Oklahoma House Bill HB2530

Oklahoma 2022 Regular Session

• Introduced: 2/1/21
• Refer: 2/2/21

Caption

Statutes and reports; revision or correction to the Oklahoma Statutes; Legislative Service Bureau; employees; authorized corrections or revisions; exceptions; effective date.

Impact

If enacted, HB2530 would significantly impact the legislative process in Oklahoma by formalizing a methodology for regularly reviewing and correcting statutory language. It would provide a clear protocol on the types of revisions that could be executed, defining limitations to ensure that substantive law remains unchanged while improving the accuracy and readability of the statutes. This change could lead to more precise legislation and potentially expedite the legislative process, as minor corrections would no longer require full legislative approval as they typically do.

Summary

House Bill 2530 aims to establish a systematic approach for the revision of the Oklahoma Statutes overseen by the Legislative Service Bureau alongside employees from both the Oklahoma House of Representatives and the State Senate. This bill seeks to streamline the correction and revision processes for existing statutes, empowering the designated bureau to address various minor errors such as spelling mistakes, punctuation errors, and inconsistencies within statutory language. The primary objective is to enhance clarity and consistency within state laws without altering the substantive content of the statutes.

Contention

While the intention of HB2530 is to simplify legislative tasks and maintain updated statutes, there may be debates regarding the scope of authority granted to the Legislative Service Bureau. Some lawmakers could see this as a potential avenue for reducing legislative oversight or as a means of bypassing thorough scrutiny in legislative processes. Concerns may arise about how these corrections would be managed and who ultimately gets to decide what constitutes a permissible correction, thereby sparking discussions about accountability in the legislative process.