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An Act
ENROLLED SENATE
BILL NO. 924 By: Coleman of the Senate
and
Tedford of the House
An Act relating to the Employment Security Act of
1980; amending 40 O.S. 2021, Section 1-201, as last
amended by Section 1, Chapter 114, O.S.L. 2024 (40
O.S. Supp. 2024, Section 1-201), which relates to
definitions; defining term; amending 40 O.S. 2021,
Section 1-224, as last amended by Section 2, Chapter
114, O.S.L. 2024 (40 O.S. Supp. 2024, Section 1-224),
which relates to filing; authorizing the Oklahoma
Employment Security Commission to modify appeal
filing requirements under certain circumstances;
amending 40 O.S. 2021, Section 2-610, which relates
to judicial review; allowing certain case to be
dismissed upon failure to provide certain
information; amending 40 O.S. 2021, Section 4-508, as
amended by Section 22, Chapter 360, O.S.L. 2022 (40
O.S. Supp. 2024, Section 4-508), which relates to
information to be kept confidential; removing
reference to specific entities; updating statutory
language; and providing an effective date.
SUBJECT: Unemployment claims
BE IT ENACTED BY THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF OKLAHOMA:
SECTION 1. AMENDATORY 40 O.S. 2021, Section 1-201, as
last amended by Section 1, Chapter 114, O.S.L. 2024 (40 O.S. Supp.
2024, Section 1-201), is amended to read as follows:
Section 1-201. GENERAL DEFINITIONS. As used in the Employment
Security Act of 1980:
ENR. S. B. NO. 924 Page 2
1. “Additional initial claim” means a claim application which
reactivates a claim during an existing benefit year and certifies to
a period of employment which occurred subsequent to the date of the
filing of the last initial, additional, or reopened claim;
2. “Alternative base period” means the most recent four (4)
completed calendar quarters immediately preceding the first day of
an individual’s benefit year. In the event that an individual’s
claim uses an alternative base period to meet the wage requirement
under Section 2-207 of this title, this alternative base period
shall be substituted for base period for all other purposes under
the Employment Security Act of 1980;
3. “Assigned tax rate” means the tax rate assigned to an
employer pursuant to Section 3-110.1 of this title when the employer
does not have sufficient experience history to meet the At-Risk Rule
set out in paragraph 3 of Section 3-110.1 of this title;
4. “Base period” means the first four (4) of the last five (5)
completed calendar quarters immediately preceding the first day of
an individual’s benefit year;
5. “Benefit year” with respect to any individual means the one-
year period beginning with the first day of the first week with
respect to which the individual first files a valid claim for
benefits and thereafter the one-year period beginning with the first
day of the first week with respect to which the individual next
files a valid claim for benefits after the termination of his or her
last preceding benefit year. Any claim for benefits shall be deemed
a valid claim for the purpose of this section if the individual has
been paid the wages for insured work required under the Employment
Security Act of 1980;
6. “Benefit wages” means the taxable wages earned by a claimant
during the claimant’s base period which are not in excess of the
current maximum weekly benefit amount, as determined under Section
2-104 of this title, multiplied by the maximum number of weeks for
which benefits could be paid to any individual pursuant to Section
2-106 of this title, multiplied by three (3); provided, however, no
wages shall be included as benefit wages unless and until the
claimant has been paid benefits for five (5) weeks in one (1)
benefit year;
ENR. S. B. NO. 924 Page 3
7. “Benefits” means the money payments payable to an individual
as provided in the Employment Security Act of 1980 with respect to
his or her unemployment, including extended benefits. The federal
share of such extended benefits shall not be construed as benefits
for the purposes of computing contribution rates under the
Employment Security Act of 1980;
8. “Calendar quarter” means the period of three (3) consecutive
calendar months ending on March 31, June 30, September 30, or
December 31, or the equivalent thereof as the Oklahoma Employment
Security Commission may by regulation prescribe;
9. “Claimant” means an individual who has filed for
unemployment benefits with the Commission;
9. 10. “Client” shall have the same meaning as provided in
paragraph 1 of Section 600.2 of this title;
