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STATE OF OKLAHOMA
1st Session of the 59th Legislature (2023)
SENATE BILL 74 By: Dahm
AS INTRODUCED
An Act relating to displays; authorizing certai n
entities to display a nativity scene on certain
property; defining term; authorizing Attorney General
to defend certain actions; providing for
codification; and declaring an emergency .
BE IT ENACTED BY THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF OKLAHOMA:
SECTION 1. NEW LAW A new section of law to be codified
in the Oklahoma Statutes as Section 82.5 of Title 25, unless there
is created a duplication in numbering, reads as follows:
A. Every county, municipa lity, city, town, school , or any other
political subdivision, or every person, individually or collectively
as a group or organization, or every public or private business
operating in the state, shall retain the authority to d isplay, in
its public or private buildings and on its grounds, a nativity
scene.
B. As used in this section, “nativity scene” is defined as a
special exhibition, particularly during the Christmas season, of art
objects representing the birth of Jesus. Such nativity scenes can
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include model figures or reenactments which may be called “living
nativity scenes” in which real humans and animals participate .
C. In the event that the legality or constitutionality of any
such display is challenged in a court of law, the Attorney General
is authorized to prepare and present a legal defense of the display.
SECTION 2. It being immediately necessa ry for the preservation
of the public peace, health or safety, an emergency is hereby
declared to exist, by reason whereof this act shall take effect and
be in full force fro m and after its passage and ap proval.
59-1-1002 BG 12/22/2022 9:18:16 AM