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STATE OF OKLAHOMA
1st Session of the 59th Legislature (2023)
SENATE BILL 1108 By: Dahm
AS INTRODUCED
An Act relating to the Oklahoma Open Meeting Act;
amending 25 O.S. 2021, Sections 304, as amended by
Section 1, Chapter 123, O.S.L. 2022, 307, as amended
by Section 1, Chapter 182, O.S.L. 2022, and 310 (25
O.S. Supp. 2022, Sections 304 and 307), which relate
to definitions and executive sessions; adding
Judicial Nominating Commi ssion to definition of
public body; establishing purposes for permissible
executive sessions; prohibiting attendance of
legislators at certain executive sessions; and
providing an effective date .
BE IT ENACTED BY THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF OKLAHOMA:
SECTION 1. AMENDATORY 25 O.S. 2021, Section 304, as
amended by Section 1, Chapter 123, O.S.L. 2022 (25 O.S. Supp. 2022,
Section 304), is amended to read as follows:
Section 304. As used in the Oklahoma Open Meeting Act:
1. “Public body” means the governing bodies of all
municipalities located within this state, boards of coun ty
commissioners of the countie s in this state, boards of pub lic and
higher education in this state and all boards, bureaus, commissions,
agencies, trusteeships, au thorities, councils, committees, public
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trusts or any entity created by a public trust including any
committee or subcommi ttee composed of any of the me mbers of a public
trust or other legal entit y receiving funds from the Rural Economic
Action Plan Fund as authorized by Section 2007 of Title 62 of the
Oklahoma Statutes, task forces or study gro ups in this state
supported in whole or in part by public fun ds or entrusted with the
expending of public funds, or administering public property, and
shall include all committees or subcommittees of any public body.
Public body shall include the Judicial Nominating Commission .
Public body shall not include the stat e judiciary, the Council on
Judicial Complaints when conducting, discussing, or deliberating any
matter relating to a complaint received or filed with t he Council,
the Legislature, or administrati ve staffs of public bodies
including, but not limited to, f aculty meetings and athletic st aff
meetings of institutions of higher education when those staffs are
not meeting with the public body, or entry -year assistance
committees. Furthermore, public bo dy shall not include the
multidisciplinary teams provided fo r in Section 1-9-102 of Title 10A
of the Oklahoma Statutes, in Section 2 of this act, and in
subsection C of Section 1-502.2 of Title 63 of the Oklahoma Statutes
or any school board meeting for th e sole purpose of considerin g
recommendations of a multidisc iplinary team and deciding the
placement of any child who is the subject of the recommendations.
Furthermore, public body shall not include meetings con ducted by
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stewards designated by the Oklaho ma Horse Racing Commission p ursuant
to Section 203.4 of Titl e 3A of the Oklahoma Statutes w hen the
stewards are officiating at races or otherwise enforcing rules of
the Commission. Furthermore, public body shall not include the
board of directors of a Fed erally Qualified Health Cent er;
2. “Meeting” means the conduct of business of a public bo dy by
a majority of its members being personally together or, as
authorized by Section 307.1 of this title, together pursua nt to a
videoconference. Meeting shall not include informal gatherings of a
majority of the members of the public body when no busin ess of the
public body is discussed;
3. “Regularly scheduled meeting” means a meeting at which the
regular business of the public body is conducted;
4. “Special meeting” means any meeting of a public body other
than a regularly scheduled meeting or eme rgency meeting;
5. “Emergency meeting” means any meeting called for the purpose
of dealing with an emergency. For purposes of the Oklahoma Open
Meeting Act, an emerge ncy is defined as a situatio n involving injury
to persons or injury and damage to publi c or personal property or
immediate financial loss when the time requirements for public
notice of a special meeting would mak e such procedure impractical
and increase the likelihood of injury or d amage or immediate
financial loss;
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6. “Continued or reconvened meeting” means a meeting which is
assembled for the purpose of finishing business appearing on an
agenda of a previous me eting. For the purposes of the Oklahoma Op en
Meeting Act, only matters on the agenda of the previous m eeting at
which the announcement of the continuance is made may be discussed
at a continued or reconvened meeting;
7. “Videoconference” means a conference among members of a
public body remote fr om one another who are linke d by interactive
telecommunication devices or technology and/or technology permitting
both visual and auditory communication between and among members of
the public body and/or between and among members of the public body
and members of the public. During any videoconference, both the
visual and auditory commun ications functions shall attempt to be
utilized; and
8. “Teleconference” means a conference among members of a
public body remote from one another who are linked by
telecommunication devices and/or technology permitting auditory
communication between and among members of the public body and/or
between and among members of the public body and members of the
public.