10. 11. “Coemployer” shall have the same meaning as provided in
paragraph 2 of Section 600.2 of this title;
11. 12. “Coemployment relationship” shall have the same meaning
as provided in paragraph 3 of Section 600.2 of this title;
12. 13. “Commission” means the Oklahoma Employment Security
Commission;
13. 14. “Commissioner” means a member of the Commission;
14. 15. “Continued claim series” means an uninterrupted series
of weekly claims filed by a claimant during the benefit year;
15. 16. “Contributions” means the money payments, including
taxes and reimbursements, required by the Employment Security Act of
1980 to be paid into the Unemployment Compensation Fund by an
employer;
16. 17. “Covered employee” shall have the same meaning as
provided in paragraph 5 of Section 600.2 of this title;
ENR. S. B. NO. 924 Page 4
17. 18. “Digital portal filing” means electronic communication
through the agency digital portal;
18. 19. “Earned tax rate” means the tax rate calculated for an
employer with sufficient experience history to meet the At-Risk Rule
set out in paragraph 3 of Section 3-110.1 of this title, with the
tax rate calculated pursuant to the provisions of Section 3-101 et
seq. of this title;
19. 20. “Electronic e-filing” means filing by email or fax to
email;
20. 21. “Eligibility period” of an individual for extended
benefits means the period consisting of the weeks in his or her
benefit year, as defined by the Employment Security Act of 1980,
which begin in an extended benefit period and, if his or her benefit
year ends within such extended benefit period, any weeks thereafter
which begin in such extended benefit period;
21. 22. “Employer” shall have the same meaning as provided in
Section 1-208 of this title;
22. 23. “Employing unit” means any individual or type of
organization, including any partnership, association, trust, estate,
joint stock company, insurance company, limited liability company or
corporation, whether domestic or foreign, or the receiver, trustee
in bankruptcy, trustee or successor thereof, or the legal
representative of a deceased person, which has or subsequent to
January 1, 1936, had in its employ one or more individuals
performing services for it within this state;
23. 24. “Employment” shall have the same meaning as provided in
Section 1-210 of this title;
24. 25. “Employment office” means a free public employment
office or branch thereof operated by this or any other state as a
part of a state-controlled system of public employment offices or by
a federal agency charged with the administration of an unemployment
compensation program or free public employment offices;
25. 26. “Employment Security Administration Fund” means the
fund established in Section 4-602 of this title from which
ENR. S. B. NO. 924 Page 5
administration expenses under the Employment Security Act of 1980
shall be paid;
26. 27. “Exhaustee” shall have the same meaning as provided in
Section 2-712 of this title;
27. 28. “Experience period” means the most recent twelve (12)
consecutive completed calendar quarters occurring before July 1 of
the year immediately preceding the year for which the employer’s
contribution rate is being calculated;
28. 29. “Extended base period” means the four (4) quarters
prior to the claimant’s base period. These four (4) quarters may be
substituted for base period quarters on a quarter-by-quarter basis
to establish a valid claim regardless of whether the wages have been
used to establish a prior claim, except any wages earned that would
render the Commission out of compliance with applicable federal law
shall be excluded if used in a prior claim;
29. 30. “Extended benefit period” shall have the same meaning
as provided in Section 2-703 of this title;
30. 31. “File”, “files”, or “filed” shall have the same meaning
as provided in Section 1-224 of this title;
31. 32. “Mail”, “mails”, “mailed”, or “mailing” means
communication sent by a postal service with sufficient postage;
32. 33. “Foreign limited liability company” shall be defined by
the provisions of the Oklahoma Limited Liability Company Act;
33. 34. “Fund” means the Unemployment Compensation Fund
established in Section 3-601 of this title;
34. 35. “Hospital” means any hospital required to be licensed
under the Oklahoma Public Health Code, Section 1-101 et seq. of
Title 63 of the Oklahoma Statutes, and includes state mental
hospitals and any other mental hospital or institution;
35. 36. “Initial claim” means a new claim application submitted
