Oklahoma 2024 Regular Session

Oklahoma Senate Bill SB1087 Compare Versions

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29-HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES - FLOOR VERSION
30-
31-STATE OF OKLAHOMA
32-
33-1st Session of the 59th Legislature (2023)
34-
3528 ENGROSSED SENATE
3629 BILL NO. 1087 By: Howard of the Senate
3730
3831 and
3932
4033 McEntire of the House
4134
4235
4336
4437
45-[ The Governmental Tort Clai ms Act – definitions -
46-effective date ]
38+An Act relating to The Governmental Tort Clai ms Act;
39+amending 51 O.S. 202 1, Section 152, as last amended
40+by Section 18, Chapter 228, O.S.L. 2022 (51 O.S.
41+Supp. 2022, Section 152), which relates to
42+definitions; modifying definition; and providing an
43+effective date.
4744
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5148 BE IT ENACTED BY THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF OKLAHOMA:
5249 SECTION 1. AMENDATORY 51 O.S. 2021, Section 152, as last
5350 amended by Section 18, Chapter 228, O.S.L. 2022 (51 O.S. Supp. 2022,
5451 Section 152), is amended to read as follows:
5552 Section 152. As used in The Governmental T ort Claims Act:
5653 1. “Action” means a proceeding in a court of competent
5754 jurisdiction by which one party brings a suit against another;
5855 2. “Agency” means any board, commission, comm ittee, department
5956 or other instrumentality or entity designated to act in b ehalf of
6057 the state or a political subdivision;
6158 3. “Charitable health care provider ” means a person who is
6259 licensed, certified, or othe rwise authorized by the laws of this
60+state to administer health care in the ordinary course of business
61+or the practice of a profession and who provides care to a medically
6362
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90-state to administer health care in the ordinary course of business
91-or the practice of a profession and who provides care to a medically
9288 indigent person, as defined in par agraph 9 of this section, with no
9389 expectation of or acceptance of compensation of any kind;
9490 4. “Claim” means any written demand presented by a claimant or
9591 the claimant’s authorized representative in accordance with the
9692 Governmental Tort Claims Ac t to recover money from the state or
9793 political subdivisio n as compensation for an act or omissi on of a
9894 political subdivision or the state or an employee;
9995 5. “Claimant” means the person or the person’s authorized
10096 representative who files notice of a claim in accordance with The
10197 Governmental Tort Claims Act. On ly the following persons and no
10298 others may be claimants:
10399 a. any person holding an interest in real or personal
104100 property which suffers a loss, provided that the claim
105101 of the person shall be aggregated with claims of all
106102 other persons holding an interest in the property and
107103 the claims of all othe r persons which are derivative
108104 of the loss, and that multiple claimants shall be
109105 considered a single claimant,
110106 b. the individual actually involved in the accid ent or
111107 occurrence who suffers a loss, provided that the
112108 individual shall aggregate in the claim t he losses of
113109 all other persons which are derivative of the loss, or
110+c. in the case of death, an administrator, special
111+administrator or a personal representat ive who shall
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141-c. in the case of death, an administrator, special
142-administrator or a personal representat ive who shall
143138 aggregate in the claim all losses of all persons which
144139 are derivative of the death;
145140 6. “Community health care provider” means:
146141 a. a health care provider who volunteers services at a
147142 community health center that has been deemed by the
148143 U.S. Department of Health and Human Services as a
149144 federally qualified health center as defined by 42
150145 U.S.C., Section 1396d(l)(2)(B),
151146 b. a health provider who provides services to an
152147 organization that has been deemed a federally
153148 qualified look-alike community health center, and
154149 c. a health care provider who provides services to a
155150 community health center that h as made application to
156151 the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services for
157152 approval and deeming as a federally qualified look-
158153 alike community health cent er in compliance with
159154 federal application guidance, and has received
160155 comments from the U.S. Department of Health and Human
161156 Services as to the status of such application with the
162157 established intent of resubmitting a modified
163158 application, or, if denied, a ne w application, no
164159 later than six (6) months from the date of the
160+official notification from the U.S. D epartment of
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192-official notification from the U.S. D epartment of
193187 Health and Human Services requiring resubmission of a
194188 new application;
195189 7. “Employee” means any person who is authorized to act in
196190 behalf of a political subdivision or the state whether that person
197191 is acting on a permanent or temporary basis, with or without being
198192 compensated or on a full-time or part-time basis.
