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SENATE FLOOR VERSION
February 22, 2022
AS AMENDED
SENATE BILL NO. 1711 By: Howard and Treat of the
Senate
and
McCall of the House
[ Attorney General - monitor and evaluate certain
actions - effective date -
emergency ]
BE IT ENACTED BY THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF OKLAHOMA:
SECTION 1. AMENDATORY 74 O.S. 2021, Section 18b, is
amended to read as follows:
Section 18b. A. The duties of the Attorney General as the
chief law officer of the state shal l be:
1. To appear for the state and prosecute and de fend all actions
and proceedings, civil or criminal, in the Supreme Court and Court
of Criminal Appeals in which the state is intereste d as a party;
2. To appear for the state and prosecute and defend all actions
and proceedings in any of the federal cour ts in which the state is
interested as a party;
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3. To initiate or appear in any action in which the interests
of the state or the pe ople of the state are at issue, or to appear
at the request of the Go vernor, the Legislature, or either branch
thereof, and prosecute and defend in any court or before any
commission, board or officers any cause or proceedi ng, civil or
criminal, in which t he state may be a party or interested; and when
so appearing in any s uch cause or proceeding, the Attorney General
may, if the Attorney General deems it advisable and to the best
interest of the state, take and assume contr ol of the prosecution or
defense of the state’s interest therein;
4. To consult with and advise distr ict attorneys, when
requested by them, in all matters pertaining to the duties of their
offices, when the district attorneys shall furnish the Attorney
General with a written opinion sup ported by citation of authorities
upon the matter submitted;
5. To give an opinion in writing upon all questions of law
submitted to the Attorney General by the Legislature or either
branch thereof, or by any state officer, board, commission or
department, provided, that the Attorney General shall not furnish
opinions to any but district attorneys, the Legislature or either
branch thereof, or any other state official, board, commission or
department, and to them only upon ma tters in which they are
officially interested;
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6. At the request of the Governor, State Auditor and I nspector,
State Treasurer, or either branch of the Leg islature, to prosecute
any official bond or any contract in which the state is interested,
upon a breach thereof, and to prosecute or defend for the state all
actions, civil or criminal, relating to any matter connected with
either of their Departments;
7. Whenever requested by any state officer, board or
commission, to prepare proper drafts for contrac ts, forms and other
writing which may be wanted for the use of the state;
8. To prepare drafts of bil ls and resolutions for individual
members of the Legis lature upon their written request stating the
gist of the bill or resolution desired;
9. To enforce the proper application of monies appropriated by
the Legislature and to prosecute breaches of trust i n the
administration of such funds;
10. To institute actions to recover state monies illegally
expended, to recover state property and to prevent the ill egal use
of any state property, upon the request of the Governor or the
Legislature;
11. To pay into the State Treasury, immediately upon its
receipt, all monies received by the Attorney General belonging to
the state;
12. To settle, compromise and dispo se of an action in which the
Attorney General represents the interests of the state, so long as
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the consideration negotiated for such settlement, compromise or
disposition is payable to the state or one of its agencies which is
a named party of the action and any monies, any prop erty or other
item of value is paid first to the State Treasury;
13. To keep and file copies of all opinions, contracts, forms
and letters of the office, and to keep an index of all opinions,
contracts and forms according to subjec t and section of the la w
construed or applied;
14. To keep a register or docket of all actions, deman ds and
investigations prosecuted, defended or conducte d by the Attorney
General in behalf of the state . The register or docket shall give
the style of the case or investigatio n, where pending, court number,
office number, the gist of the matter, result an d the names of the
assistants who handled the matter;
15. To keep a complete office file of all cases and
investigations handled by the Attorney General on behalf of the
state;
16. To report to the Legislature or either branch thereof
whenever requested upon any business relating to the duties of the
Attorney General’s office;
17. To institute civil actions against members of any state
board or commission for failure of such members to perform their
duties as prescribed by the statutes and the Constituti on and to
prosecute members of any state board or comm ission for violation of
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the criminal laws of this state where such violations have occurred
in connection with the performance of such members ’ official duties;
18. To respond to any request for an opi nion of the Attorney
General’s office, submitted by a member of the Legislature,
regardless of subject matter, by written opinion determinative of
the law regarding such subject matter;
