NEW LAW A new section of law to be codified
in the Oklahoma Statutes as Section 3102.1 of Title 74, unless there
is created a duplication in numbering, reads as follows:
A. For purposes of this section:
1. “Associated nongovernment entity” means:
a. any nonprofit or charitable organization or private
business including, but not limited to, a closely held
corporation, limited liability company, subchapter S
corporation, or partnership, in which:
(1) the state officer or employee or his or her
immediate family member has or has had a business
relationship other than a routine consumer
transaction at any point during the previous
three hundred sixty-five (365) days,
(2) the state officer or employee or his or her
immediate family member is a director, officer,
owner, partner, manager, employee, contractor,
consultant, board member, or agent,
(3) the state officer or employee or his or her
immediate family member receives or has received
income or other financial compensation at any
point during the previous three hundred sixty-
five (365) days,
(4) the state officer or employee or his or her
immediate family member, directly or indirectly,
owns or has owned stock, another form of equity
interest, stock options, debt instruments, or has
received dividends or income at any point during
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the previous three hundred sixty-five (365) days,
or
(5) the state officer or employee or his or her
immediate family member is negotiating or has any
arrangement concerning prospective employment, or
b. any publicly traded corporation or other business
entity in which:
(1) the state officer or employee or his or her
immediate family member holds or has held an
ownership interest of five percent (5%) or more
at any point during the previous three hundred
sixty-five (365) days, or
(2) the state officer or employee or his or her
immediate family member serves or has served as a
director or officer at any point during the
previous three hundred sixty-five (365) days;
2. “Immediate family member” of a state officer or employee
means:
a. a spouse,
b. the parents of a spouse,
c. a child by birth or adoption,
d. a stepchild,
e. a parent,
f. a grandparent,
g. a grandchild,
h. a sibling,
i. a spouse’s sibling, or
j. a spouse of any immediate family member listed in this
paragraph;
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3. “Private economic interest” includes any interest that could
foreseeably result in directly or indirectly receiving a pecuniary
gain, a competitive advantage, or sustaining pecuniary loss as a
result of an official act or forbearance. A private economic
interest shall not include an interest in a pension plan, 401(k),
individual retirement account or other retirement investment vehicle
that makes diversified investments over which the state officer or
employee or his or her immediate family member exercises no control
over the acquisition or sale of particular holdings; and
4. “State agency” includes any office, bureau, board, council,
commission, department, authority, institution, trust, unit,
division, or body of the executive branch of the state government,
excluding political subdivisions of the state.
B. It shall be unlawful for any state officer or employee of a
state agency to participate in his or her official capacity through
decision, approval, disapproval, authorization, recommendation,
investigation, the rendering of advice, influence, or otherwise, in
any matter in which he or she has a private economic interest or in
which his or her immediate family member or an associated
nongovernment entity has a private economic interest. Any person
convicted of knowingly and willfully violating the provisions of
this subsection shall, upon conviction, be guilty of a felony
punishable by a fine not to exceed Ten Thousand Dollars
($10,000.00), by imprisonment in the custody of the Department of
Corrections for a term not less than one (1) year nor more than ten
(10) years, or by both such fine and imprisonment. Such person
shall be prohibited from holding any public office in this state.
The fact that the accused’s conduct also served a legitimate
governmental purpose is no ground of defense or of mitigation of
punishment. Prosecutions for violations of this subsection shall be
commenced in accordance with subsection A of Section 152 of Title 22
of the Oklahoma Statutes.
C. A state officer or employee who, in the discharge of his or
her official responsibilities, is required or called upon to
participate in a matter in which he or she has a private economic
interest or in which his or her immediate family member or an
associated nongovernment entity has a private economic interest,
within thirty (30) days of becoming aware of such potential conflict
arising from a private economic interest or prior to the official
action affected by the private economic interest, whichever is
first, shall:
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1. Prepare a certified written statement describing the matter
requiring participation and the nature of the potential conflict of
interest with respect to the matter in detail sufficient to be
understood by the public;
2. Furnish a copy of the statement to his or her superior, if
any, who shall assign the matter to another employee who does not
have a private economic interest. The superior shall furnish a copy
of the statement to the Ethics Commission. If he or she has no
immediate superior, he or she shall furnish a copy of the statement
directly to the Ethics Commission. The statement shall remain
available for public inspection; and
3. If the person is an elected officer or if he or she is
appointed as the chief executive officer or head of a state agency,
he or she shall furnish a copy of the statement to the presiding
officer of the governing body of the agency on which he or she
serves, who shall cause the statement to be printed in the minutes
of the next meeting and require that the person be excused from any
votes, deliberations, and other actions on the matter in which the
potential conflict of interest exists and shall cause the
disqualification and the reasons for the disqualification to be
noted in the minutes.
D. Any person convicted of knowingly and willfully violating
the provisions of subsection C of this section shall, upon
conviction, be guilty of a misdemeanor punishable by a fine not to
exceed One Thousand Dollars ($1,000.00), by imprisonment in the
county jail for a term not to exceed one (1) year, or by both such
fine and imprisonment.
E. Violation of any provision of this section shall be grounds
for removal from office or termination from state employment.
F. Any transaction or contract entered into in violation of any
provision of this section shall be void.
G. A person shall not be guilty of an offense under this
section if the person’s performance of official functions would not
affect the person, immediate family member, or associated
nongovernment entity differently than such performance would affect
the public generally, or would not affect the person, immediate
family member, or associated nongovernment entity, as a member of a
business, profession, occupation, or large class differently than
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such performance would affect any other member of such business,
profession, occupation, or large class.
H. The provisions of this section shall be cumulative to
existing laws. Nothing in this section shall prohibit a state
agency from implementing more restrictive policies to address
conflicts of interest that remain in compliance with this section.
Nothing in this section shall be construed to invalidate any other
provision of law establishing more restrictive procedures or
measures to prevent conflicts of interest between public duties and
private economic interests.
SECTION 12. This act shall become effective November 1, 2025.
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Passed the House of Representatives the 21st day of May, 2025.
Presiding Officer of the House
of Representatives
Passed the Senate the 6th day of May, 2025.
Presiding Officer of the Senate
OFFICE OF THE GOVERNOR
Received by the Office of the Governor this ____________________
day of ___________________, 20_______, at _______ o'clock _______ M.
By: _________________________________
Approved by the Governor of the State of Oklahoma this _________
day of ___________________, 20_______, at _______ o'clock _______ M.
_________________________________
Governor of the State of Oklahoma
OFFICE OF THE SECRETARY OF STATE
Received by the Office of the Secretary of State this __________
day of ___________________, 20_______, at _______ o'clock _______ M.
By: _________________________________