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28	28	STATE OF OKLAHOMA
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30	30	1st Session of the 60th Legislature (2025)
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32	32	HOUSE BILL 1552 By: Patzkowsky
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40	40	AS INTRODUCED
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42	42	An Act relating to agriculture; amending 2 O.S. 2021,
43	43	Section 16-26, which relates to emergency drought
44	44	conditions and burning proh ibitions; changing the
45	45	required conditions for an extreme fire danger;
46	46	changing requirements for county commissioners to
47	47	declare a burn ban; and declaring an emergency.
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54	54	BE IT ENACTED BY THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF OKLAHOMA:
55	55	SECTION 1. AMENDATORY 2 O.S. 2021, Section 16 -26, as
56	56	amended by Section 1, Chapter 217, O.S.L. 2024 (2 O.S. Supp. 2024,
57	57	Section 16-26), is amended to read as follows:
58	58	Section 16-26. A. 1. It is unlawful for any person to set
59	59	fire to any forest, gr ass, range, crop, or other wildlands, or to
60	60	build a campfire or bonfire, or to burn trash or other material that
61	61	may cause a forest, grass, range, crop or other wildlands fire in
62	62	any county, counties or area within a county where, because of
63	63	emergency drought conditions, there is gubernatorially proclaimed
64	64	extraordinary danger from fire, unless the setting of any backfire
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91	91	during the drought emergency is necessary to afford protection as
92	92	determined by a representative of the Division of Forestry, or
93	93	unless it can be established that the setting of the backfire was
94	94	necessary for the purpose of saving life or property. The burden of
95	95	proving the necessity shall rest on the person claiming a defense.
96	96	2. The Division of Forestry shall advise the Governor when th e
97	97	lands described in paragraph 1 of this subsection in any county,
98	98	counties or area within a county of this state because of emergency
99	99	drought conditions are in extraordinary danger from fire. The
100	100	Governor may, by proclamation, declare a drought emergency to exist
101	101	and describe the general boundaries of the area affected.
102	102	3. Any proclamation promulgated by the Governor under authority
103	103	of this subsection shall be effective immediately upon the
104	104	Governor's signed approval of the emergency proclamation and sha ll
105	105	supersede any resolution passed by a board of county commissioners
106	106	pursuant to subsection B of this section. Notice of the
107	107	proclamation shall occur through posting on the Oklahoma Department
108	108	of Agriculture, Food, and Forestry 's website and informing lo cal
109	109	news media. Evidence of publication or posting as herein provided
110	110	shall be maintained by the Forestry Division.
111	111	4. When conditions warrant, due notice of the termination of
112	112	the emergency shall be promptly made by proclamation, which shall be
113	113	published or posted in like manner as when officially declared.
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140	140	5. Any person who vio lates this subsection is guilty of a
141	141	misdemeanor punishable by a fine of not more than One Thousand
142	142	Dollars ($1,000.00), by imprisonment for not more than one (1) year,
143	143	or both.
144	144	B. 1. It is unlawful for any person to set fire to any forest,
145	145	grass, range, crop or other wildlands, or to build a campfire or
146	146	bonfire, or to burn trash or other material that may cause a forest,
147	147	grass, range, crop or other wildlands fire in any county of this
148	148	state in which the board of county commissioners of the county has
149	149	passed a resolution declaring a period of extreme fire danger. As
150	150	used in this subsection, "extreme fire danger" means:
151	151	a. all three of four of the following conditions are
152	152	present:
153	153	(1) severe, extreme, or exceptional drought
154	154	conditions exist as determined by the National
155	155	Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA)
156	156	pursuant to its criteria,
157	157	(2) no more than one-half (1/2) inch of precipitation
158	158	is forecast for the next three (3) da ys, and
159	159	(3) either of the following:
160	160	(a) fire occurrence is significantly grea ter
161	161	than normal for the season and/or initial
162	162	attack on a significant number of wildland
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189	189	fires has been unsuccessful due to extreme
190	190	fire behavior, or
191	191	(b) where data is available, more than twenty
192	192	percent (20%) of the wildfires in the county
193	193	have been caused by escaped debris or
194	194	controlled burning, or a portion of the
195	195	county has a Keetch-Byram Drought Index
196	196	(KBDI) rating of 600 or higher, and
197	197	b.
198	198	(4) temperatures for any day over th e next three (3)
199	199	days are forecasted at or over one hundred (100)
200	200	degrees Fahrenheit.
201	201	2. A majority of the board of county commissioners may call an
202	202	emergency meeting at any time to pass or revoke a resolution
203	203	declaring a period of extreme fire danger in accordance with this
204	204	section.
205	205	3. A board of county commissioners shall have may pass a
206	206	resolution declaring a period of extreme fire danger in the county
207	207	either with the documented concurrence of a majority of the chiefs,
208	208	or their designees, of the munici pal and certified rural fire
209	209	departments located in the county that a period o f extreme fire
210	210	danger exists prior to passage of a resolution declaring a period of
211	211	extreme fire danger in the county or when the Keetch-Byram Drought
212	212	Index (KBDI) is 600 or high er, which indicates extreme fire danger .
