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Oklahoma House Bill HB2504

Oklahoma 2024 Regular Session

Oklahoma House Bill HB2504 Compare Versions

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28-ENGROSSED HOUSE
29-BILL NO. 2504 By: Lepak and McDugle of the
30-House
29+HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES - FLOOR VERSION
30+
31+STATE OF OKLAHOMA
32+
33+1st Session of the 59th Legislature (2023)
34+
35+HOUSE BILL 2504 By: Lepak of the House
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3439 Bergstrom of the Senate
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45+AS INTRODUCED
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41-
42-An Act relating to elections; prohibiting
43-implementation of federal election guidance without
44-legislative approval; providing for notice
47+An Act relating to elections; creating the Federal
48+Election Communications Transparency Act of 2023 ;
49+stating purpose; defining term; provi ding for notice
4550 requirement; providing for meth od of notice;
46-providing exception; providing penalty; defining
47-term; requiring new federal funds be approved by
48-Legislature; requiring publishing of f unds possessed
49-by the State Election Board; providing penalty;
50-providing for codification; providing an effective
51-date; and declaring an emergen cy.
51+providing penalty; creating the Unlawful
52+Federalization of Elections Act of 2023 ; stating
53+purpose; defining term; providing for notice
54+requirement; prohibiting implementation of federal
55+election guidance without legislative approval;
56+providing penalty; creating the State Oversight of
57+Election Funding Act of 2023 ; stating purpose;
58+defining term; providing for notice requirement;
59+prohibiting acceptance or disbursement of federal
60+election funds without legislative approval;
61+providing penalty; providing for codification; and
62+providing an effective date .
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5869 BE IT ENACTED BY THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF OKL AHOMA:
5970 SECTION 1. NEW LAW A new section of law to be codified
6071 in the Oklahoma Statutes as Section 3-401 of Title 26, unless there
6172 is created a duplication in numbering, reads as follows:
62-A. The Secretary of the State Election Board or the secretary
63-of a county election board shall not implement any new official
64-directive or guidance issued by a federal agency without prior
65-approval of the State Legislature. Provided, if the Legislature is
66-not in session when such a directive or guidance i s received, it may
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93-be implemented upon the written approval of the Speaker of the
94-Oklahoma House of Representatives an d the President Pro Tempore of
95-the Oklahoma State Senate.
96-B. 1. The Secretary of the State Election Board, or the
97-secretary of a county e lection board, or the director of any agency
98-of this state, shall provide written notice to the Governor, the
99-Speaker of the Oklahoma House of Representatives, the President Pro
100-Tempore of the Oklahoma State Senate, and the Attorney General of
101-the following:
102-a. any new official directive or guidance pertaining to
103-the administration of electio ns or voter registration .
104-This shall apply to new directives or guidance from
105-the United States Department of J ustice or any other
106-federal executive agency that is provided directly to
107-the Secretary of the State Election Board, or the
108-secretary of a count y election board, or the dire ctor
109-of any agency of this state. The written notice sha ll
110-be provided within ten (10) business days from the
111-date it is received.
112-b. if the Secretary of the State Election Board, or the
113-secretary of a county election board, i ntends to
114-implement any new federal election directive or
115-guidance due to an order by a cour t of appropriate
116-jurisdiction, the secretary shall provide written
100+A. Section 1 of this act shall be known and may be cited as the
101+"Federal Election Communications Transparency Act of 2023 ".
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103+B. The purpose of this section is to ensure that the Governor
104+and State Legislature are made aware of all communications made or
105+provided to state agencies or entities responsible for overseeing
106+elections, by the United States Department of Justice or any other
107+federal executive branch agency, related to elections or voting, to
108+enable the state to respond as needed to ensure state agencies are
109+not being unduly coerced by the f ederal executive branch to
110+potentially violate state law, especially l aws related to times,
111+places, and manner of elections, responsibility for which the
112+Constitution gives to the state legislatures.
113+C. As used in this section, "communication" means any o fficial
114+federal directive or guidance directly provided by telephonic or
115+electronic means, through the mail, or through in -person contact,
116+pertaining to elections including the times, places, and manner for
117+carrying out elections in this state to the Secre tary of the State
118+Election Board or the secretary of a county election board that is
119+received on or after the date this act is sig ned into law. This
120+includes, but is not li mited to, any official guidance issued by the
121+Department of Justice or employee the reof, or any other federal
122+executive agency or employee thereof related to new or existing
123+voting or election laws or procedures.
