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An Act
ENROLLED HOUSE
BILL NO. 3919 By: Pfeiffer of the House
and
Kern of the Senate
An Act relating to counties and county officers;
amending 2 O.S. 2021, Section 15-68, which relates to
the board of directors for the free fair association;
allowing board of county commissioners to vote to
have a five-member board; providing manner in which
five-member board shall be elected; and providing an
effective date.
SUBJECT: Counties and county officers
BE IT ENACTED BY THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF OKLAHOMA:
SECTION 1. AMENDATORY 2 O.S. 2021, Section 15-68, is
amended to read as follows:
Section 15-68. A. There is hereby constituted a board of
directors for the free fair association.
B. 1. The board of directors shall be composed of nine (9)
members, unless the board of county commissioners determines by vote
to form a five-member board of directors under subsection I of this
section, who shall be by written ballot elected for a term of three
(3) years. Three members shall be elected annually, one from each
county commissioner's district of the counties, at a public meeting
or convention of the qualified electors of each commissioner's
district in the counties.
2. A qualified elector shall be a registered voter of the
county and may only vote for the board members from the district in
which the elector resides. The county commissioner holding the
ENR. H. B. NO. 3919 Page 2
election may request proof of residency and a voter registration
card of the county to qualify electors.
3. The board of county commissioners shall include in the
publication notice of the election the requirements to be a
qualified voter. Notice of the election shall be given by
publication in a newspaper published in each of the counties for ten
(10) days before the election. Notice of the filing period for the
election shall be given in a newspaper published in the county,
published one time at least ten (10) days before the filing period
for the election.
C. The board of county commissioners shall, by resolution, set
forth the following conditions concerning the election:
1. The filing period shall consist of five (5) consecutive
business days and commence in January;
2. The date and time the filing period will commence and end;
3. The date, time and place of the election;
4. Only registered voters of the county are eligible to file as
a candidate;
5. Any person so filing must reside in the commissioner's
district or city they seek to represent;
6. Prospective candidates must file with the county clerk; and
7. The board of county commissioners shall prescribe a form to
be used by prospective candidates filing for the position of
director of the fair association board.
D. 1. The date of the election for the fair association board
of directors shall be no later than three (3) weeks from the date of
the final day of the filing period. If there is only one candidate
for any of the commissioners' districts, the commissioners may
cancel the election with notice being given by publication and
posting at least ten (10) days prior to the election date previously
established and the candidate shall be deemed to be elected.
2. In the event there is no candidate for the election to the
fair association board of directors, the county commissioners shall
appoint a director for each position for which no candidates have
ENR. H. B. NO. 3919 Page 3
filed by the close of the filing period. The appointment or
appointments will be announced no later than two (2) weeks from the
closing of the filing period.
3. When a director is unable to fulfill the term to which the
director has been elected to serve, for any reason, the board of
county commissioners shall appoint the successor.
E. For a nine-member board:
1. At the annual election there shall be elected one (1) person
from each commissioner's district who is a qualified elector of the
district. Each shall serve as a director of the association for a
term of three (3) years, and until a successor is elected or
appointed and qualified.
2. The commissioner or commissioner's designee shall preside at
the meeting and have the authority to appoint a secretary of the
meeting. The commissioner and secretary shall certify to the county
clerk of each of the counties the names of the directors elected,
and the county clerk shall keep a record thereof and shall issue to
each person elected a certificate of election.
F. When a tie vote occurs in the election of a fair association
board of directors, the commissioner or commissioner's designee
shall select the candidate by lot pursuant to the procedures set
forth in Section 8-105 of Title 26 of the Oklahoma Statutes.
G. 1. The directors so elected shall meet at the next
regularly scheduled monthly meeting immediately following the
elections at the regular meeting place of the counties for the
purpose of organization, and shall elect a president, a vice-
president, a secretary and a treasurer; provided, that the secretary
need not be a member of the board of directors.
2. The treasurer shall furnish a surety bond executed with a
qualified surety company doing business in this state, in such
amount as the directors of the board may determine to be necessary
to indemnify against any loss which may arise by reason of failure
to perform the necessary duties of the office or other misconduct in
office for which the director shall be held liable.
H. Meetings of the directors may be called by the president of
the board or fixed by the board at any time convenient. However,
the first election held under this section shall be on the first
ENR. H. B. NO. 3919 Page 4
Saturday of June, and the board so elected at the election shall
meet for organization purposes on the second Saturday of June of
such year.
I. Upon a vote of the board of county commissioners, the board
of directors for the free fair association shall be composed of five
(5) members, who shall be by written ballot elected for a term of
three (3) years. A five-member board of directors shall function
the same as a nine-member board and be subject to all of the
requirements of a nine-member board except as described in this
subsection or otherwise indicated in this section. The members
shall be elected at a public meeting or convention of the qualified
electors of each commissioner's district in the counties as follows:
1. One member from each county commissioner's district shall be
elected by the respective qualified electors of each commissioner's
district; and
2. Two members shall be elected as members at large by all of
the qualified electors of the county.
SECTION 2. This act shall become effective November 1, 2026.
ENR. H. B. NO. 3919 Page 5
Passed the House of Representatives the 24th day of March, 2026.
Presiding Officer of the House
of Representatives
Passed the Senate the 28th day of April, 2026.
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: _________________________________