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SENATE FLOOR VERSION
February 19, 2024
AS AMENDED
SENATE BILL NO. 1947 By: Alvord
[ county roads - domestic animals - exemption - open
range road designation - construction - appeal -
liability - codification - effective date ]
BE IT ENACTED BY THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF OKLAHOMA:
SECTION 1. AMENDATORY 4 O.S. 2021, Section 9 9, is
amended to read as follows:
Section 99. A. Any person who:
1. Willfully omits to keep a domestic animal such person owns
or has charge of with in a suitable enclosure;
2. Allows the animal to be unrestrained or to run at large,
with notice, actual or constructive, that the enclosure within which
the animal is kept is open; or
3. Knowingly causes a domestic animal to escap e confinement,
shall be deemed guilty of a misdemeanor and upon conviction thereof
shall be punished by a fine of not more than Fifty Dollars ($50.00)
for each offense, or not more than thirty (30) days’ imprisonment in
the county jail for each offense, or by both fine and impri sonment.
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B. The provisions of this section shall not be construed as
applying to domestic animals that are on a county road designated as
an open range road as provided for in Section 2 of t his act.
C. For the purpose of this act, the term “domestic animals”
shall not include domestic house pets.
SECTION 2. NEW LAW A new section of law to be codified
in the Oklahoma Statutes as Section 646.1 of Title 69, unless there
is created a duplication in numbering, reads as follows:
As used in this act, an “open range road” means a road
maintained by the county that does not require livestock to be
fenced out of the roadway.
SECTION 3. NEW LAW A new section of law to be codified
in the Oklahoma Statutes as Section 646.2 of Title 69, unless there
is created a duplication in numbering, reads as follows:
A. The board of county commissioners of a county may designate
a public road, as defined in Section 23 2 of Title 69 of the Oklahoma
Statutes, as an open range road according to the following
procedure:
1. A proposal for such designation shall be upon a petition to
the board of county commissioners by a property owner who resides in
their county;
2. The proposal shall state the proposed action and c learly
show on a map of the area the location an d terminals of the road.
The map shall also demonstrate that the property where the road is
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located belongs to the property owner reque sting such designation .
If the petition is in proper form, the board of county commissioners
shall promptly investigate the proposal to attest that according to
its records the road in question is within its jurisdiction and is
considered to be open for use by the general public, through grant
or ownership, by easement or ded ication, by adverse possession, or
by open and notorious use, regardless of the frequency of
maintenance or lack thereof . If the board of county commissioners
determines that such road is not open for use by the general public,
or the petition was not in proper form, th e board shall have grounds
to dismiss the request ;
3. If the petition is in proper form, and the board of county
commissioners attests that such road in question is open for use by
the general public, the board shall set a hearing date. Th e
petitioner requesting such action, under the direction of the count y
clerk, shall then notify those landowners whose property is
immediately affected by the road by providing ingress or egress to
their property. The notice shall be given by regular mail at least
twenty-one days (21) prior to the hearing date; and
4. Legal notice to the public shall be give n by advertisement
in a newspaper of general circulation in the county setting forth
the facts and the date when the hearing will be held and the
petition acted upon. The notice shall be published once per week
for three (3) consecutive weeks at least twenty -one (21) days prior
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to the hearing date. The notice shall be paid for by the petitioner
requesting such action, under the direction of the county clerk. A
record of all such proceedings shall be made by th e county clerk.
B. In considering the proposal to designate a n open range road,
the board of county commissioners shall hear testimony provided by
the petitioner and others who may testify at th e hearing as to
whether the road should be so designated. Upon a decision by the
board of county commissioners to designate an open range road, a
cattle guard that meets industry -accepted standards shall be
installed at the access points of the road, the installation cost of
which shall be paid for by the petitioner. The board of county
commissioners shall pay for and erect at the access points of such
road signage clearly indicating that such roadway is an open range
road.
