An Act
ENROLLED HOUSE
BILL NO. 2253 By: Burns of the House
and
Jech of the Senate
An Act relating to motor vehicles; amending 47 O.S.
2021, Section 151, which relates to marking of
automobiles owned or leased by the state; making
exception for certain agency vehicles; amending 47
O.S. 2021, Section 156, which relates to the
prohibition against purchase of aut omobiles or buses
with public funds; allowing the Office of the
Attorney General to purchase certain vehicles;
amending 47 O.S. 2021, Section 156.1, which relates
to the use of state-owned motor vehicles for private
use; authorizing certain use of state-owned vehicles
for the Office of the Attorney General; list ing
employees that may use state-owned vehicles for
certain purpose; providing an effective date; and
declaring an emergency .
SUBJECT: Motor vehicles
BE IT ENACTED BY THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF OKLA HOMA:
SECTION 1. AMENDATORY 47 O.S. 2021, Section 151, is
amended to read as follows:
Section 151. A. A state agency that owns or leases vehicles
shall affix the words "State of Oklahoma" and the name of the
department or institution that owns or leases the v ehicle in
conspicuous letters.
B. 1. In lieu of the provisions of subsection A of this
section, Department of Public Safety vehicles used regularly as ENR. H. B. NO. 2253 Page 2
patrol units shall be distinctively painted black or white and shall
bear the wording "Oklahoma Highway Patrol" on each side of the
vehicle in letters of such size as to be easily distinguishable, it
being the purpose and intention of the Legislature that said patrol
units shall be marked in the future in the same manner as those now
in use.
2. The Commissioner of Public Safety may designate colors and
markings, in lieu of those authorized by the provisions of this
section, for patrol units used for patrol purposes and for selective
traffic law enforcement.
C. Oklahoma State Bureau of Narcotics and Dangero us Drugs
Control vehicles for use in undercover investigations and Oklahoma
State Bureau of Investigation vehicles shall not be subject to the
provisions of this section.
D. Department of Corrections vehicles designated for use by
probation and parole ope rations and other administrative operations,
as approved by the Dir ector of the Department of Corrections, shall
not be subject to the provisions of this section.
E. Vehicles utilized by CLEET -certified officers or state
employees primarily employed in in vestigative activities may be
exempt from the provisions of this se ction subject to the approval
of the State Fleet Manager.
F. Oklahoma Military Department vehicles designated for use by
the Adjutant General or Assistant Adjutant General in performance o f
his or her duties and Oklahoma Military Department vehicles
designated for use in the State Transition and Reintegration System
(STARS) program for tracking youth, as approved by the Adjutant
General, shall not be subject to the provisions of this sectio n.
G. Office of Juvenile Affairs vehicles designated for use of
the Office by the Executive Director of the Office of Juvenile
Affairs shall not be subject to the provisions of this section.
H. Office of the Attorney General vehicles designated for use
by agents and other employees, as approved by the Attorney General,
shall not be subject to the provisions of this section.
SECTION 2. AMENDATORY 47 O.S. 2021, Section 156, is
amended to read as follows:
ENR. H. B. NO. 2253 Page 3
Section 156. A. Unless otherwise provided for by law, no state
board, commission, department, institution, official, or employee,
except the following, shall purchase any pa ssenger automobile or bus
with public funds:
1. The Department of P ublic Safety;
2. The Department of Human Services;
3. The State Department of Rehabilitation Services;
4. The Department of Wildlife Conservation;
5. The Department of Corrections;
6. The State Department of Education;
7. The Oklahoma School of Scien ce and Mathematics;
8. The Oklahoma State Bureau of Narcotics and Dang erous Drugs
Control;
9. The Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation;
10. The Transportation Commission;
11. The Oklahoma Department of Ag riculture, Food, and Forestry;
12. The State Department of Health;
13. The Department of Mental Health and Substanc e Abuse
Services;
14. The J.D. McCarty Center for Children with Developmental
Disabilities;
15. The Military Depart ment of the State of O klahoma;
16. The Oklahoma Tourism and Recreat ion Department;
17. The Oklahoma Conservation Commission;
18. The Oklahoma Water Resources Board;
19. The Department of Mines; ENR. H. B. NO. 2253 Page 4
20. The Office of Juvenil e Affairs;
21. The Oklahoma Dep artment of Veteran Veterans Affairs;
22. The Oklahoma Supreme Court;
23. The District Attorneys Council and Oklahoma district
attorneys, provided adequate funding exists;
24. The Oklahoma Boll Weevil Eradication Organizat ion; and
25. The Oklahoma Horse Racing C ommission; and
26. The Office of the Attorney General .
B. 1. The Oklahoma School for the Deaf at Sulphur, the
Oklahoma School for the Blind at Muskogee, and any state institution
of higher education may purchase, own, or keep if now owned, or
acquire by lease or gift, and us e and maintain such sta tion wagons,
automobiles, trucks, or buses as are reasonably necessary for the
implementation of the educational programs of said institutions.
