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STATE OF OKLAHOMA
1st Session of the 58th Legislature (2021)
SENATE BILL 452 By: Kirt
AS INTRODUCED
An Act relating to the Oklahoma Open Records Act;
amending 51 O.S. 2011, Section 24A.5, as last amended
by Section 1, Chapter 202, O.S.L. 2 017 (51 O.S. Supp.
2020, Section 24A.5), which relates to inspe ction,
copying and mechanical reproductio n of records;
requiring certain records to be provided
electronically upon request; prohibiting requirement
for conversion of certain records; updating statutory
reference; and providing an effective date .
BE IT ENACTED BY THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF OKLAHOMA:
SECTION 1. AMENDATORY 51 O.S. 2011, Section 24A.5 , as
last amended by Section 1, Chapt er 202, O.S.L. 2017 (51 O.S. Supp.
2020, Section 24A.5), is amended to read as follows:
Section 24A.5. All records of public bodie s and public
officials shall be open to any person for inspe ction, copying, or
mechanical reproduction during regular busines s hours; provided:
1. The Oklahoma Open Records Act, Sections 24A.1 through 24A.30
of this title, does not apply to records specif ically required by
law to be kept confidential including:
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a. records protected by a state evide ntiary privilege
such as the attorney-client privilege, the work
product immunity from discovery and the identity of
informer privileges,
b. records of what tran spired during meetings of a public
body lawfully closed to t he public such as executive
sessions authorized under the Oklahom a Open Meeting
Act,
c. personal information within driver records as defined
by the Driver’s Privacy Protection Act, 18 United
States Code, Sections 2721 through 2725,
d. information in the f iles of the Board of Medicolegal
Investigations obtained pursuant to Sections 940 and
941 of Title 63 of the Oklahoma Statutes that may be
hearsay, preliminary unsubstantiated investigation -
related findings, or confidential medical information,
or
e. any test forms, question banks and answe r keys
developed for state lic ensure examinations, but
specifically excluding test preparation materials or
study guides;
2. All Social Security numbers include d in a record may be
confidential regardless of the person ’s status as a public employee
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or private individual and may be red acted or deleted prior to
release of the record by the public body;
3. Any reasonably segregable portion of a record containing
exempt material shall be provided after deletion of the exempt
portions; provided, however, the Department of Public Safety shal l
not be required to assemble for the requesting person specific
information, in any format , from driving records relating to any
person whose name and date of birth or whose driver license n umber
is not furnished by the reque sting person.
The Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation shall not be required
to assemble for the requesting person any criminal history records
relating to persons whose names, dates of birth , and other
identifying information required by the Oklahoma St ate Bureau of
Investigation pursuant to administrative rule are not furnished by
the requesting person;
4. Any request for a record which contains individual re cords
of persons, and the cost of copying, reproducing or ce rtifying each
individual record is otherwise prescribed by state law, the cost may
be assessed for each individual record , or portion thereof requested
as prescribed by state law. Otherwise, a pu blic body may charge a
fee only for recovery of the reasonab le, direct costs of record
copying, or mechanical reproduction. Notwithstanding any state or
local provision to the contrary, in no instance shall the record
copying fee exceed twenty -five cents ($0.25) per page for records
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having the dimensions of eight and one-half (8 1/2) by fourteen (1 4)
inches or smaller, or a max imum of One Dollar ($1.00) per copied
page for a certified copy. However, if the request:
a. is solely for commercial purpose, or
b. would clearly cause excessive disruption of the
essential functions of the public body,
then the public body may charge a reasonable fee to recover the
direct cost of record search and copying; however, publication in a
newspaper or broadcast by news me dia for news purposes shall not
constitute a resale or use o f a record for trade or commercial
purpose and charges for provid ing copies of electronic data to the
news media for a news purpose shall not exceed the direct cost of
making the copy. The fee ch arged by the Department of Public Safety
for a copy in a computerized format of a record of the Department
shall not exceed the direct cost of making the copy unless the fee
for the record is otherwise set by law.
Any public body establishing fees under this act the Oklahoma
Open Records Act shall post a written sc hedule of the fees at its
principal office and with the county cl erk.
In no case shall a search fee be charged when the release of
records is in the public interest , including, but not limited to,
release to the news media, sc holars, authors and taxpayers seeking
to determine whether those entrusted with the affairs of the
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government are honestly, faithfully, and competently performing
their duties as public servants.
The fees shall not be used for the purpose of discouraging
requests for information or as obstacles to disclosure of requeste d
information;
5. The land description tract index of all recorded instruments
concerning real property required to be kept by the county clerk of
any county shall be available for inspectio n or copying in
accordance with the provisions of the Oklahoma Op en Records Act;
provided, however, the index shall n ot be copied or mechanically
reproduced for the purpose of sale of the information;
6. A public body must provide prompt, reasonable acces s to its
records but may estab lish reasonable procedures which pr otect the
integrity and organi zation of its records and to prevent excessive
disruptions of its essential functions. A delay in providing access
to records shall be limited solely to the tim e required for
preparing the requested documents and the avoidanc e of excessive
disruptions of the public body’s essential functions. In no event
may production of a current request for records be unreasonably
delayed until after completion of a prior rec ords request that will
take substantially longer than the current request. Any public body
which makes the requested records available on the Internet shall
meet the obligation of providing prompt, reasonable access to its
records as required by this para graph; and
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7. A public body shall designate certain persons who are
authorized to release reco rds of the public body for inspection,
copying, or mechanical reproduction. At least one person shall be
available at all times to release records during the re gular
business hours of the pu blic body; and
8. Upon request, any record of a public body that is excepted
from confidentiality pursuant to this act and stored electronically
shall be provided electronically ; provided, a public body shall not
be required to convert a record that is maintained in a
nonelectronic format into an electronic format for the purpose of
this act.
SECTION 2. This act shall become effective November 1, 2021.
58-1-360 TEK 1/19/2021 9:47:19 AM