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ENGROSSED HOUSE
BILL NO. 1543 By: Patzkowsky of the House
and
Green of the Senate
An Act relating to the Oklahoma Conservation
Commission; amending 27A O.S. 2021, Section 3 -2-106,
which relates to the powers and duties of the
Commission; providing that the Commission may enter
into contracts and agreements and execute certain
instruments in certain circumstances; updating
language to include tribes; removing the ability of
the Commission to establish and maintain a
Conservation District Consol idation Fund; and
providing an effective date.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF OKLAHOMA:
SECTION 1. AMENDATORY 27A O.S. 2021, Section 3 -2-106, is
amended to read as follows:
Section 3-2-106. A. In addition to oth er powers and duties
specified by law and except as otherwise provided by law, the
Oklahoma Conservation Commission shall have the power and duty to:
1. Offer the assistance as may be appropriate to the directors
of conservation districts in the carrying out of any of their powers
and programs and to:
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a. assist and guide districts in the preparation and
carrying out of programs for resource conservation
authorized under the Conservation District Act,
b. review district programs,
c. coordinate the programs of the several districts and
resolve any conflicts in such programs, and
d. facilitate, promote, assist, harmonize, coordinate ,
and guide the resource conservation programs and
activities of districts as they relate to other
special purpose districts, coun ties, and other public
agencies;
2. Keep the directors of each of the several districts informed
of the activities and experience of all other districts, and to
facilitate an interchange of advice and experience between the
districts and cooperation betwe en them;
3. Enter into contracts and agreements and execute such
instruments in the judgment of the Commission as are necessary,
beneficial, or convenient toward the exercise of any of the
Commission's powers conferred upon it by law. This includes, but is
not limited to, creating shared positions, administering statewide
programs with districts, and exploring funding sources for
conservation programs, practices, and pilot projects;
4. Review agreements, or forms of agreements, proposed to be
entered into by districts with other districts or with any state,
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federal, or tribal, interstate, or other public or private agency,
organization, or individual, and advise the districts concerning the
agreements or forms of agreements;
4. 5. Secure the cooperation and assistance of the United
States and any of its agencies, and of any tribe, agencies of this
state, other entities, or individuals in the work of the Commission
or districts and to accept;
6. Accept donations, grants, gifts and contributions in money,
services, or otherwise from the United States or any of its agencies
or from, tribes, the state or any of its agencies , other entities,
or individuals in order to carry out the purposes of the
Conservation District Act;
5. 7. Disseminate information throu ghout the state concerning
the activities and programs of the conservation districts and to
make available information concerning the needs and the work of the
conservation districts and Commission to the Governor, the
Legislature, executive agencies of th e government of this state,
political subdivisions of this state, cooperating federal agencies ,
and the general public;
6. 8. Serve along with conservation districts as the official
state agencies for cooperating with the Natural Resources
Conservation Service of the United States Department of Agric ulture
and carrying on conservation operations within the boundaries of
conservation districts;
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7. 9. Cooperate with and give such assistance as it deems
necessary and proper to conservancy districts, watershe d
associations, and other special purpose districts in the State of
Oklahoma for the purpose of cooperating with the United States
through the Secretary of Agriculture in the furtherance of
conservation pursuant to the provisions of the Federal Watershed
Protection and Flood Prevention Act, as amended ;
8. 10. Recommend the inclusion in annual and longer-term
budgets and appropriation legislation of the State of Oklahoma of
funds necessary for appropriation by the Legislature to finance the
activities of the Commission and the conservation districts and to:
a. administer the provisions of the Conservation District
Act hereafter enacted by the Legislature appropriating
funds for expenditure in connection with the
activities of conservation districts,
b. distribute to conservation districts funds, equipme nt,
supplies, and services received by the Commission for
that purpose from any source, subject to such
conditions as shall be made applicable thereto in any
state or federal statute or local ordinance making
available such funds, property , or services,
c. issue rules establishing guidelines and suitable
controls to govern the use by conservation districts
of funds, property, and services, and
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d. review all budgets, administrative procedures , and
operations of such districts and advise the districts
concerning their conformance with applicable laws and
regulations;
9. 11. Enlist the cooperation and collaboration of state,
federal, tribal, regional, interstate, local, public , and private
agencies with the conserv ation districts and to facilitate
arrangements under which the conservation districts may serve county
governing bodies and other agencies as their local operating
agencies in the administration of any activity concerned with the
conservation of renewable natural resources;
10. 12. Pursuant to procedures developed mutually by the
Commission and federal, tribal, state, and local agencies that are
authorized to plan or administer activities significantly affecting
the conservation of renewable natural resour ces, receive from these
agencies for review and comment suitable descriptions of their
plans, programs, and activities for purposes of coordination with
district conservation programs and to arrange for and participate in
conferences necessary to avoid con flict among plans and programs, to
call attention to omissions, and to avoid duplication of effort;
11. 13. Compile information and make studies, summaries, and
analyses of district programs in relation to each other and to other
resource conservation pro grams on a statewide basis;
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12. 14. Except as otherwise assigned by law, carry out the
policies of this state in programs at the state level for the
conservation of the renewable natural resources of this state and
represent the state in matters affecting such resources;
13. 15. Assist conservation districts in obtaining legal
