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STATE OF OKLAHOMA
1st Session of the 58th Legislature (2021)
SENATE BILL 881 By: Jett
AS INTRODUCED
An Act relating to State Fire Marshal; amending 74
O.S. 2011, Section 3 17, which relates to examination
of buildings and premi ses; increasing fine; amending
74 O.S. 2011, Section 324.9 , which relates to
investigations; deleting requirement for State Fire
Marshal to be a peace officer; del eting certain
limitation; amending 74 O.S. 2011, Sectio n 324.11,
which relates to building permits; updati ng language;
amending 74 O.S. 2011, Section 324.19 , which relates
to violations; expanding list of who can violate
State Fire Marshal orders; allowing for a hearing by
those fined for violat ion; requiring an
administrative hearing officer to hear and propose
findings to State Fire Marshal Commission for
consideration; setting time of consideration ;
requiring Commission to issue final order; allowing
for process to supersede current hearing and appeal
systems; directing fines to be deposited into the
State Fire Marshal Revolving Fund; amending 74 O.S.
2011, Section 324.20b, as amended by Section 848,
Chapter 304, O.S.L. 2012 (74 O.S. Supp. 2020, Section
324.20b), which relates to the State Fire Marshal
Revolving Fund; removing cap amount of fund; and
providing for an effective date .
BE IT ENACTED BY THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF OKLAHOMA:
SECTION 1. AMENDATORY 74 O.S. 2011, Section 317, is
amended to read as follow s:
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Section 317. The State Fire Marshal, any ass istants to the
State Fire Marshal, the chief of the fire department of all the
cities and towns where a fire department is establ ished, the mayor
of the cities and towns where no fire department exists, the chief
of a fire protection district created pursu ant to Sections 901.1 et
seq. of Title 19 of the Oklahoma Statutes and the sheriff of all
counties, upon the complaint of any per son having an interest in an y
building or property adjacent, and without any complaint, shal l have
the right at all reasonable hours for the purpose of an examination
to enter into and upon all buildings and premises within their
jurisdiction. The State F ire Marshal shall, at least once each
year, make a fire inspection of all correctional facil ities under
the jurisdiction and co ntrol of any state agency, county, city or
town. The correctional facilities shall include, but not be limited
to, institutions within the Department of Cor rections as defined by
Section 502 of Title 57 of the Oklahoma S tatutes, juvenile
institutions under the jurisdiction and control of the Department of
Institutions, Social and Rehabilitative Services, as listed in
Section 2-7-606 of Title 10A of the Oklaho ma Statutes, and jails.
The State Fire Marshal shall issue a re port containing findings of
the inspection as to each facility under the jurisdiction and
control of a state agency, to the director of the agency. As to any
other correctional facility, the State Fire Marshal shall issue the
report to the person immediat ely responsible for the administrat ion
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of the facility inspected. Whenever any of the officers shall find
any building or other structure which for the want of pro per repair,
or by reason of age and dilapidated condition, or for any cause is
especially liable to fire, and which is so situa ted as to endanger
other buildings or property, or so occupied that a fire would
endanger persons and property therein, the offic ers shall order the
building or buildings to be repaired, torn down, demolished,
materials removed and all dangerous conditions remedied. Whenever
the officers determine that a threat to life is imminent, the
officers are permitted to order the evacuation of the occupants of
the building or buildings. If the officer finds in a building or
upon any premises any combustible or exp losive material, rubbish,
rags, waste, oils, gasoline or inflammable conditions of any kind,
dangerous to the safety of buildings or property, the officer sh all
order the materials removed or conditions remedied. The ord er shall
be made against the owner, lessee, agent or occupant of the
buildings or premises and, thereupon, the order shall be complied
with by the owner, lessee, ag ent or occupant, and within the time
fixed in the order. If the owner, lessee, agent or occ upant deems
itself aggrieved by an order of any of the officers, and desires a
hearing, that person may complain or appeal in writing to the State
Fire Marshal within ten (10) days from the se rvice of the order, and
the State Fire Marshal shall at once inv estigate the complaint, and
shall fix a time in the county where the property is located, when
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and where the complaint will be heard by the State Fire Marshal.