2. No bus operated, owned , or used by such educational
institutions shall be permitted t o carry any person othe r than
students, faculty members, employees, or volunteers of such
institutions. The provisions of this section shall not be construed
to prohibit:
a. the operation of intracampus buses or buses routed
directly between portions of t he campus of any
institution not adjacent to ea ch other, nor to
prohibit the collection of fares from such s tudents,
faculty members, or employees of such institutions,
sufficient in amount to cover the reasonable cost of
such transportation, or
b. the Oklahoma School for the Bl ind or the Oklahoma
School for the Deaf from entering into agreements with
local public school districts pursuant to the
Interlocal Cooperation Act for the mutual use of the
schools' and the districts' vehicles. Such use may
include, but is not limited to , the transportation of
students from local school districts with students
from the Oklahoma School for the Blind or the Oklahoma ENR. H. B. NO. 2253 Page 5
School for the Deaf in vehicles owned by the Oklahoma
School for the Blind or the Oklahoma School for t he
Deaf when traveling to school-related activities.
C. The J.D. McCarty Center for Children with Developme ntal
Disabilities, the Oklahoma Department of Libraries, the Oklahoma
Department of Veterans Affairs, and the Oklahoma Veterans Centers
may own and maintain such passenger vehicles as those insti tutions
have acquired prior to May 1, 1981.
D. The use of station wagons, automobiles, and buses, other
than as provided for in this section, sha ll be permitted only upon
written request for such use by heads of departments of the
institution, approved in writing by the president of said
institution or by some admi nistrative official of said institution
authorized by the president to grant said app roval. Such use shall
be permitted only for official instituti onal business or activi ties
connected therewith. Such use shall be subject to the provisions of
Section 156.1 of this title forbidding personal use of such
vehicles, and to the penalties there in declared.
E. Any person convicted of violating the provisio ns of this
section shall be guilty of a misdeme anor and shall be punished by
fine or imprisonment, or both, as provided for in Section 156.1 of
this title.
F. For the purpose of this section a nd Section 156.3 of this
title, a station wagon is classified a s a passenger automobil e and
may not be purchased solely for the use of transporting property.
Such vehicles shall include, but not be limited to, all vehicles
which have no separate luggage c ompartment or trunk but which do not
have open beds, whether th e same are called stati on wagons, vans,
suburbans, town and country, blazers, or any other names. All state
boards, commissions, departments, and institutions may own and
maintain station wago ns purchased solely for the purpose of
transporting property if acquired prior to July 1, 1985.
G. The provisions of this section and Section 156.1 of this
title shall not apply to public officials who are statewide elected
commissioners.
SECTION 3. AMENDATORY 47 O.S. 2021, Section 156.1, is
amended to read as follows:
ENR. H. B. NO. 2253 Page 6
Section 156.1 A. It shall be unlawful for any state official,
officer or employee, except any essential employees approved by the
Governor and those officers or e mployees authorized in subsection B
of this section, to ride to or from the place of residence of the
employee in a state-owned or state-leased automobile, truck or
pickup, except in the performance of the official duty of the
employee, or to use or permit the use of any such automobile, truck,
ambulance or pickup for other personal or private purposes . Any
person convicted of violating the provisions of this section shall
be guilty of a misdemeanor and shall be punished by a fine of not
more than One Hundred Dollars ($100.00) or by imprisonment in the
county jail for a period to not exceed thirty (30) days, or by both
said fine and imprisonment, and in addition thereto, sh all be
discharged from state employment.