199193 a. Employee also includes:
200194 (1) all elected or appointed officers, members of
201195 governing bodies and other persons designated to
202196 act for an agency or political subdivision, but
203197 the term does not mean a person or other legal
204198 entity while acting in the capacity of an
205199 independent contractor or an employee of an
206200 independent contractor,
207201 (2) from September 1, 1991, through June 30, 1996,
208202 licensed physicians, licensed osteopathic
209203 physicians and certified nurse-midwives providing
210204 prenatal, delivery or infant care services to
211205 State Department of Health clients pursuant to a
212206 contract entered into with the State Department
213207 of Health in accordance with paragraph 3 of
214208 subsection B of Section 1 -106 of Title 63 of the
215209 Oklahoma Statutes but only insofar as services
210+authorized by and in conformity with the terms of
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243-authorized by and in conformity with the terms of
244237 the contract and the requirements of Se ction 1-
245238 233 of Title 63 of the Oklahoma Statutes, and
246239 (3) any volunteer, full-time or part-time firefighter
247240 when performing duties for a fire department
248241 provided for in subparagraph j of paragraph 11 of
249242 this section.
250243 b. For the purpose of The Governmenta l Tort Claims Act,
251244 the following are employees of this state, regardless
252245 of the place in this state where du ties as employees
253246 are performed:
254247 (1) physicians acting in an administrative capacity,
255248 (2) resident physicians and resident interns
256249 participating in a graduate medical education
257250 program of the University of Oklahoma Health
258251 Sciences Center, the College of Os teopathic
259252 Medicine of Oklahoma State University, or the
260253 Department of Mental Health and Substance Abuse
261254 Services,
262255 (3) faculty members and staff o f the University of
263256 Oklahoma Health Sciences Center and the College
264257 of Osteopathic Medicine of Oklahoma State
265258 University, while engaged in teaching duties,
266259
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293285 (4) physicians who practice medicine or act in an
294286 administrative capacity as an employee of an
295287 agency of the State of Oklahoma,
296288 (5) physicians who provide medical care to inmates
297289 pursuant to a contract with the Department of
298290 Corrections,
299291 (6) any person who is licensed to practice medicine
300292 pursuant to Title 59 of the Oklahoma Statutes,
301293 who is under an administrative professional
302294 services contract with the Oklahoma Health Care
303295 Authority under the auspices of the Ok lahoma
304296 Health Care Authority Chief Medical Officer, and
305297 who is limited to performing administrative
306298 duties such as professional guidance for m edical
307299 reviews, reimbursement rates, service
308300 utilization, health care delivery and benefit
309301 design for the Oklahoma Health Care Authority,
310302 only while acting within the scope of such
311303 contract,
312304 (7) licensed medical professionals under contract
313305 with city, county, or state entiti es who provide
314306 medical care to inmates or detainees in the
315307 custody or control of law enforcemen t agencies,
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343334 (8) licensed mental health professionals as defined
344335 in Sections 1-103 and 5-502 of Title 43A of the
345336 Oklahoma Statutes, who are c onducting initial
346337 examinations of individuals for the purpose of
347338 determining whether an individual meets the
348339 criteria for emergency detention as part of a
349340 contract with the Department of Mental Health and
350341 Substance Abuse Services, and
351342 (9) licensed mental health professionals a s defined
352343 in Sections 1-103 and 5-502 of Title 43A of the
353344 Oklahoma Statutes, who are providing mental
354345 health or substance abuse treatment services
355346 under a professional services contract with the
356347 Department of Mental Health and Substan ce Abuse
357348 Services and are providing such treatment
358349 services at a state-operated facility.
359350 Physician faculty members a nd staff of the University
360351 of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center and the College of
361352 Osteopathic Medicine of Oklahoma State University not
362353 acting in an administrativ e capacity or engaged in
363354 teaching duties are not employees or agents of the
364355 state.
365356 c. For purposes of The Governmental Tort Claims Act, a
366357 physician licensed to practice medic ine pursuant to
367358
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394384 Title 59 of the Oklahoma Statutes who provides medical
395385 services in a public trust hospital, but who is not
396386 employed by such hospital, shall be deemed an em ployee
397387 only for medical service s provided in such hosp ital.
398388 d. Except as provided in subparagraph b of this
399389 paragraph, in no event shall the state be held liable
400390 for the tortious conduc t of any physician, resident
401391 physician or intern while practicing medicine or
402392 providing medical treatment to patients.