SECTION 2. AMENDATORY 25 O.S. 2021, Section 307, as
amended by Section 1 , Chapter 182, O.S.L. 2022 (25 O.S. Supp. 2022,
Section 307), is amended to read as follows:
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Section 307. A. No public body shall hold executive sessions
unless otherwise specifically provided in this section.
B. Executive sessions of public bodies will be permitted only
for the purpose of:
1. Discussing the employment, hirin g, appointment, promotion,
demotion, disciplining or resignation of any individual sa laried
public officer or employee;
2. Discussing negotiations concerning employees and
representatives of employee groups;
3. Discussing the purchase or appraisal of rea l property;
4. Confidential communications between a public body and its
attorney concerning a pending investigation, claim, or action if the
public body, with the advice of its attorney, determines that
disclosure will seriously impair the ability of the public body to
process the claim or conduct a pending investigation, litigation, or
proceeding in the public interest;
5. Permitting district boards of education to hear evidence and
discuss the expulsion or suspension of a student when requested by
the student involved or the student’s parent, attorney or legal
guardian;
6. Discussing matters involving a specific handicapped child;
7. Discussing any matter where disclosure of information would
violate confidentiality requirements of state or federal la w;
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8. Engaging in deliberations or rendering a final or
intermediate decision in an individual proceeding pursuant to
Article II of the Administrative Procedures Act;
9. Discussing matters involving safety and security at state
penal institutions or corr ectional facilities used to house state
inmates;
10. Discussing contract negotiation s involving contracts
requiring approval of the State Board of Corrections, which shall be
limited to members of the public body, the attorney for the public
body, and the immediate staff of the public body. No person who may
profit directly or indirectly by a proposed transaction which is
under consideration may be present or participate in the executive
session; or
11. Discussing the following:
a. the investigation of a plan or scheme to commit an act
of terrorism,
b. assessments of the vulnerability of government
facilities or public improvements to an act of
terrorism,
c. plans for deterrence or prevention of or protection
from an act of terrorism,
d. plans for response or remediation after an act of
terrorism,
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e. information technology of the public b ody but only if
the discussion specifically identifies:
(1) design or functional schematics that demonstrate
the relationship or connections between devices
or systems,
(2) system configuration information,
(3) security monitoring and response equipment
placement and configuration,
(4) specific location or placement of systems,
components or devices,
(5) system identification numbers, names, or
connecting circuits,
(6) business continuity and disaster planning, or
response plans, or
(7) investigation inform ation directly related to
security penetrations or denial of services, or
f. the investigation of an act of terrorism that has
already been committed.
For the purposes of this subsection, the term “terrorism” means any
act encompassed by the definitions se t forth in Section 1268.1 of
Title 21 of the Oklahoma Statutes.