The State Fire Marshal may affi rm, modify, revoke or vacate the
order at the hearing, and unles s the order is revoked or vacated b y
the State Fire Marshal, it shall remain in force and be complied
with by the owner, lessee, agent or occupant within the time f ixed
in the order, or within the time as may be fixed by the State Fire
Marshal at the heari ng. If a person is aggrieved by th e final order
of the State Fire Marshal as made at the hearing, that person may,
within ten (10) days thereafter, appeal to the d istrict court of the
county in which the property is situated, notifying the State Fire
Marshal in writing of the appeal within three (3) days thereafter,
which notice shall be delivered personally to the State Fire Marshal
or by registered mail to the off ice of the State Fire Marsha l at
Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. The party appealing shall, within three
(3) days thereafter, file wi th the clerk of the district court in
which the appeal is made, a bond in an amount to be fixed by the
court but in no case less than One Hundred Dollars ($1 00.00), with
at least sufficient sureties to be approved by the court,
conditioned to pay all costs on the appeal in case the appellant
failed to sustain the same or the appeal be dismissed for any cause.
The district court sha ll hear and determine the ap peal de novo, in
the same manner as other issues of law and fact are heard and tried
in the courts, and the State Fire Marshal shall be plaintiff in the
action. The district court shall hear and determine the appeal at
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the next regular term of district co urt in the county where the
order was issued, and may sustain, m odify or annul the order of the
State Fire Marshal, and the decision of the district court shall be
final. The State Fire Marshal shall execute the final order of the
district court, and if t he order is adverse to the appellant, the
State Fire Marshal is empowered to cause the building or premises to
be repaired, torn down, demolished, materials removed and all
dangerous conditions remedied, as the case may be, at t he expense of
the appellant. If the appellant fails, refuses or neglects to
comply with the order, or pay the expense incurred by the State Fire
Marshal in executing the same within thirty (30) days thereafter,
the expense shall be certified by the State Fire Marshal to the
county assessor of the county in which the property is situated and
the county assessor shall enter the exp ense on the tax list of the
county as a special charge against the real estate on which the
building is or was situated, and the same shall be collected as
other taxes and, when collected, shall be paid to the county
treasurer and credited to the general f und of the county in which
the property is located. Any person being the owner, occupant,
lessee or agent of buildings or premis es, who willfully fails,
neglects or refuses to comply with any order of any officer named i n
this section shall be guilty of a misdemeanor and shall be fined not
more than Fifty Dollars ($50.00) One Thousand Dollars ($1,000.00)
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nor less than Ten Dollars ($10.00) One Hundred Dollars ($100.00) for
each day’s neglect.
SECTION 2. AMENDATORY 74 O.S. 2011, Sec tion 324.9, is
amended to read as follows:
Section 324.9. A. The State Fire Marshal or deputies of the
State Fire Marshal may make investigations to determine the origin
and cause of fires, explosions, or suspected arso n, and violations
of other related laws and codes. The State Fire Marshal and the
agents Agents of the State Fire Marshal shall be peace officers and
have and exercise all the powers and authority of other peace
officers, with responsibility for the enfor cement of statutes
relating to the State Fire Marshal. This shall include the
authority to enforce, issue citations for violations of state and
city-adopted codes, and make arrests for felony offenses relevant to
the duties of the State Fire Marshal. All reports and all results
of investigations relevant to the State Fire Marshal statu tes shall
be available and shall be freely interchanged between the Office of
the State Fire Marshal and the Oklahoma State Bureau of
Investigation.
B. The State Fire Marsh al Commission may establish fees, fines,
and administrative penalties for inspectio ns, plan reviews, and
permits as provided in the adopted codes of the Commission, as long
as the fees, fines, and administrative penalties do not conflict
with any applicable state law. All fees, fines, and administrative
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penalties shall be adopted in acc ordance with the Administrative
Procedures Act.
