An Act
ENROLLED SENATE
BILL NO. 486 By: Hall of the Senate
and
Burns of the House
An Act relating to state motor vehicle purchasi ng;
amending 47 O.S. 2021, Section 156, w hich relates to
purchasing of automobiles or buses with public funds ;
adding to certain exempted entities; allowing certain
truck purchasing for certain maintenance; and
providing an effective date.
SUBJECT: Oklahoma Historical Society motor ve hicle purchasing
BE IT ENACTED BY THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF OKLAHOMA:
SECTION 1. AMENDATORY 47 O.S . 2021, Section 156, is
amended to read as follows:
Section 156. A. Unless otherwise provided for by law, no state
board, commission, department, institution, official, or employee,
except the following, shall purc hase any passenger automobile or bus
with public funds:
1. The Department of Public Safety;
2. The Department of Human Serv ices;
3. The State Department of Rehabilitation Services;
4. The Department of Wildlife Conservation;
5. The Department of C orrections;
ENR. S. B. NO. 486 Page 2
6. The State Department of Educ ation;
7. The Oklahoma School o f Science and Mathematics;
8. The Oklahoma State Bur eau of Narcotics and Dangerous Drugs
Control;
9. The Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation;
10. The Transportation Comm ission;
11. The Oklahoma Department of Agricultu re, Food, and Forestry;
12. The State Department of Health;
13. The Department of M ental Health and Substance Abuse
Services;
14. The J.D. McCarty Center for Children with Developmental
Disabilities;
15. The Military Department of the State of Oklahoma ;
16. The Oklahoma Tourism and Recreation Department;
17. The Oklahoma Conservation Commission;
18. The Oklahoma Water Resources Board;
19. The Department of Mines;
20. The Office of Juvenile Affairs;
21. The Oklahoma Department of Veteran Affairs;
22. The Oklahoma Supreme Court;
23. The District Attorneys Council and Oklahoma dist rict
attorneys, provided adequate funding exists;
24. The Oklahoma Boll Weevil Eradication Organization; and
ENR. S. B. NO. 486 Page 3
25. The Oklahoma Hor se Racing Commission; and
26. The Oklahoma Historical Society .
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, o r keep if now owned, or
acquire by lease or gift, and use and main tain such station wagons,
automobiles, trucks, or buses as are reasonably necessary f or the
implementation of the educational programs of said institutions.
2. No bus operated, owned, or u sed by such educational
institutions shall be permitted to carry an y person other 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 intrac ampus buses or buses routed
directly between portions of the campus of any
institution not adjacent to each other, nor to
prohibit the collection of fare s from such students,
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 Blind or the Oklahoma
School for the Deaf from entering into agreements wi th
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 studen ts
from the Oklahoma School for the Blind or the Oklahoma
School for the Deaf in vehicles owned by the Oklahoma
School for the Blind or the Oklahoma School for the
Deaf when traveling to school-related activities.
C. The J.D. McCarty Center for Children w ith Developmental
Disabilities, the Oklahoma Department of Libraries, the Oklahoma
Department of Veterans Affairs, and the Oklahoma Veterans Centers
may own and maintain s uch passenger vehicles as those institutions
have acquired prior to May 1, 1981.
ENR. S. B. NO. 486 Page 4
D. The Oklahoma Historical Society m ay purchase light-duty
trucks weighing eight thousand five hundred (8,500) pounds or less
to use at state facilities in order to equip vehicles as necessary
to maintain historic properties and si tes. Such use may include,
but is not limited to, the transportation of livestock and hauling
of heavy equipment.
E. The use of station wagons, automob iles, and buses, other
than as provided for in this section, shall be permitted only upon
written request for such use by heads of depar tments of the
institution, approved in writing by the president of said
institution or by some administrative official o f said institution
authorized by the president to grant said approval. Such use shall
be permitted only for official institutional busi ness or activities
connected therewith. Such use shall be subject to the provisions of
Section 156.1 of this title forb idding personal use of such
vehicles, and to the penalties therein declared .
E. F. Any person convicted of violating the provisions of thi s
section shall be guilty of a misdemeanor and shall be punished by
fine or imprisonment, or both, as provided for in Section 156.1 of
this title.
F. G. For the purpose of this section and Section 156.3 of this
title, a station wagon is classified as a passe nger automobile 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 compartment or trunk but which do not
have open beds, whether the same ar e called station wagons, vans,
suburbans, town and country, blazers, or any other nam es. All state
boards, commissions, departments, and institutions may own and
maintain station wagons purchased solely for the purp ose of
transporting property if acquired prior to July 1, 1985.
G. H. The provisions of this section and Section 156.1 of th is
title shall not apply to p ublic officials who are statewide elected
commissioners.
SECTION 2. This act shall becom e effective November 1, 2023.
ENR. S. B. NO. 486 Page 5
Passed the Senate the 24th day of May, 2023.
Presiding Officer of the Senate
Passed the House of Representatives the 27th day of April, 2023.
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 Oklah oma
OFFICE OF THE SECRETARY OF STATE
Received by the Office of the Secretary of State this _______ ___
day of __________________, 20 _______, at _______ o'clock _______ M.
By: _______________________________ __