services from state and local legal officers;
14. 16. Require annual reports from conservation districts, the
form and content of which shall be developed by the Commission in
consultation with the district directors;
15. 17. Establish by rules, with the assistance and advice of
the State Auditor and Inspector, adequate and reasonably uniform
accounting and auditing procedures which that shall be used by
conservation districts;
16. 18. Conduct workshops for district directors to instruct
them on the subjects of district finances, the Conservation District
Law and related laws, and their duties and responsibilities as
directors;
17. 19. Assist and supervise districts in carrying ou t their
responsibilities in accordance with the Oklahoma laws;
18. 20. Have power, by administrative order, upon the written
request of the board of directors of the conservation district or
districts involved, with a showing that such request has been
approved by a majority vote of the members of ea ch of the boards
involved, to:
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a. transfer lands and assign easements from one district
established under the provisions of the Conservation
District Act to another,
b. divide a single district into two or more districts,
each of which shall thereafter operate as a separate
district under the provisions of the Conservation
District Act, and
c. consolidate two or more districts established under
the provisions of the Conservation District Act, which
consolidated area shall operate thereafter as a single
district under the provisions of the Conservation
District Act;
19. 21. Except as otherwise provided by law, act as the
management agency having jurisdiction over and responsibility for
directing nonpoint source p ollution prevention programs outside the
jurisdiction or control of cities or towns in Oklahoma. The
Commission, otherwise, shall be responsible for all identified
nonpoint source categories except silviculture, urban storm water
stormwater runoff and industrial runoff;
20. 22. Establish and maintai n an Equipment Revolving Fund for
the purpose of loaning conservation districts funds to purchase
equipment to be used for the installation of conservation practices.
The fund shall consist of all monies appro priated to, deposited in
or credited to the fund;
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21. Establish and maintain a Conservation District
Consolidation Fund for the purpose of providing financial assistance
to conservation districts who choose to consolidate as outlined in
subparagraph c of paragraph 18 of this subsection. The fund sha ll
consist of all monies appropriated to, deposited in or credited to
the fund;
22. 23. Administer cost-share programs for the purpose of
carrying to carry out conservation or best management practices on
the land to benefit the public through the prevention or reduction
of soil erosion and nonpoint source pollution and through general
resource management. The Commission is not authorized to implement
mandatory compliance with management practices, except as o therwise
provided by law, to abate agricultura l nonpoint source pollution;
23. 24. Plan watershed-based nonpoint source pollution control
activities, including the development and implementation of
conservation plans for the improvement and protection of the
resources of the state;
24. Provide assistance to 25. Assist the Oklahoma Water
Resources Board on lake projects through stream and river
monitoring, assessing watershed activities impacting lake water
quality, and assisting in the development of a w atershed management
plan;
25. 26. Maintain the activities of the state 's nonpoint source
working group;
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26. 27. Prepare, revise, and review Oklahoma's nonpoint source
management program and nonpoint source assessment report in
coordination with other sta te environmental agencies and compile a
comprehensive assessment for the state every five (5) years. The
management program and assessment report shall be distributed to the
Governor, Secretary of Energy and Environment, the President Pro
Tempore of the Oklahoma State Senate, and the Speaker of the
Oklahoma House of Representatives;
27. 28. Under the direction of the Office of the Secretary of
the Energy and Environment, develop and implement the state 's
nonpoint source water quality monitoring strategy i n coordination
with other environmental agencies;
28. 29. Monitor, evaluate, and assess the waters of the state
to determine the condition of streams and rivers impacted by
nonpoint source pollution. In carrying out this area of
responsibility, the Conse rvation Commission shall serve as the
technical lead agency for nonpoint source pollution categories as
defined in Section 319 of the Federal Clean Water Act or other
subsequent federal or state nonpoint source programs;
29. 30. Administer the Blue Thumb Program;
30. 31. Enter into agreements or contracts for services with
any of the substate planning districts recognized by the Oklahoma
Department of Commerce;
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31. 32. Cooperate with the federal government, or any agency
thereof, to participate in and co ordinate with federal programs that
will yield additional federal funds to the state for programs within
the jurisdiction of the Conservation Commission. This participation
shall be subject to the availability of state funds;
32. 33. Implement pilot proj ects and programs, subject to the
availability of funds, that will demonstrate the latest technologies
and applications in conservation programs that may provide direct or
residual benefits to conservation practices in the state; and
33. 34. Promulgate rules necessary, expedient, or appropriate
to carry out the purposes, objectives, or provisions or appropriate
to the performance of the Conservation District Act and the Oklahoma
Carbon Sequestration Enhancement Act and:
a. may establish and collect fees fo r services provided
pursuant to the Conservation District Act and the
Oklahoma Carbon Sequestration Enhancement Act,
including any services for the certification or
verification of sustainable agricultural production
practices, including but not limited to , the Natural
Resources Conservation Service S oil Condition Index,
and
b. shall promulgate all rules establishing fees in
accordance with the Administrative Procedures Act,
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which fees shall be fair and equitable to all parties
concerned.
B. Nothing in this act shall take away any of the present
duties or responsibilities delegated by law or constitution to other
environmental agencies.
SECTION 2. This act shall become effective November 1, 2025.
Passed the House of Representatives the 13th day of March, 2025.
Presiding Officer of the House
of Representatives
Passed the Senate the ____ day of __________, 2025.
Presiding Officer of the Senate