by a claimant to establish a benefit year for unemployment insurance
benefits;
ENR. S. B. NO. 924 Page 6
36. 37. “Institution of higher education” shall have the same
meaning as provided in Section 1-214 of this title;
37. 38. “Insured work” means employment for employers as
defined by the Employment Security Act of 1980;
38. 39. “Lessor employing unit” means any independently
established business entity which engages in the business of
providing leased employees to any other employer, individual,
organization, partnership, corporation, or other legal entity,
referred to herein as a client lessee;
39. 40. “Limited liability company” shall be defined by the
provisions of the Oklahoma Limited Liability Company Act;
40. 41. “Probationary period” means a period of time set forth
in an established probationary plan, which applies to all employees
or a specific group of employees, and does not exceed ninety (90)
calendar days from the first day a new employee begins work;
41. 42. “Professional Employer Organization” or “PEO” means an
organization that is subject to the Oklahoma Professional Employer
Organization Recognition and Registration Act and which meets the
definition set out in paragraph 9 of Section 600.2 of this title;
42. 43. “Rate of insured employment” shall have the same
meaning as provided in Section 2-708 of this title;
43. 44. “Regular benefits” means benefits payable to an
individual under the Employment Security Act of 1980, or under any
other state law including dependents’ allowances and benefits
payable to federal civilian employees;
44. 45. “Reopened claim” means a claim application which
reactivates a claim during an existing benefit year when a claimant
stopped filing for benefits before his or her claim was exhausted,
but in which there occurred no intervening employment from the date
of the filing of the last initial, additional, or reopened claim;
ENR. S. B. NO. 924 Page 7
45. 46. “State” includes, in addition to the states of the
United States of America, the District of Columbia, the Commonwealth
of Puerto Rico, and the Virgin Islands;
46. 47. “State law” means the unemployment insurance law of any
state, approved by the Secretary of Labor of the United States under
Section 3304 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1954;
47. 48. “Supplemental unemployment benefit plan” means a plan
that provides for an employer to make payments to its employees
during a permanent or temporary layoff that will supplement
unemployment benefits received by the employees. The purpose of a
supplemental unemployment benefit plan is to allow an employer to
sustain the purchasing power of its employees or former employees
during a layoff;
48. 49. “Taxable wages” means the wages paid to an individual
with respect to employment during a calendar year for services
covered by the Employment Security Act of 1980 or other state
unemployment compensation acts which shall equal the applicable
percentage of the state’s average annual wage for the second
preceding calendar year as determined by the Commission, rounded to
the nearest multiple of One Hundred Dollars ($100.00);
49. 50. “Wages” shall have the same meaning as provided in
Section 1-218 of this title;
50. 51. “Wages paid” means wages actually paid to the worker;
provided, however, that in the event of any distribution of an
employer’s assets through insolvency, receivership, composition,
assignment for the benefit of creditors, or termination of business,
wages earned but not actually paid shall be considered as paid; and
51. 52. “Week” means such period of seven (7) consecutive days,
as the Commission may by regulation prescribe.
SECTION 2. AMENDATORY 40 O.S. 2021, Section 1-224, as
last amended by Section 2, Chapter 114, O.S.L. 2024 (40 O.S. Supp.
2024, Section 1-224), is amended to read as follows:
Section 1-224. FILE.
ENR. S. B. NO. 924 Page 8
A. For purposes of this section, “OESC 2020-21 business process
transformation” means a change from paper process to integrated
digital technology. Upon completion of the OESC 2020-21 business
process transformation, electronic e-filing will be the Oklahoma
Employment Security Commission’s preferred filing method for
tendering and receiving documents. All claimants and employers
tendering documents to the Commission will be expected to tender the
documents electronically. If the claimant or employer has elected
to utilize other means of transmittal, it will be the responsibility
of the claimant or employer to notify the Commission of this
preference.
