An Act
ENROLLED SENATE
BILL NO. 970 By: Floyd of the Senate
and
Townley and Provenzano of
the House
An Act relating to the Oklahoma Open Records Act;
amending 51 O.S. 2021, Sections 24A.3, 24A.7, and
24A.10, which relate to definitions, personnel
records and voluntarily supplied information;
modifying definition; allowing confidentiality of
personnel records at the sole discretion of public
body; requiring confidentiality for certain
voluntarily provided information; and updating
statutory reference.
SUBJECT: Oklahoma Open Records Act
BE IT ENACTED BY THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF OKLAHOMA:
SECTION 1. AMENDATORY 51 O.S. 2021, Section 24A.3, is
amended to read as follows:
Section 24A.3. As used in the Oklahoma Open Records A ct:
1. "Record" means all documents, including, but not limited to,
any book, paper, photograph, microfilm, data fi les created by or
used with computer software, computer tape, disk, record, sound
recording, film recordi ng, video record or other material regardless
of physical form or characteristic, created by, received by, under
the authority of, or coming into the c ustody, control or possession
of public officials, public bodies, or their representatives in
connection with the transaction of public bus iness, the expenditure
of public funds or the administering of public property. "Record"
does not mean:
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a. computer software,
b. nongovernment person al effects,
c. unless public disclosure is required by other laws or
regulations, vehicle movement reco rds of the Oklahoma
Transportation Authority obtained in connection with
the Authority's electronic toll collection syst em,
d. personal financial informa tion, credit reports or
other financial data obtained by or submitted to a
public body for the purpose of evaluating credit
worthiness, obtaining a license, permit , or for the
purpose of becoming qualified to contract with a
public body,
e. any digital audio/video recordings of the toll
collection and safeguarding activities o f the Oklahoma
Transportation Authority,
f. any personal information provided by a guest at any
facility owned or operated by the Oklahoma Tourism and
Recreation Department or the Boar d of Trustees of the
Quartz Mountain Arts and Conference Center and Natu re
Park to obtain any servic e at the facility or by a
purchaser of a product sold by or through the Oklahoma
Tourism and Recreation Department or the Q uartz
Mountain Arts and Conferenc e Center and Nature Park,
g. a Department of Defense Form 214 (DD Form 2 14) filed
with a county clerk, including any DD Form 214 filed
before July 1, 2002, or
h. except as provided for in Section 2 -110 of Title 47 of
the Oklahoma Statutes,
(1) any record in connection with a Motor Vehicle
Report issued by the Department of Pub lic Safety,
as prescribed in Section 6-117 of Title 47 of the
Oklahoma Statutes, or
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(2) personal information within driver records, as
defined by the Driver's Privacy Protection Act,
18 United States Code, Sections 2721 through
2725, which are stored and m aintained by the
Department of Public Safety, or
i. any portion of any document or information provided to
an agency or entity of the state or a political
subdivision to obtain licensure under the laws of this
state or a political subdivision that contains an
applicant's personal address, personal phone number,
personal electronic mail address or other contact
information. Provided, however, lists of persons
licensed, the existence of a license of a person, or a
business or commercial address, or other business or
commercial information disclosable under state law
submitted with an application for licensure shall be
public record;
2. "Public body" shall include, but not b e limited to, any
office, department, board, bureau, commission, agency, trusteeship,
authority, council, committee, trust or any entity cr eated by a
trust, county, city, village, town, township, district, school
district, fair board, court, executive offi ce, advisory group, task
force, study group, or any subdivision thereof, supported in whol e
or in part by public funds or entrusted with th e expenditure of
public funds or administering or operating public property, and all
committees, or subcommittees the reof. Except for the records
required by Section 24A.4 of this title, "public body" does not mean
judges, justices, the Council on Judicia l Complaints, the
Legislature, or legislators;
3. "Public office" means the physical locatio n where public
bodies conduct business or keep records;
4. "Public official" means any official or employee of an y
public body as defined herein; and
5. "Law enforcement agency" means any public body charged with
enforcing state or local criminal laws an d initiating criminal
prosecutions, including, but not limited to, police departments,
county sheriffs, the Depart ment of Public Safety, the Oklahoma State
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Bureau of Narcotics and Dangerous Drugs Control, the Alcoholic
Beverage Laws Enforcement Commission, and the Oklahoma State Bureau
of Investigation.