B. 1. Any state employee, other than the i ndividuals provided
for in paragraph 2 of this subsection and any employee of the
Department of Public Safety who is an e mployee in the Driver License
Examining Division o r the Driver Compliance Division or a wrecker
inspector or auditor of the Wrecker Ser vices Division as provided
for in paragraph 3 of this subsection, who receives emergency
telephone calls regularly at the residence of the employee when the
employee is not on duty and is regularly called upon to use a
vehicle after normal work hours in re sponse to such emergency calls,
may be permitted to use a vehicle belonging to th e state to provide
transportation betwee n the residence of the employee and the
assigned place of employment, provided such distance does not exceed
seventy-five (75) miles in any round trip or is within the county
where the assigned place of employment is located . Provided
further, an employee may be permitted to use a state -owned or state-
leased vehicle to provide temporary transportation between a
specific work location oth er than the assigned place of employment
and the residence of the employee, if such use shall result in a
monetary saving to the agency, and such authorization shall not b e
subject to the distance or area restrictions provided for in this
paragraph. Authorization for temporary use of a state -owned or
state-leased vehicle for a specific project shall be in writing
stating the justification for this use and the saving expect ed to
result. Such authorization shall be valid for not to exceed sixty
(60) days. Any state entity other than law enforcement that avails
itself of this provision shall keep a monthly record of all
participating employees, the number of emergency calls received and
the number of times that a state vehicle was used in the performance
of such emergency calls.
ENR. H. B. NO. 2253 Page 7
2. Any employee of the Department of Public Safety, Oklahoma
Department of Corrections, Office of the Attorney General, Oklahoma
State Bureau of Narcotics and Dangerous Drugs Control, Oklahoma
State Bureau of Investigation, Alcoholic Beverage Laws Enforcement
Commission, Oklahoma Horse Racing Commission, Oklahoma Department of
Agriculture, Food, and Forestry, Office of the Inspector General
within the Department of Human Services or Office of the State Fire
Marshal, who is a law enforcement officer or criminalist, Public
Information officer, Special Investigator or Assistant Director of
the Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation, CLE ET-certified
Investigator for a state board or any employee of a district
attorney who is a law enforcement officer, may be permitted to use a
state-owned or state-leased vehicle to provide transportation
between the residence of the employee and the assig ned place of
employment and between the residence and any location other than the
assigned place of employment to which the employee travels in the
performance of the official duty of the employee.
3. Any employee of the Department of Public Safety who i s an
employee in the Driver License Examining Division, an employee of
the Driver Compliance Division, a wrecker inspector or auditor of
the Wrecker Services Division, or a noncommissioned pilot may be
permitted, as determined by the Commissioner, to use a state-owned
or state-leased vehicle to provide transportation between the
residence of the employee and the assigned place of employment and
between the residence and any location other than the assigned place
of employment to which the employee travels i n the performance of
the official duty of the employee.
4. The Director, department heads and other essential employees
of the Department of Wildlife Conservation, as authorized by the
Wildlife Conservation Commission, may be permitted to use a state -
owned or state-leased vehicle to provide transportation between the
residence of the employee and the assigned place of employment and
between the residence and any location other than the assigned place
of employment to which the employee travels in the perf ormance of
the official duty of the employee.
5. The Director, department heads, emergency responders and
other essential employees of the Department of Corrections, as
authorized by the Director, may be permitted to use a state -owned or
state-leased vehicle to provide transp ortation between the residence
of the employee and the assigned place of employment and between the
residence and any location other than the assigned place of ENR. H. B. NO. 2253 Page 8
employment to which the employee travels in the performance of the
official duty of the employee .
6. The Attorney General, division heads, emergency responders,
agents, assistant attorneys general, and other essential employees
of the Office of the Attorney General, as authorized by the Attorney
General, may be permitted to us e a state-owned or state-leased
vehicle to provide transportation between the residence of the
employee and the assigned place of employment and between the
residence and any location other than the assigned place of
employment to which the employee travel s in the performance of the
official duty of the employee.
C. The principal administrator of the state agen cy with which
the employee is employed shall so designate the status of the
employee in writing or provide a copy of the temporary authorization
to the Governor, the Presi dent Pro Tempore of the Senate and the
Speaker of the House of Representatives . Such employee status
report shall also be provided to the State Fleet Manager of the
Division of Fleet Management if the motor vehicle for emergency use
is provided by said Di vision.
SECTION 4. This act shall become effective November 1, 2023.
SECTION 5. It being immediately necessary for the preservation
of the public peace, health or safety, an emergency is hereby
declared to exist, by reason wh ereof this act shall take effect and
be in full force from and after its passage a nd approval.
ENR. H. B. NO. 2253 Page 9
Passed the House of Representatives the 14th day of March, 2023.
Presiding Officer of the House
of Representatives
Passed the Senate the 25th day of April, 2023.
Presiding Officer of the Senate
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: _________________________________