SECTION 3. AMENDATORY 74 O.S. 2011, Section 324.11, is
amended to read as follows:
Section 324.11. A. No person, firm, corporation, partnership,
organization, city, town, sch ool district, county or other
subdivision of government shall commence the construction or major
alteration of any buildings or str uctures to be used as schools,
hospitals, churches, asylums, theaters, meeting hall s, hotels,
motels, apartment houses, roomi ng houses, rest homes, nursing homes,
day nurseries, convalescent homes, orphanages, auditoriums, assis ted
living facilities, dormi tories, factories, stadiums, or warehouses
classified in the state-adopted building codes as Assembly (Groups
A1 through A5), Business (Group B), Educational (Group E), Factory
(Groups F1 and F2), High Hazard (Group s H1 through H5),
Institutional (Groups I1 through I4), Mercantile (Group M),
Residential (Groups R1 through R4), or Stor age (Groups S1 and G2),
including all defined occupancies within these groups, or install
original equipment for the operation or maintenance thereof without
obtaining a permit. Said The permit, for which a charge may be ma de
in conformity with the local ordi nance, except as limited herein as
to governmental agencies, shall be obtained from the city, town or
county in whose jurisdiction the constructi on or alteration is
planned.
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B. All such construction or alteration so pla nned shall conform
to the applicable provisions of the building code, as last adopted
by the Oklahoma Uniform Building Code Commission.
C. Application for such building permit shal l be made to, and
such building permit shall be issued by, any city, town o r county in
whose jurisdiction the c onstruction or alteration is planned. The
city, town or county may require the submission of plans and
specifications covering the proposed cons truction or alteration and
may refuse to issue such permit unless the work so planned is in
accordance with the applicable provisions of the city, town or
county’s building code. In all geographical areas wherein no such
permit is required by local author ities such permit must be ob tained
from the State Fire Marshal, who may req uire the submission of plans
and specifications covering the proposed construction or alteration,
and shall refuse to issue such permit unles s the work so planned is
in accordance with the applicable provision s of the building code,
as last adopted by the Oklahoma Uniform Building Code Commi ssion;
provided, that the foregoing provisions of this sentence shall not
apply to locations in any geogr aphical area that are owned or
operated by a state beneficiary publi c trust or have been purchased
or leased from a state beneficiary public trust.
D. Nothing in this act Section 324.1 et seq. of this title
shall be construed as repealing any ordinance of any city, town or
county requiring the submission to the local auth orities of plans
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and specifications and the obt aining of permits, but the power or
authority of any such city, town or county to levy or assess any
charge for such permit or to make and enforce requirements
prerequisite to the issuance of such permit, othe r than requiring
compliance with such building code, shall, as to governmental
agencies, be limited as hereinafter set forth.
E. No city, town or county requested to issue any such permit
to any city, town, school district, county or other subdivision of
government shall charge, assess or collect any fee or other charge
for such permit except the regular and customary inspection fees
fixed by ordinance for inspection of the work to be done under such
permit, and no other cha rge, fee or other conditions of any kind
under the authority of this title shal l be made a condition of or
prerequisite to the obtaining of such permit by any such
governmental agency.
F. No bids may be let for the construction or major alteration
of any correctional facility as defined by Section 317 of this title
until plans and specifications for such construction or alteration
have been submitted to the State Fire Marshal for approval. The
State Fire Marshal shall approve said the plans and specifications
if the work so planned conf orms with the applicable provisions of
the building code, as last adopted by the Ok lahoma Uniform Building
Code Commission.
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G. 1. Notwithstanding anything to the contrary in the fire
code and/or building code, as last adopted by the Oklahoma Uniform
Building Code Commission, all facilities to be lice nsed as assisted
living facilities, or additions to existing assisted living
facilities, constructed after November 1, 2008, shall be constructed
with the guidelines of the I -II building occupancies if at any time
in their operation they house residents wh o are not capable of
responding to emergency situations without physical assistance from
staff of the facility or are not capable of self preservation.