C. If the board of county comm issioners should deny such
designation, the petitioner taking such action may appeal such
decision to the district court , conditioned that the appellant will
prosecute his or her appeal without delay. The appeal shall be
taken within ten (10) d ays after the board of county comm issioners
makes such determination , by serving a written notice to the county
clerk, which notice shall set out in detail, in numbered paragraphs,
the grounds on which the appellant will rely on the appeal . A copy
of the notice, together with a certified transcript of the
proceedings, shall be immediately transmitted by the county clerk to
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the clerk of the district court, who shall docket it as other cases
and set the same for speedy trial.
D. Neither the property owner n or the owner of livestock that
are on a property where such o pen range road is located are liable
for damages to any motor vehicle or occupants thereof caused by
collision with livestock on a designated open range road.
SECTION 4. NEW LAW A ne w section of law to be codified
in the Oklahoma Statutes as Section 646.3 of Title 69, unless there
is created a duplication in numbering, reads as follows:
A. The board of county commissioners may remove the designation
of a public road as an open range road according to the following
procedure:
1. A proposal for such removal shall be upon a petition to the
board of county comm issioners by at least fifty percent (50%) of
landowners whose property is immediately affected by the road by
providing ingress or egress to their property to the board of county
commissioners;
2. The petition shall state the pro posed action and clearly
show on a map of the area the l ocation and terminals of the road .
The map shall also demonstrate that such road provides ingress or
egress to the property of the petitioners requesting such removal.
If the petition is in proper form, the board of county commissioners
shall promptly investigate the proposal to attest that according to
its records the road in question is within its jurisdiction and is
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considered to be open for use by the general public, through grant
or ownership, by easement or dedication, by adverse possession, or
by open and notorious use, regardless of the frequency of
maintenance or lack thereof . Additionally, the board shall
determine that such road has been designated as an open range road.
If the board of county commissioners determines that such road is
not open for use by the general public , was not designated as an
open range road, or the petition was not in proper form, the board
shall have grounds to dismiss the request ;
3. If the petition is in proper form, and the board of county
commissioners attests that such road in question is open for use by
the general public and was previously designated as an open range
road, the board of county commissioners shall set a hearing date.
The petitioners requesting such action, under the direction of the
county clerk, shall then notify those landowners whose property is
immediately affected by the road by providing ingress or egress to
their property and who are not part of the petition, as well as the
owner of the property primarily benefitted by the open range road .
The notice shall be giv en by regular mail at least twenty-one days
(21) prior to the hearing date; and
4. Legal notice to the public shall be give n by advertisement
in a newspaper of general circulation in the county setting forth
the facts and the date when the hearing will be held and the
petition acted upon. The notice shall be published once per week
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for three (3) consecutive weeks at least twenty -one (21) days prior
to the hearing date. The notice shall be paid for by the
petitioners requesting such action , under the direction of the
county clerk. A record of all such proceedings shall be made by the
county clerk.
B. In considering the proposal to remove a public road from
designation as an open range road, the board of county commissioners
shall hear testimony provided by the petitioners and others who may
testify at the hearing as t o whether the designation of the road
should be so removed. Upon a decision by the board of county
commissioners to remove the designation of a public road as a n open
range road, the board shall require that any installed cattle guards
be removed, the removal cost of which shall be paid for by the
petitioners. Additionally, the board of county commissioners shall
pay for the removal of any road signage that indicates that such
roadway was an open range road.
C. If the board of county commissioners should deny such
removal of designation, the petitioners taking such action may
appeal such decision to the district court , conditioned that the
appellants will prosecute their appeal without delay. The appeal
shall be taken within ten (10) days after the board of county
commissioners makes su ch determination, by serving a written notice
to the county clerk, which notice shall set out in detail, in
numbered paragraphs, the grounds on which the appellant will rely on
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the appeal. A copy of the notice, together with a certi fied
transcript of the proceedings, shall be immediately transmitted by
the county clerk to the clerk of the district court, who shall
docket it as other cases and set the same for speedy trial.
SECTION 5. This act shall become effective November 1, 2024.
COMMITTEE REPORT BY: COMMITTEE ON AGRICULTURE AND RURAL AFFAIRS
February 19, 2024 - DO PASS AS AMENDED