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143-notice to the Governor, the Speaker of the Oklahoma
144-House of Representatives, the President Pro T empore of
145-the Oklahoma State Senate, and the Attorney General.
146-Such notice shall include a d escription of the legal
147-basis for the implementation.
148-2. Nothing in this subsection shall be construed to require the
149-Secretary of the State Elect ion Board or the secretary of a county
150-election board to provide notice about threat or intelligence
151-information that is marked classified , confidential, sensitive or
152-otherwise restricted, or if providing such a notice wo uld be a
153-violation of federal or state law.
154-C. The Secretary of the State Electi on Board, or the secretary
155-of a county election board, shall provide written notice to the
156-Governor, the Speaker of th e Oklahoma House of Representatives, the
157-President Pro Tempore of the Oklahoma State Senate, and the Attorney
158-General of any litigation fi led against the State Election Board or
159-a county election board, or of any official threat o f litigation, by
160-the United States Department of Justice or any other federal
161-executive agency pertaining to state election laws duly e nacted by
162-the Legislature within ten (10) business days from the date a
163-complaint is received .
164-D. A willful and intentio nal violation of the requirements of
151+D. The Secretary of the State Election Board, the secretary of
152+a county election board, or any state agency, whether that age ncy is
153+involved in the administration of elections or not, that receives an
154+official communication from the United States D epartment of Justice
155+or any other federal executive branch agency related to new or
156+existing voting or election laws shall provide no tice to the
157+Governor, the Speaker of the Oklahoma House of Representatives , and
158+the President Pro Tempore of the Oklahoma State Senate within ten
159+(10) business days o f receiving the communication.
160+E. The notice requirement provided in subsection D of this
161+section shall be presumed to have been met based on the post -marked
162+date on the letters se nt to the Governor, Speaker of the Oklahoma
163+House of Representatives, and the Speaker Pro Tempore of the
164+Oklahoma State Senate through certified mail, outlining the
165+communication received or sent.
166+F. A willful and intentional violation of the requirements of
165167 this section shall be deemed a misdemeanor as provided in Section
166168 16-114 of Title 26 of the Oklahoma Statutes .
169+SECTION 2. NEW LAW A new s ection of law to be codified
170+in the Oklahoma Statutes as Section 3-402 of Title 26, unless there
171+is created a duplicati on in numbering, reads as follows:
172+A. Section 2 of this act shall be known and may be cited as the
173+"Unlawful Federalization of Elections Act of 2023".
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193-SECTION 2. NEW LAW A new section of law to be codified
194-in the Oklahoma Statutes as S ection 3-402 of Title 26, unless there
195-is created a duplication in numbering, reads as follo ws:
196-A. 1. As used in this section, "new f ederal election funds"
197-means any federal grant, appropriation by the United States
198-Congress, or other federal funds that are eligible to be received by
199-the Secretary of the State Election Board or the secretary of a
200-county election board on or after the ef fective date of this act.
201-2. Provided, "new federal election funds " shall not mean
202-funding or grants provided under the Help America Vote Act , other
203-federal funding or grants are authorized to be accepted by state
204-law, or any Cybersecurity or Physical Se curity subgrants provided by
205-the Oklahoma Department of Emergency Management and Homeland
206-Security.
207-B. Except as provided in paragraph 2 of subsection A of this
208-section, all new federal election funds must be approv ed by the
209-State Legislature before they may be accepted or used by the
210-Secretary of the State Election Board or the secretary of a county
211-election board. Provide d, if the Legislature is not in session when
212-new federal election funds become available, new federal e lection
213-funds may be accepted up on the written approval of the Speaker of
214-the Oklahoma House of Representatives, the President Pro Tempore of
215-the Oklahoma State Senate, the chair of the Senate Appropriations
201+B. The purpose of this section is to ensure that all new
202+federal election guidance has been properly r eviewed by the State
203+Legislature before it is carried out to ensure it is lawful and to
204+provide the state with an opportunity to challenge the guidance in
205+court to protect state elections .