2. Assisted living facilitie s licensed prior to July 1, 2008,
may house residents who are not capable o f responding to emergency
situations without physical assistance from the staff or are not
capable of self preservation under the following conditions: As
part of the annual licens ure renewal process, the fac ility shall
disclose if any residents who resid e in the facility are not capable
of responding to emergency situations without physical assistance
from staff or are not capable of self preservation, and the facility
shall be required to install fire sprink ler protection and an alarm
system within the facility in accordance with the build ing
guidelines set forth in the building code for I -II facilities.
3. Assisted living facilities licensed to house six or fewer
residents prior to July 1, 2008, shall be pe rmitted to install 13D
or 13R fire sprinkler pr otection in lieu of meeting I -II sprinkler
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requirements, with approval of the municipal fire marshal or
compliance with local codes.
4. For purposes of this subsection:
a. the term “assisted living center ” shall include an
assisted living center licensed as such by the State
Department of Health and the assisted living center
component of a continuum care facility licensed by the
State Department of Health, and
b. the terms “fire code” and “building code” shall be
deemed to include:
(1) any and all appendices, commentary, amendments
and supplements to, and replacements or
restatements of the Codes, and
(2) any and all other laws, ordinances, regulations,
codes or standards pertaining to assisted living
center construction, occupancy and maintenance
for the protection of lives and property fro m
fire.
SECTION 4. AMENDATORY 74 O.S. 2011, Section 324.19, is
amended to read as follows:
Section 324.19. Any person, firm or, corporation, partnership,
organization, city, town, school district, county or other
subdivision of government who fails to comply with the provisions of
Section 1 of this act any lawful order of the St ate Fire Marshal
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shall be subject to payment of a fine , the amount to be determined
by the State Fire Marshal, of not more than One Thousand Dollars
($1,000.00) for each day’s failure to comply with this act the
order; provided, that any person fined shall have the right to a
hearing. The hearing request must be submi tted in writing to the
State Fire Marshal within ten (10) days of the fine notice and shall
be heard by an Administrative Hearing Officer at a date and time set
by the Officer. After the hearing, the Officer shall issue a
proposed order containing proposed findings of fact and conclusion
of law which shall be presented to the State Fire Marshal Commission
at the next scheduled meeting at least ten (10) days after issuance
of the proposed order. The State Fire Marshal Commission may adopt,
modify, or deny, in whole or in part, the p roposal from the Officer,
and the Commission shall issue a final order containing findings of
fact and conclusion of law and give notice to the parties involved
as soon as practical after issuance. The process supersedes any
hearing or appeal section in the s tate adopted building an d fire
codes. Fine collections shal l be deposited in the State Fire
Marshal Revolving Fund created in Section 324.20b of this title .
SECTION 5. AMENDATORY 74 O.S. 201 1, Section 324.20b, as
amended by Section 848, Chapter 304, O.S .L. 2012 (74 O.S. Supp.
2020, Section 324.20b), is amended to read as follows:
Section 324.20b. There is hereby created in the State Treasury
a revolving fund for the State Fire Marshal to be designated the
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“State Fire Marshal Revolving Fund ”. The fund shall be a continuing
fund, not subject to fi scal year limitations, and shall consist of
monies received from the sal e of surplus property, fees and receipts
collected pursuant to the Oklahoma Open Records Act, fines,
forfeitures, fees, charges, receipts, d onations, gifts, bequests,
contributions, devises, interagency reimbursements, federal funds
unless otherwise provid ed by federal law or regulat ion, or any other
source. The fund shall consist of no more than Five Hundred Fifty
Thousand Dollars ($550,000. 00). All monies accruing to the credit
of the fund are hereby appropriated and may be budgeted and expended
by the State Fire Marshal for autho rized purposes. Expenditures
from the fund shall be made upon warrants issued by the State
Treasurer against cl aims filed as prescribed by law with the
Director of the Office of Management and Enterprise Services for
approval and payment.
SECTION 6. This act shall become effective Nov ember 1, 2021.
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