B. When the provisions of the Employment Security Act of 1980
or the rules promulgated under the authority of the act Employment
Security Act of 1980 require any document to be filed with the
Oklahoma Employment Security Commission or its affiliate entities,
the term “file”, “files”, or “filed” shall mean:
1. Mailing by means calculated to ensure receipt by the
Oklahoma Employment Security Commission on or before the date due.
Timely mailing shall be determined by the United States Postal
Service postmark. If there is no such legible postmark, the date of
receipt by the Commission shall constitute the date of filing;
2. Electronic e-filing to the Oklahoma Employment Security
Commission, as directed by the instructions on the determination
letter, order or other document issued by the Commission, by
midnight on or before the date due. Timely transmission shall be
determined by the Commission’s transmission log file; or
3. Digital portal filing by midnight on or before the date due.
Timely transmission shall be determined by the Commission’s
transmission log file; or
4. In significant economic situations, instances where evidence
suggests potential fraudulent activity or for those who have not
completed the claim filing process, the Commission shall have the
discretion to modify the appeal filing requirements to respond to
the situation.
C. If the Employment Security Act of 1980 or the rules
promulgated under the Employment Security Act of 1980 require that a
ENR. S. B. NO. 924 Page 9
document be filed with a court or any other agency of this state,
the term “file”, “files” or “filed” shall be defined by the
statutes, rules or practice governing that court or agency.
SECTION 3. AMENDATORY 40 O.S. 2021, Section 2-610, is
amended to read as follows:
Section 2-610. JUDICIAL REVIEW.
A. Within the thirty (30) days after the day a notice of
decision of the Board of Review is mailed to the parties, the
Oklahoma Employment Security Commission, or any party to the
proceedings before the Board of Review, may obtain judicial review
by filing in the district court of the county in which the claimant
resides, or if the claimant is not a resident of the State of
Oklahoma then in the District Court of Oklahoma County, a petition
for review of the decision of the Board of Review. The petition for
review shall set out the names of all codefendants in the style of
the case, which shall include:
1. The Board of Review;
2. The Oklahoma Employment Security Commission; and
3. All other parties to the proceeding before the Board of
Review.
Failure to properly name the codefendants as stated in this
section shall be deemed a jurisdictional defect and the case shall
be dismissed. The petition for review need not be verified but
shall state specifically the grounds upon which the review is
sought. A copy of the petition for review shall be served upon the
Board of Review at its official address and the petitioner shall
also deliver to the Board of Review as many copies of the petition
as there are defendants. The Board of Review shall issue to each
party to the proceeding a copy of the petition and the issuance
shall be deemed to be service upon all the parties. In any
proceeding under this section the findings of the Board of Review as
to the facts, if supported by evidence, shall be conclusive and the
jurisdiction of the court shall be confined to questions of law. No
additional evidence shall be received by the court, but the court
ENR. S. B. NO. 924 Page 10
may remand the case and order additional evidence to be taken by the
Appeal Tribunal of the Oklahoma Employment Security Commission.
B. Within sixty (60) days of the date of service of the
petition on the Board of Review, the Board of Review shall file with
the court a certified copy of the record of the case, including all
documents and papers properly admitted into evidence and a
transcript of all testimony taken in the matter, together with the
Board of Review’s findings, conclusions and decision.
C. The proceedings shall be heard in a summary manner and shall
be given precedence over all other civil cases. An appeal may be
taken from the decision of the district court to the Supreme Court
of this state in the same manner as is provided in other civil
cases. It shall not be necessary as a condition precedent to
judicial review of any decision of the Board of Review to enter
exceptions to the rulings of the Board, and no bond shall be
required as a condition of initiating a proceeding for judicial
review or entering an appeal from the decision of the court. Upon
the final termination of the judicial proceeding, the Board of
Review shall enter an order in accordance with the mandate of the
district or appellate court.
