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SENATE FLOOR VERSION - SB2171 SFLR Page 1
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SENATE FLOOR VERSION
February 9, 2026
SENATE BILL NO. 2171 By: Bullard
An Act relating to wildlife; amending 29 O.S. 2021,
Section 4-114, as amended by Section 6, Chapter 6,
O.S.L. 2024 (29 O.S. Supp. 2025, Section 4-114),
which relates to hunting and fishing licenses;
increasing required term of residency for certain
license; updating statutory language; updating
statutory reference; authorizing certain license
upgrade; authorizing velvet buck controlled hunt;
defining terms; setting controlled hunt, bag, and tag
limits; specifying means of take; applying velvet
buck harvest to deer bag limits; directing the
Oklahoma Wildlife Conservation Commission to
promulgate rules; authorizing cancellation for
certain conditions; prohibiting certain refunds of
fees; requiring valid license, permit, and stamp;
providing for enforcement of laws and rules; setting
licenses, permits, or stamps by rule; requiring
controlled hunt to be based on normal deer
populations; providing for codification; and
providing an effective date.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF OKLAHOMA:
SECTION 1. AMENDATORY 29 O.S. 2021, Section 4-114, as
amended by Section 6, Chapter 6, O.S.L. 2024 (29 O.S. Supp. 2025,
Section 4-114), is amended to read as follows:
Section 4-114. A. All legal residents who have resided in the
state for at least six (6) months one (1) year and intend to remain
residents may purchase lifetime fishing licenses or lifetime
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combination hunting and fishing licenses from the State Wildlife
Conservation Director.
B. The fee for these licenses shall be:
1. Lifetime fishing license, Three Hundred Seventy-five Dollars
($375.00);
2. Lifetime combination hunting and fishing license, One
Thousand Twenty-four Dollars ($1,024.00);
3. Senior citizen lifetime fishing license for persons sixty-
five (65) years of age or older, Thirty Dollars ($30.00); and
4. Senior citizen lifetime combination hunting and fishing
license for persons sixty-five (65) years of age or older, Sixty
Dollars ($60.00).
C. Legal A legal resident having proper certification from the
United States Department of Veterans Affairs or its successor
certifying that the person is a disabled veteran and registered with
the veterans registry created by the Oklahoma Department of Veterans
Affairs may purchase a disability lifetime combination hunting and
fishing license from the State Wildlife Conservation Director. The
fees for the license shall be as follows:
1. Two Hundred Dollars ($200.00) for veterans having a
disability of less than sixty percent (60%); and
2. Twenty-five Dollars ($25.00) for veterans having a
disability of sixty percent (60%) or more.
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D. The use of the licenses provided in this section are subject
to those restrictions provided by statute and the regulations of the
Oklahoma Wildlife Conservation Commission. Except as otherwise
provided for in this section, each lifetime hunting license issued
pursuant to subsections B and C of this section shall be in lieu of
all annual hunting licenses and all special season permits.
E. Should any lifetime license be lost or destroyed, a
duplicate will be issued by the Department of Wildlife Conservation
for a fee not more than Ten Dollars ($10.00).
F. A lifetime licensee shall not lose the privileges of such
license by a subsequent transfer of residency.
G. A person who is sixty-four (64) years of age shall be
eligible to purchase a senior citizen lifetime license issued
pursuant to paragraphs 3 and 4 through 6 of subsection B of this
section during the calendar year in which the person turns sixty-
five (65) years of age.
H. The Oklahoma Wildlife Conservation Commission shall
promulgate any rules necessary to implement the provisions of this
section.
I. A person who has previously purchased a lifetime fishing
license under this section may apply to the Commission to upgrade to
a lifetime combination license upon payment of the difference in fee
of the lifetime fishing license and lifetime combination license of
Six Hundred Forty-nine Dollars ($649.00).
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SECTION 2. NEW LAW A new section of law to be codified
in the Oklahoma Statutes as Section 5-414.1 of Title 29, unless
there is created a duplication in numbering, reads as follows:
A. For purposes of this section:
1. “Velvet antler” means the whole cartilaginous antler is
exhibited in a pre-calcified growth stage of the cervidae family.
The deer antler must be covered in velvet-like hair that is
essentially skin that supplies nutrients and blood flow to the
growing bone and antler underneath; and
2. “Velvet buck” means a deer with velvet antlers.
B. Pursuant to Section 5-401 of Title 29 of the Oklahoma
Statutes, the Oklahoma Wildlife Conservation Commission shall
authorize a controlled hunt to hunt and harvest velvet bucks on
private land with consent of the landowner during the time beginning
on the Saturday morning prior to the last full weekend of August to
the Sunday evening of the last full weekend of August for a total of
nine (9) days in all counties. A controlled hunt for velvet bucks
shall be restricted to a limit of one velvet buck per license per
year.
C. The Commission shall authorize archery as the sole method
for shooting, hunting, killing, taking, or attempting to shoot,
hunt, kill, or take any velvet buck during the controlled hunt.
D. During a controlled hunt, legal residents of this state and
nonresidents may hunt velvet bucks, provided the person has a valid
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deer license or velvet buck permit as otherwise provided by the laws
of this state. All velvet bucks killed or taken and harvested shall
count against the licensee’s annual bag limit for deer in this
state. The Commission may issue the number of tags but shall issue
no fewer than one hundred (100) controlled hunt tags unless a state
of emergency is declared.
E. The Commission may promulgate rules necessary for the proper
conduct and policing of a controlled hunt for the hunting and
harvesting of velvet bucks, the velvet antler size, and the kind of
bucks that may be taken. The Commission may cancel a controlled
hunt of velvet bucks for any reason deemed appropriate including,
but not limited to, disease, weather, deer population, and herd
health. Any cancellation of a controlled hunt of velvet buck shall
prohibit the Commission from refunding or crediting any fees paid
for a velvet buck tag.
F. All laws and rules pertaining to velvet bucks in this state
shall be enforceable by the Department of Wildlife Conservation and
its agents. The Commission shall set velvet buck tags by rule;
provided, that the Commission shall reward ninety percent (90%) of
all velvet buck tags by rule to resident hunters of this state.
SECTION 3. This act shall become effective January 1, 2027.
COMMITTEE REPORT BY: COMMITTEE ON AGRICULTURE AND WILDLIFE
February 9, 2026 - DO PASS