SECTION 2. AMENDATORY 51 O.S. 2021, Section 24A.7, is
amended to read as follows:
Section 24A.7. A. A At the sole discretion of the public body,
a public body may keep personnel records confidential:
1. Which relate to internal personnel inv estigations including
examination and selection material for em ployment, hiring,
appointment, promotion, d emotion, discipline, or resignation; or
2. Where disclosure would constitute a clearly unwarranted
invasion of personal privacy such as employee eval uations, payroll
deductions, employment applications submitted by persons not hired
by the public body, and transcripts from insti tutions of higher
education maintained in the personnel files of certified public
school employees; provided, however, that no thing in this subsection
shall be construed to exempt from dis closure the degree obtained and
the curriculum on the transcripts of certified public school
employees.
B. All personnel records not specifically falling wit hin the
exceptions provided in subse ction A or D of this section shall be
available for public in spection and copying in cluding, but not
limited to, records of:
1. An employment application of a person who becomes a public
official;
2. The gross receipts of p ublic funds;
3. The dates of employ ment, title or position; and
4. Any final disciplin ary action resulting in los s of pay,
suspension, demotion of position, or termination.
C. Except as may otherwise be made confidential by statute, an
employee of a public body shall have a right of acces s to his own
personnel file.
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D. The home addresses, home telephone numbers, Social Security
numbers, private email addresses, and private mobile phone numbers
of current and former public employees shall not be open to public
inspection or disclosure; provided, however, that nothing in t his
subsection shall be construed to exempt from disclosure public
records created using a private email address or private mobile
phone.
E. Except as otherwi se required by Section 6 -101.16 of Title 70
of the Oklahoma Statutes, public bodies shall keep confidential all
records created pursuant to th e Oklahoma Teacher and L eader
Effectiveness Evaluation System (TLE) which identify a current or
former public employee and contain any evaluation, obs ervation or
other TLE record of such employee.
SECTION 3. AMENDATORY 51 O.S. 20 21, Section 24A.10, is
amended to read as follows:
Section 24A.10. A. Any information, records or other material
heretofore voluntarily supplied to any state agen cy, board or
commission shall be subject to full disclosure pu rsuant to Section
24A.1 et seq. of this title.
B. If disclosure would give an unfair advantage to competitor s
or bidders, a public body may keep confidential records relating to:
1. Bid specifications for competitive bidding prior to
publication by the public body; or
2. Contents of sealed bids prior to the opening of bids by a
public body; or
3. Computer programs or software but not data thereon; or
4. Appraisals relating to the sale or acq uisition of real
estate by a public body prior to award o f a contract; or
5. The prospective location of a private business or industry
prior to public disclosure of such prospect except for records
otherwise open to inspection such as applications for pe rmits or
licenses.
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C. Except as set forth hereafter, t he Oklahoma Department of
Commerce, the Oklahoma Department of Career and Technology
Education, the technology cente r school districts, the Oklahoma Film
and Music Office, in stitutions within the Oklah oma State System of
Higher Education, and the Department of Corrections may keep
confidential:
1. Business plans, feasibility studies, financing proposals,
marketing plans, financial statements or trade secrets submitted by
a person or entity seeking econ omic advice, business de velopment or
customized training from such Departments or school d istricts;
2. Proprietary information of the business submitted to the
Department or school districts for the purpose of business
development or customized training, and related confidential ity
agreements detailing the information or records designated as
confidential; and
3. Information compiled by such Departments or school district s
in response to those submissions.
The Oklahoma Departmen t of Commerce, the Oklahoma Department of
Career and Technology Education, the technology center school
districts, the Oklahoma Film and Music Office, institutions within
the Oklahoma State System o f Higher Education, and the Department of
Corrections may not keep confidential that submitted information
when and to the extent the pe rson or entity submitting the
information consents to disclosure.
D. Although they must provide public access to their records,
including records of the address, rate paid for s ervices, charges,
consumption rates, adjustments to the bill, reasons for adj ustment,
the name of the person that aut horized the adjustment, and payment
for each customer, public bodies that provide utility services to
the public may shall keep confidential and shall redact from any
record, personal email addresses, credit information, credit card
numbers, telephone numbers, social sec urity numbers, bank account
information for individ ual customers, and any portion of any record
that contains the name or an y other identifier of the occupants of
any residential structure. Public bod ies that provide utility
services to the public may keep confidential utility supply and
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utility equipment supply contrac ts for any industrial customer with
a connected electric l oad in excess of two thousa nd five hundred
(2,500) kilowatts if public access to such contracts would give an
unfair advantage to competitors of the customer; provided that,
where a public body perf orms billing or collection services for a
utility regulated by the Corporation Commis sion pursuant to a
contractual agreement, any cust omer or individual payment data
obtained or created by the public body in performance of the
agreement shall not be a rec ord for purposes of this act the
Oklahoma Open Records Act.
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Passed the Senate the 12th day of May, 2022.
Presiding Officer of the Senate
Passed the House of Representatives the 27th day of April, 2022.
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: _______________________________ __