SECTION 4. AMENDATORY 40 O.S. 2021, Section 4-508, as
amended by Section 22, Chapter 360, O.S.L. 2022 (40 O.S. Supp. 2024,
Section 4-508), is amended to read as follows:
Section 4-508. INFORMATION TO BE KEPT CONFIDENTIAL -
DISCLOSURE.
A. Except as otherwise provided by law, information obtained
from any employing unit or individual pursuant to the administration
of the Employment Security Act of 1980, any workforce system program
administered or monitored by the Oklahoma Employment Security
Commission, and determinations as to the benefit rights of any
individual shall be kept confidential and shall not be disclosed or
be open to public inspection in any manner revealing the
individual’s or employing unit’s identity. Any claimant, employer,
or agent of either as authorized in writing, shall be supplied with
information from the records of the Oklahoma Employment Security
Commission, to the extent necessary for the proper presentation of
ENR. S. B. NO. 924 Page 11
the claim or complaint in any proceeding under the Employment
Security Act of 1980, with respect thereto.
B. Upon receipt of written request by any employer who
maintains a Supplemental Unemployment Benefit (SUB) Plan, the
Commission or its designated representative may release to that
employer information regarding weekly benefit amounts paid its
workers during a specified temporary layoff period, provided the
Supplemental Unemployment Benefit (SUB) Plan requires benefit
payment information before Supplemental Unemployment Benefits can be
paid to the workers. Any information disclosed under this provision
shall be utilized solely for the purpose outlined herein and shall
be held strictly confidential by the employer.
C. The provisions of this section shall not prevent the
Commission from disclosing the following information and no
liability whatsoever, civil or criminal, shall attach to any member
of the Commission or any employee thereof for any error or omission
in the disclosure of this information:
1. The delivery to taxpayer or claimant a copy of any report or
other paper filed by the taxpayer or claimant pursuant to the
Employment Security Act of 1980;
2. The disclosure of information to any person for a purpose as
authorized by the taxpayer or claimant pursuant to a waiver of
confidentiality. The waiver shall be in writing and shall be
notarized;
3. The Oklahoma Department of Commerce may have access to data
obtained pursuant to the Employment Security Act of 1980 pursuant to
rules promulgated by the Commission. The information obtained shall
be held confidential by the Department and any of its agents and
shall not be disclosed or be open to public inspection. The
Oklahoma Department of Commerce, however, may release aggregated
data, either by industry or county, provided that the aggregation
meets disclosure requirements of the Commission;
4. The publication of statistics so classified as to prevent
the identification of a particular report and the items thereof;
ENR. S. B. NO. 924 Page 12
5. The disclosing of information or evidence to the Attorney
General or any district attorney when the information or evidence is
to be used by the officials or other parties to the proceedings to
prosecute or defend allegations of violations of the Employment
Security Act of 1980. The information disclosed to the Attorney
General or any district attorney shall be kept confidential by them
and not be disclosed except when presented to a court in a
prosecution of a violation of Section 1-101 et seq. of this title,
and a violation by the Attorney General or district attorney by
otherwise releasing the information shall be a felony;
6. The furnishing, at the discretion of the Commission, of any
information disclosed by the records or files to any official person
or body of this state, any other state or of the United States who
is concerned with the administration of assessment of any similar
tax in this state, any other state or the United States;
7. The furnishing of information to other state agencies for
the limited purpose of aiding in the collection of debts owed by
individuals to the requesting agencies or the Oklahoma Employment
Security Commission;
8. The release of information to employees of the Department of
Transportation required for use in federally mandated regional
transportation planning, which is performed as a part of its
official duties;
9. The release of information to employees of the State
Treasurer’s office required to verify or evaluate the effectiveness
of the Oklahoma Small Business Linked Deposit Program on job
creation;
10. The release of information to employees of the Attorney
General, the Department of Labor, the Workers’ Compensation
Commission and the Insurance Department for use in investigation of
workers’ compensation fraud;
11. The release of information to employees of any state,
county, municipal or tribal law enforcement agency for use in
criminal investigations and the location of missing persons or
fugitives from justice;
