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STATE OF OKLAHOMA
2nd Session of the 60th Legislature (2026)
SENATE BILL 1517 By: Grellner
AS INTRODUCED
An Act relating to eminent domain; amending 27 O.S.
2021, Sections 5 and 17, which relate to local
governments and resale of surplus property;
conforming language; updating statutory references;
defining term; prohibiting taking of private property
unless for certain uses; prohibiting expansion of
powers absent express statutory authority; providing
for codification; and providing an effective date.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF OKLAHOMA:
SECTION 1. AMENDATORY 27 O.S. 2021, Section 5, is
amended to read as follows:
Section 5. Any county, city, town, township, school district,
or board of education, or any board or official having charge of
cemeteries created and existing under the laws of this state, shall
have power to condemn lands in like manner as railroad companies,
for highways, rights-of-way, building sites, cemeteries, public
parks, and other public purposes uses.
SECTION 2. AMENDATORY 27 O.S. 2021, Section 17, is
amended to read as follows:
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Section 17. A. In the event that a portion of the total amount
of real property taken by eminent domain under the procedures set
forth in Title 27 of the Oklahoma Statutes this title for a public
purpose use as described in Section 9 of Title 27 of the Oklahoma
Statutes this title is not used for the purposes use for which it
was condemned or for another public use by the agency or other
entity which acquired the real property, the portion of the real
property that is not used shall be declared surplus and shall be
first offered for resale to the person from whom the property was
taken or the heirs of the person at the appraised value or the
original price at which the acquiring agency or entity purchased
that portion of the property, whichever is less.
B. For purposes of complying with subsection A of this section,
the agency or entity which acquired the real property by
condemnation shall notify the former landowner of the right of first
refusal by sending notice by certified mail, return receipt
requested, to the last-known address of the person as provided by
the person. If the mail is returned as not subject to delivery or
the former landowner is deceased, notice of the right of first
refusal shall be provided by publication in a newspaper of general
circulation in the community where the real property is located.
The notice shall contain the name of the former landowner and a
legal description of the surplus property. If the offer to
repurchase is not accepted within ninety (90) days from the date of
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notice or if the offer to repurchase is not accepted from the date
the resale price on the property is determined, the property may
then be sold at public sale.
C. This section shall not apply to conveyances for
redevelopment under Sections 38-101 through 38-123 of Title 11 of
the Oklahoma Statutes.
SECTION 3. NEW LAW A new section of law to be codified
in the Oklahoma Statutes as Section 41 of Title 27, unless there is
created a duplication in numbering, reads as follows:
A. As used in this section, and subject to subsection B of this
section, “public use” means:
1. The enjoyment, possession, occupation, or ownership of land
by the general public or by a government entity for use as a public
highway, road, easement, right-of-way, public building, public
cemetery, public park, or for any other use expressly authorized in
Section 5 of Title 27 of the Oklahoma Statutes; and
2. The possession, occupation, or ownership of land for the
operations of a public utility or a private entity that is expressly
authorized by statute to exercise eminent domain and that serves the
general public.
B. The state shall not take or damage private property unless
the taking is necessary for a public use as defined in subsection A
of this section and just compensation is paid to the property owner.
Economic development including, but not limited to, increased tax
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revenues, increased tax base, employment, or general economic health
shall not constitute a public use. No taking shall be justified or
authorized on the grounds that the taking may result in increased
economic development, secondary, or incidental economic benefits.
C. A governmental body subordinate to the state may not create,
exercise, expand, or extend any power of eminent domain without
express statutory authority. No ordinance, charter, resolution,
policy, or local action may broaden the definition of public use
beyond the uses defined in subsection A of this section.
SECTION 4. This act shall become effective November 1, 2026.
60-2-3496 BLB 1/12/2026 9:03:01 AM