C. Notwithstanding the provisions of subsection B of this
section, the following public bodies may hold ex ecutive sessions:
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1. The State Banking Board, as provided for under Section 306.1
of Title 6 of the Oklahoma Statutes;
2. The Oklahoma Industrial Finance Authority, as provided for
in Section 854 of Title 74 of the Oklahoma Statutes;
3. The Oklahoma Dev elopment Finance Authority, as provided for
in Section 5062.6 of Title 74 of the Okla homa Statutes;
4. The Oklahoma Center for the Advancement of Science and
Technology, as provided for in Section 5060.7 of Title 74 of the
Oklahoma Statutes;
5. The Oklahoma Health Research Committee for purposes of
conferring on matters pertaining to res earch and development of
products, if public disclosure of the matter discussed would
interfere with the development of patents, copyrights, products, or
services;
6. The Workers’ Compensation Commission for the purposes
provided for in Section 20 of Titl e 85A of the Oklahoma Statutes;
7. A review committee, as provided for in Section 855 of Title
62 of the Oklahoma Statutes;
8. The Child Death Review Board for purposes of receiving and
conferring on matters pertaining to materials declared confidential
by law;
9. The Domestic Violence Fatality Review Board as provided in
Section 1601 of Title 22 of the Oklahoma Statutes;
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10. The Opioid Overdose Fatality Review Board, a s provided in
Section 2-1001 of Title 63 of the Oklahoma Statutes;
11. All nonprofit foundations, boards, bureaus, commissions,
agencies, trusteeships, authorities, councils, committees, public
trusts, task forces or study groups supported in whole or par t by
public funds or entrusted with the expenditure of public funds for
purposes of conferring on matters pertaining to economic development
including the transfer of property, financing, or the creation of a
proposal to entice a business to remain or to l ocate within their
jurisdiction if public disclosure of the matter discussed would
interfere with the development of products or services or if public
disclosure would violate the confidentiality of the business;
12. The Oklahoma Indigent Defense System B oard for purposes of
discussing negotiating strategies in connection with making pos sible
counteroffers to offers to contract to provide legal representation
to indigent criminal defendants and indigent juveniles in cases for
which the System must provide representation pursuant to the
provisions of the Indigent Defense Act;
13. The Quality Investment Committee for purposes of discussing
applications and confidential materials pursuant to the terms of the
Oklahoma Quality Investment Act;
14. The Oklahoma Municipal Power Authority established pursuant
to Section 24-101 et seq. of Title 11 of the Oklahoma Statutes and
in its role as an electric utility regulated by the federal
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government, for purposes of discussing security plans and procedures
including, but not limited to, cybersecurity matters; and
15. The Oklahoma Tax Commis sion for purposes of discussing
confidential taxpayer matters as provided in Secti on 205 of Title 68
of the Oklahoma Statutes, and in compliance with subsection E of
this section; and
16. The Judicial Nominating Commission for the purposes of
discussing the merits and qualific ations of candidates for judicial
office to determine which candidates will be interviewed or sol ely
to meet with a candidate to discuss confide ntial information
relating to financial disclos ure information or background checks.
Candidate interviews shall not be conducted in execu tive sessions
and Commissioners shall not vote or indi cate how they intend to vote
in executive session.
D. Except as otherwise specified in this subsection, an
executive session for the purpose of discussing the purchase or
appraisal of real property shall be limited to members of the public
body, the attorney f or the public body and the immediate staff of
the public body. No landowner, real estate salesperson, broker,
developer or any other person who may profit directly or indirec tly
by a proposed transaction concerning real property which is under
consideration may be present or participate in the executive
session, unless they are operating under an existing agreement to
represent the public body.
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E. No public body may go into a n executive session unless the
following procedures are strictly complied with:
1. The proposed executive session is noted on the agenda as
provided in Section 311 of this title;
2. The executive session is authorized by a majority vote of a
quorum of the members present and the vote is a recorded vote; and
3. Except for matters con sidered in executive sessions of the
State Banking Board and the Oklahoma Tax Commission, and which are
required by state or federal law to be confidential, any vote or
action on any item of business considered in an executive session
shall be taken in public meeting with t he vote of each member
publicly cast and recorded.
F. A willful violation of the provisions of this section shall:
1. Subject each member of the public bod y to criminal sanctions
as provided in Section 314 of this title; and
2. Cause the minutes and all other records of the execut ive
session including tape recordings, to be immediately made public.
SECTION 3. AMENDATORY 25 O.S. 202 1, Section 310, is
amended to read as follows:
Section 310. Any member of the Legislature appointed as a
member of a committee of either house of the Legislature or joint
committee thereof shall be permitt ed to attend any executive session
authorized by the Oklahoma Open Meeting Act of any state agency,
board or commission whenever the jurisdiction of such committee
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includes the actions of the public body involved ; provided, however,
a member of the Legislature shall not be permitted to attend an
executive session of the Judicial Nominating Commission authorized
pursuant to paragraph 16 of subsection C of Section 307 of this
title.
SECTION 4. This act shall become effective November 1, 2023.
59-1-1155 TEK 1/19/2023 3:16:23 PM