ENR. S. B. NO. 924 Page 13
12. The release of information to employees of the Center of
International Trade, Oklahoma State University, required for the
development of International Trade for employers doing business in
this state;
13. The release of information to employees of the Oklahoma
State Regents for Higher Education required for use in the default
prevention efforts and/or collection of defaulted student loans
guaranteed by the Oklahoma Guaranteed Student Loan Program. Any
information disclosed under this provision shall be utilized solely
for the purpose outlined herein and shall be held strictly
confidential by the Oklahoma State Regents for Higher Education;
14. The release of information to employees of the Oklahoma
Department of Career and Technology Education, the Oklahoma State
Regents for Higher Education, the Center for Economic and Management
Research of the University of Oklahoma, the Center for Economic and
Business Development at Southwestern Oklahoma State University or a
center of economic and business research or development at a
comprehensive or regional higher education institution within The
Oklahoma State System of Higher Education required to identify
economic trends or educational outcomes. The information obtained
shall be kept confidential by the Oklahoma Department of Career and
Technology Education, the Oklahoma State Regents for Higher
Education and the higher education institution and shall not be
disclosed or be open to public inspection. The Oklahoma Department
of Career and Technology Education, the Oklahoma State Regents for
Higher Education and the higher education institution may release
aggregated data, provided that the aggregation meets disclosure
requirements of the Commission;
15. The release of information to employees of the Office of
Management and Enterprise Services required to identify economic
trends. The information obtained shall be kept confidential by the
Office of Management and Enterprise Services and shall not be
disclosed or be open to public inspection. The Office of Management
and Enterprise Services may release aggregate data, provided that
the aggregation meets disclosure requirements of the Oklahoma
Employment Security Commission;
16. The release of information to employees of the Department
of Mental Health and Substance Abuse Services required to evaluate
ENR. S. B. NO. 924 Page 14
the effectiveness of mental health and substance abuse treatment and
state or local programs utilized to divert persons from inpatient
treatment. The information obtained shall be kept confidential by
the Department and shall not be disclosed or be open to public
inspection. The Department of Mental Health and Substance Abuse
Services, however, may release aggregated data, either by treatment
facility, program or larger aggregate units, provided that the
aggregation meets disclosure requirements of the Oklahoma Employment
Security Commission;
17. The release of information to employees of the Attorney
General, the Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation and the
Insurance Department for use in the investigation of insurance fraud
and health care fraud;
18. The release of information to employees of public housing
agencies for purposes of determining eligibility pursuant to 42
U.S.C., Section 503(i);
19. The release of wage and benefit claim information, at the
discretion of the Commission, to an agency of this state or its
political subdivisions that operate a program or activity designated
as a required partner in the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity
Act One-Stop delivery system pursuant to 29 U.S.C.A., Section
3151(b)(1), based on a showing of need made to the Commission and
after an agreement concerning the release of information is entered
into with the entity receiving the information. For the limited
purpose of completing performance accountability reports required by
the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act, only those designated
required partners that meet the 20 CFR Section 603.2(d) definition
of public official may contract with a private agent or contractor
pursuant to 20 CFR Section 603.5(f) for the purpose of the private
agent or contractor receiving confidential unemployment compensation
information to the extent necessary to complete the performance
accountability reports;
20. The release of information to the State Wage Interchange
System, at the discretion of the Commission;
21. The release of information to the Bureau of the Census of
the U.S. Department of Commerce, the Bureau of Labor Statistics of
the U.S. Department of Labor, and its agents employed by the
ENR. S. B. NO. 924 Page 15
Oklahoma Department of Labor for the purpose of economic and
statistical research;
22. The release of employer tax information and benefit claim
information to the Oklahoma Health Care Authority for use in
determining eligibility for a program that will provide subsidies