19. To convene multicounty grand juries in such manner and for
such purposes as provided by law; provided, such grand jurie s are
composed of citizens from each of the counties on a pro rata basis
by county;
20. To investigate any report by the State Auditor and
Inspector filed with the Attorney General pursuant to Section 223 of
this title and prosecute all actions, civil or criminal, relating to
such reports or any irregularities or derelictions in the management
of public funds or property which are violations of the laws of this
state;
21. To represent and protect the c ollective interests of all
utility consumers of this s tate in rate-related proceedings before
the Corporation Commission or in any other state or federal judicial
or administrative proceeding;
22. To represent and protect the collective interests of
insurance consumers of this state in rate-related proceedings before
the Insurance Commissioner or in any other state or federal judicial
or administrative pro ceeding;
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23. To investigate and prosecute any criminal action relating
to insurance fraud, if in the opinion of the Attorney General a
criminal prosecution is warranted, or to refer such matters to the
appropriate district attorney ; and
24. To monitor and evaluate any action by the federal
government including, but not limited to, executive orders by the
President of the United States, rules or regulations promulgated by
an agency of the federal government or acts of Congress to determine
if such actions are in violation of the Tenth Amendment to the
Constitution of the United States ; and
25. To monitor and evaluate any action by the federal
government including, but not limited to, executive orders by the
President of the United States, rules or regulations promulgated by
an agency of the federal government or acts of Congress, practice,
or policy that infringes on an individual’s religious liberties in
the workplace.
B. Nothing in this section shall be construed as requiring the
Attorney General to appear and defend or prosecute in any court any
cause or proceeding for or on behalf of the Oklahoma Tax Commission,
the Board of Managers of the State Insurance Fund, or the
Commissioners of the Land Office.
C. In all appeals from the Corporatio n Commission to the
Supreme Court of Oklahoma in which the state is a party, the
Attorney General shall have the right to designate counsel of the
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Corporation Commission a s the Attorney General ’s legally appointed
representative in such appeals, and it sha ll be the duty of the
Corporation Commission counsel to act when so designated and to
consult and advise wit h the Attorney General regarding such appeals
prior to taking action therein.
SECTION 2. AMENDATORY 80 O.S. 2021, Section 101, is
amended to read as follows:
Section 101. A. The Legislature may review any executive order
issued by the President of the United States, federal agency rule or
federal congressional action to determine the constituti onality of
such action. Upon recommendation from the Legislature, the Attorney
General, through the State Reserved Powers Protection Unit , shall
review such action by the federal government to determine the
constitutionality of the action and whether the state should seek an
exemption from the application of the action or seek to have the
action declared unconstitutional by a court of competent
jurisdiction and prevent, prohibit or enjoin enforcement o f the
unconstitutional order, rule or action .
B. Should the Attorney General decline to pursue action based
upon the determination of the Legislature, the Legislature may by a
majority vote initiate an action to seek an exemption from the
application of the action or seek to have the action declared
unconstitutional by a court of competent jurisdiction and prevent,
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prohibit or enjoin enforcement of the unconstitutional order, rule
or action.
C. Notwithstanding any other provision of law, the state,
county, political subdivision or any other publicly funded
organization shall not implement , adopt or enforce any order,
federal agency rule or federal congressional action declared
unconstitutional by a court of competent jurisdiction under
subsection A or B of this section including, but not limited to:
1. Pandemics or other health emergencies;
2. The regulation of natural r esources, including oil and
natural gas;
3. The regulation of the agriculture i ndustry;
4. The use of land;
5. The regulation of the f inancial sector as i t relates to
environmental, social or governance standards;
6. The regulation of the constitution al right to keep and bear
arms;
7. The regulation of education;
8. The regulation of interscholastic, intramural or other
extracurricular sports sponsored by an institution of higher
education, a school district or a charter school;
9. The protection of religious liberties in the workplace; or
9. 10. Any other powers reserved by the State of Oklahoma or
the people of Oklahoma.
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SECTION 3. This act shall become effective July 1, 2022.
SECTION 4. It being immediately necessary for the preservation
of the public peace, health or safety, an emergency is hereby
declared to exist, by reason whereof this act shall take effect and
be in full force from and after its passage an d approval.
COMMITTEE REPORT BY: COMMITTEE ON JUDICIARY
February 22, 2022 - DO PASS AS AMENDED