206+C. As used in this section, "new federal election guidance"
207+means any official federal directive or guidance pertaining to
208+elections including the times, places, and manner for carrying out
209+elections that is directly provided to the Secretary of the State
210+Election Board or the secretary of a county election board that is
211+received on or after the date this act is signed into law. This
212+includes, but is not limited to, any guidance issued by the United
213+States Department of Justice or any other federal executive agency
214+related to new or exist ing voting or election laws or procedures.
215+D. If the Secretary of the State Election Board or the
216+secretary of the county election board intends to implement any new
217+federal election guidance contrary to existing state law , he or she
218+must provide notice to the Governor, Speaker of the Oklahoma House
219+of Representatives and the President Pro Tempore of the Oklahoma
220+State Senate of his or her intent to do so at least thirty (30) days
221+before implementing the guidance.
222+E. The Secretary of the State Election Board or the secretary
223+of the county election board shall not implement any federal
224+directive or guidance contrary to state law without an explicit
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242-Committee, and the chair of the House of Represe ntatives
243-Appropriations and Budg et Committee.
244-C. No later than December 31, 2023, and each year thereafter,
245-the Secretary of the State Election Board sh all publish on the State
246-Election Board’s website the balance of all federal funds possessed
247-by the State Election Board and a descript ion of the source of tho se
248-funds. Provided, in the event that December 31 of any year falls on
249-a weekend or an official s tate holiday, such information shall be
250-published no later than the next business day.
251-D. A willful and intentional violation of the r equirements of
252+state or federal legal re quirement to do so, including an order by a
253+court of proper jurisdiction, or prior approval of the State
254+Legislature.
255+F. A willful and intentional violation of the requirements of
252256 this section shall be deemed a misdemeanor as provided in Section
253257 16-114 of Title 26 of the Oklahoma Statutes.
254-SECTION 3. This act shall become effective July 1, 2023.
255-SECTION 4. It being immediately necessa ry for the preservation
256-of the public peace, health or safety, an emergency is hereby
257-declared to exist, by reason whereo f this act shall take effect and
258-be in full force from and after its passage and approval.
258+SECTION 3. NEW LAW A new section of law to be codified
259+in the Oklahoma Statutes as Section 3-403 of Title 26, unless there
260+is created a duplication in numbering, reads as follows:
261+A. Section 3 of this act shall be known and may be cited as the
262+"State Oversight of Election Funding Act of 2023".
263+B. The purpose of this section is to ensure that all election
264+funding is approved by the State Legislature before it is accepted
265+or disbursed to ensure it is allocated fairly and in a manner that
266+will promote the State Legislature's goal of facilitating free and
267+fair elections.
268+C. As used in this section, "new federal election funds" means
269+any federal funds received by the Secretary of the State Election
270+Board or the secretary of the county election board on or after the
271+effective date of this act. Nothing in this section shall be
272+construed to pertain to fund ing provided under the Help America Vote
273+Act or any other federal funding that is authorized to be a ccepted
274+by state law or already possesses an explicit state or federal legal
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286-Passed the House of Representatives the 21st day of March, 2023.
302+requirement related to its acceptance and disbursement as of the
303+effective date of this act.
304+D. If the Secretary of the State Election Board or the
305+secretary of the county election board intends to accept or disburse
306+new federal election funds , he or she must provide notice to the
307+Speaker of the Oklahoma House of Representatives and the President
308+Pro Tempore of the Oklahoma State Senate of his or her intent to do
309+so at least thirty (30) days before accepting the funds.
310+E. All new federal election fu nds must be approved by the State
311+Legislature before they may be accepted or disbursed by the
312+Secretary of the State Election Board or the secretary of the county
313+election board unless explicitly required by state or federal law.
314+F. A willful and intentional violation of the requirements of
315+this section shall be deemed a misdemeanor as provide d in Section
316+16-114 of Title 26 of the Oklahoma Statutes .
317+SECTION 4. This act shall become effective November 1, 2023.
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291- Presiding Officer of the House
292- of Representatives
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295-Passed the Senate the ___ day of __________, 2023.
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300- Presiding Officer of the Senate
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319+COMMITTEE REPORT BY: COMMITTEE ON ELECTIONS AND ETHICS, dated
320+02/22/2023 - DO PASS, As Coauthored.