for health insurance premiums for qualified employers, employees,
self-employed persons and unemployed persons;
23. The release of employer tax information and benefit claim
information to the State Department of Rehabilitation Services for
use in assessing results and outcomes of clients served;
24. The release of information to any state or federal law
enforcement authority when necessary in the investigation of any
crime in which the Commission is a victim. Information that is
confidential under this section shall be held confidential by the
law enforcement authority unless and until it is required for use in
court in the prosecution of a defendant in a criminal prosecution;
25. The release of information to vendors that contract with
the Oklahoma Employment Security Commission to provide for the
issuance of debit cards, to conduct electronic fund transfers, to
perform computer programming operations, or to perform computer
maintenance or replacement operations; provided the vendor agrees to
protect and safeguard the information it receives and to destroy the
information when no longer needed for the purposes set out in the
contract;
26. The release of information to employees of the Office of
Juvenile Affairs for use in assessing results and outcomes of
clients served as well as the effectiveness of state and local
juvenile and justice programs including prevention and treatment
programs. The information obtained shall be kept confidential by
the Office of Juvenile Affairs and shall not be disclosed or be open
to public inspection. The Office of Juvenile Affairs may release
aggregated data for programs or larger aggregate units, provided
that the aggregation meets disclosure requirements of the Oklahoma
Employment Security Commission;
27. The release of information to vendors that contract with
the State of Oklahoma for the purpose of providing a public
ENR. S. B. NO. 924 Page 16
electronic labor exchange system that will support the Oklahoma
Employment Security Commission’s operation of an employment service
system to connect employers with job seekers and military veterans.
This labor exchange system would enhance the stability and security
of Oklahoma’s economy as well as support the provision of veterans’
priority of service. The vendors may perform computer programming
operations, perform computer maintenance or replacement operations,
or host the electronic solution; provided, each vendor agrees to
protect and safeguard all information received, that no information
shall be disclosed to any third party, that the use of the
information shall be restricted to the scope of the contract, and
that the vendor shall properly dispose of all information when no
longer needed for the purposes set out in the contract; or
28. The release of employer tax information and benefit claim
information to employees of a county public defender’s office in
this state and the Oklahoma Indigent Defense System for the purpose
of determining financial eligibility for the services provided by
such entities.
D. Subpoenas to compel disclosure of information made
confidential by this statute shall not be valid, except for
administrative subpoenas issued by federal, state, or local
governmental agencies that have been granted subpoena power by
statute or ordinance. Confidential information maintained by the
Commission can be obtained by order of a court of record that
authorizes the release of the records in writing. All
administrative subpoenas or court orders for production of documents
must provide a minimum of twenty (20) days from the date it is
served for the Commission to produce the documents. If the date on
which production of the documents is required is less than twenty
(20) days from the date of service, the subpoena or order shall be
considered void on its face as an undue burden or hardship on the
Commission. All administrative subpoenas, court orders or notarized
waivers of confidentiality authorized by paragraph 2 of subsection C
of this section shall be presented with a request for records within
ninety (90) days of the date the document is issued or signed, and
the document can only be used one time to obtain records.
E. Should any of the disclosures provided for in this section
require more than casual or incidental staff time, the Commission
ENR. S. B. NO. 924 Page 17
shall charge the cost of the staff time to the party requesting the
information.
F. It is further provided that the provisions of this section
shall be strictly interpreted and shall not be construed as
permitting the disclosure of any other information contained in the
records and files of the Commission.
SECTION 5. This act shall become effective November 1, 2025.
ENR. S. B. NO. 924 Page 18
Passed the Senate the 24th day of March, 2025.
Presiding Officer of the Senate
Passed the House of Representatives the 5th day of May, 2025.
Presiding Officer of the House
of Representatives
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: _________________________________