403393 d. e. For purposes of The Governmental Tort Claims Act,
404394 members of the state military forces on state active
405395 duty orders or on Title 32 active duty orders are
406396 employees of this state, rega rdless of the place,
407397 within or outside this state, where their duties as
408398 employees are performed;
409399 8. “Loss” means death or injury to the body or rights of a
410400 person or damage to real or personal property or rights therein;
411401 9. “Medically indigent” means a person requiring medically
412402 necessary hospital or other health care services for the person or
413403 the dependents of the person who has no public or private third-
414404 party coverage, and whose personal resources are insufficient to
415405 provide for needed health care;
416406 10. “Municipality” means any incorporated city or town, and all
417407 institutions, agenci es or instrumentalities of a municipality;
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445434 11. “Political subdivision” means:
446435 a. a municipality,
447436 b. a school district, including, but not limited to, a
448437 technology center school district establishe d pursuant
449438 to Section 4410, 4411, 4420 or 4420.1 of Title 7 0 of
450439 the Oklahoma Statutes,
451440 c. a county,
452441 d. a public trust where the sole beneficiary or
453442 beneficiaries are a city, town, school district or
454443 county. For purposes of The Gov ernmental Tort Claims
455444 Act, a public trust shall include:
456445 (1) a municipal hospital cr eated pursuant to Sections
457446 30-101 through 30-109 of Title 11 of the Oklahoma
458447 Statutes, a county hospital created pursuant to
459448 Sections 781 through 796 of Title 19 of the
460449 Oklahoma Statutes, or is created pursuant to a
461450 joint agreement between such governing
462451 authorities, that is operated for the public
463452 benefit by a public trust created pursuant to
464453 Sections 176 through 180.4 of Title 60 of the
465454 Oklahoma Statutes and managed by a g overning
466455 board appointed or elected by the municipality,
467456 county, or both, who exerci ses control of the
468457 hospital, subject to the approval of the
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496484 governing body of the muni cipality, county, or
497485 both,
498486 (2) a public trust created pursuant to Sections 176
499487 through 180.4 of Title 60 of the Oklahoma
500488 Statutes after January 1, 2009, the primary
501489 purpose of which is to own, manage, or operate a
502490 public acute care hospital in this state t hat
503491 serves as a teaching hospital for a medical
504492 residency program provided by a colleg e of
505493 osteopathic medicine and provides care to
506494 indigent persons, and
507495 (3) a corporation in which all of the capital stock
508496 is owned, or a limited liability company in which
509497 all of the member interest is owned, by a public
510498 trust,
511499 e. for the purposes of The Go vernmental Tort Claims Act
512500 only, a housing authority created pursuant to the
513501 provisions of the Oklahoma Housing Authority Act,
514502 f. for the purposes of The Governmental Tor t Claims Act
515503 only, corporations organized not for profit pursuant
516504 to the provisions of the Oklahoma General Corporation
517505 Act for the primary purpose of developing and
518506 providing rural water supply and sewage disposal
519507 facilities to serve rural residents,
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547534 g. for the purposes of The Governmental Tort Claims Act
548535 only, districts formed pursuant to the Rural Water,
549536 Sewer, Gas and Solid Waste Management Districts Act,
550537 h. for the purposes of The Governmental Tort Claims Act
551538 only, master conservancy districts formed p ursuant to
552539 the Conservancy Act of Oklahoma,
553540 i. for the purposes of The Governmental To rt Claims Act
554541 only, a fire protection district created pursuant to
555542 the provisions of Section 901.1 et seq. of Title 19 of
556543 the Oklahoma Statutes,
557544 j. for the purposes of Th e Governmental Tort Claims Act
558545 only, a benevolent or charitable corporate volunteer
559546 or full-time fire department for an unincorporated
560547 area created pursuant to the provis ions of Section 592
561548 et seq. of Title 18 of the Oklahoma Statutes,
562549 k. for purposes of The Governmental Tort Claims Act only,
563550 an Emergency Services Provider rendering service s
564551 within the boundaries of a Supplemental Emergency
565552 Services District pursuant to an existing contract
566553 between the Emergency Services Provider and the State
567554 Department of Health. Provided, however, that the
568555 acquisition of commercial liability insurance co vering
569556 the activities of such Emergency Services Provider
570557 performed within the State of Oklahoma shall not
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598584 operate as a waiver of any of the limitations,
599585 immunities or defenses provided for political
600586 subdivisions pursuant to the terms of The Governmental
601587 Tort Claims Act,
602588 l. for purposes of The Governmental Tort Claims Act only,
603589 a conservation district created pursuant to the
604590 provisions of the Conservation District Act,
605591 m. for purposes of The Governmental Tort Claims Act,
606592 districts formed pursuant to the Okl ahoma Irrigation
607593 District Act,
608594 n. for purposes of The Governmental Tort Claims Act o nly,
609595 any community action agency established pursuant to
610596 Sections 5035 through 5040 of Title 74 of the Oklahoma
611597 Statutes,
612598 o. for purposes of The Governmental Tort Claims Ac t only,
613599 any organization that is designated as a youth
614600 services agency, pursuant to Section 2-7-306 of Title
615601 10A of the Oklahoma Statutes,
616602 p. for purposes of The Governme ntal Tort Claims Act only,
617603 any judge presiding over a drug court, as defined by
618604 Section 471.1 of Title 22 of the Oklahoma Statutes,
619605 q. for purposes of The Governmental To rt Claims Act only,
620606 any child-placing agency licensed by this state to
621607 place children in foster family homes,
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649634 r. for purposes of The Governmental Tort Claims Act only,
650635 a circuit engineering district created pursuant to
651636 Section 687.1 of Title 69 of the Okla homa Statutes,
652637 s. for purposes of the Governmental Tort Claims Act only,
653638 a substate planning district, regional council of
654639 government or other entity created pursuant to Section
655640 1001 et seq. of Title 74 of the Oklahoma Statutes, and
656641 t. for purposes of The Governmental Tort Claims Act only,
657642 a regional transportation authority created pur suant
658643 to Section 1370.7 of Title 68 of the Oklahoma Statutes
659644 including its contract operator and any railroad
660645 operating in interstat e commerce that sells a property
661646 interest or provides services to a regional
662647 transportation authority or allows the authorit y to
663648 use the property or tracks of the railroad for the
664649 provision of public passenger rail service to the
665650 extent claims against the contract operator or
666651 railroad arise out of or are related to or in
667652 connection with such property interest, services or
668653 operation of the public passenger rail service.
669654 Provided, the acquisition of commercial liability
670655 insurance to cover the activities of t he regional
671656 transportation authority, contract operator or
672657 railroad shall not operate as a waiver of any
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700684 liabilities, immunities or defenses provided pursuant
701685 to the provisions of the Governmental Tort Claims Act,
702686 and all their institutions, instrumentalities or agencies;
703687 12. “Scope of employment” means performance by an employee
704688 acting in good faith within the duties of the e mployee’s office or
705689 employment or of tasks lawfully assigned by a competent autho rity
706690 including the operation or use of an agency vehicle or equipment
707691 with actual or implied consent of the supervisor of the employee,
708692 but shall not include corruption or fra ud;
709693 13. “State” means the State of Oklahoma or any office,
710694 department, agency, a uthority, commission, board, institution,
711695 hospital, college, university, public trust created pursuant to
712696 Title 60 of the Oklahoma Statutes of which the State of Oklahoma is
713697 the beneficiary, or other instrumentality thereof;
714698 14. “State active duty” shall be defined in accordance with
715699 Section 801 of Title 44 of the Oklahoma Statutes;
716700 15. “State military forces” shall be defined in accordance with
717701 Section 801 of Title 44 of the Oklahoma Statutes;
718702 16. “Title 32 active duty” shall be defined in accordance w ith
719703 Section 801 of Title 44 of the Oklahoma Statutes; and
720704 17. “Tort” means a legal wrong, ind ependent of contract,
721705 involving violation of a duty imposed by general law, statut e, the
722706 Constitution of the State of Oklahoma, or otherwise, resulting in a
723707 loss to any person, association or corporation as the proximate
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751734 result of an act or omission of a p olitical subdivision or the state
752735 or an employee acting within the scope of employ ment.
753736 SECTION 2. This act shall become effective November 1, 2023.
737+Passed the Senate the 9th day of March, 2023.
754738
755-COMMITTEE REPORT BY: COMMITTEE ON JUDICIARY - CIVIL, dated
756-04/10/2023 - DO PASS, As Amended.
739+
740+
741+ Presiding Officer of the Senate
742+
743+
744+Passed the House of Representatives the ____ day of __________,
745+2023.
746+
747+
748+
749+ Presiding Officer of the House
750+ of Representatives
751+