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239	239	The resolution shall be effective for a period not to exceed
240	240	fourteen (14) days from the date of passage by the board of county
241	241	commissioners, unless the burn ban is removed earlier by the same
242	242	method by which it w as approved. If extreme fire danger conditions
243	243	persist, subsequent resolution s may be passed by the board of county
244	244	commissioners in the same manner as provided in this paragraph . The
245	245	board of county commissioners, in the resolution, may grant
246	246	exceptions to the fire prohibition based on appropriate
247	247	precautionary measures.
248	248	4. Agricultural producers burning cropland, rangeland, forests
249	249	or pastures as a preferred method of managing their property shall
250	250	be exempt from any resolution passed by a board of coun ty
251	251	commissioners that declares a period of extreme fire danger so long
252	252	as the agricultural producers have complied with the following
253	253	procedures:
254	254	a. submit a written prescribed burn plan to the local
255	255	fire department and, if within a protection area, the
256	256	local office or local representative of the Forestry
257	257	Division of the Oklahoma Department of Agriculture,
258	258	Food, and Forestry nearest the land to be burned that
259	259	shall include the following information:
260	260	(1) the name and telephone number of the agricultural
261	261	producer conducting the burn,
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288	288	(2) the address and legal description of the area to
289	289	be burned,
290	290	(3) the objective and purpose of the burn,
291	291	(4) a list of fire departments and sheriff 's offices
292	292	that are required to be notified pursuant to
293	293	subparagraph c of this pa ragraph,
294	294	(5) a list of adjoining landowners required to be
295	295	notified pursuant to Section 16 -28.2 of this
296	296	title,
297	297	(6) a description of any firebreaks used to define
298	298	the boundary of the prescribed burn,
299	299	(7) a statement of prescribed weather conditions,
300	300	(8) a description of any smoke -management
301	301	considerations, and
302	302	(9) an ignition plan for the burn,
303	303	b. keep a copy of the written prescribed burn plan
304	304	provided for in subparagraph a of this paragraph on
305	305	site when conducting the prescribed burn,
306	306	c. notify the county sheriff and the dispatch center of
307	307	the local fire department prior to conducting the
308	308	prescribed burn, and
309	309	d. comply with the notification procedures outlined in
310	310	Section 16-28.2 of this title.
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337	337	5. The prescribed burn plan provided for in paragraph 4 of this
338	338	subsection shall be deemed approved seventy -two (72) hours after
339	339	submission to the local fire department; provided, that the local
340	340	fire department may amend the submitted burn plan within seventy -two
341	341	(72) hours after submission.
342	342	6. The prescribed burn pl an provided for in paragraph 4 of this
343	343	subsection shall not include campfires, household trash, debris or
344	344	pile burning.
345	345	7. Nothing in paragraph 4 of this subsection shall supersede
346	346	requirements set by a proclamation promulgated by the Governor under
347	347	authority of this section, interfere with the authority of the
348	348	Oklahoma Department of Agriculture, Food, and Forestry to enforce
349	349	burning laws or change the burner 's liability as prescribed by law.
350	350	8. Any resolution passed by a board of county commissioners
351	351	under authority of this subsection shall be effective immediately
352	352	upon passage of the resolution. Notice of the resolution shall be
353	353	submitted to the Forestry Division of the Oklahoma Department of
354	354	Agriculture, Food, and Forestry, all local news media, local law
355	355	enforcement officials, and the state headquarters of the Department
356	356	of Public Safety (DPS), the Oklahoma Tourism and Recreation
357	357	Department (OTRD) and the Oklahoma Department of Wildlife
358	358	Conservation (ODWC) on the day of passage of the resolution.
359	359	Evidence of publication or posting as provided in this paragraph
360	360	shall be maintained by the county.
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387	387	9. The provisions of this subsection may be enforced by any law
388	388	enforcement officer of this state.
389	389	10. Any person convicted of violating the provisions of thi s
390	390	subsection shall be guilty of a misdemeanor and shall be subject to
391	391	a fine of not more than Five Hundred Dollars ($500.00), to
392	392	imprisonment for not more than one (1) year, or to both such fine
393	393	and imprisonment.
394	394	11. The selling of fireworks shall not be considered an act in
395	395	violation of this subsection.
396	396	12. All fire departments and appropriate county officials shall
397	397	be allowed to place "Burn Ban" signs on agreed-upon signposts
398	398	controlled by the Oklahoma Department of Transportation and Oklahoma
399	399	Turnpike Authority (OTA). Fire departments and appropriate county
400	400	officials shall work with the Oklahoma Department of Transportation
401	401	to agree upon locations for signage. The Oklahoma Department of
402	402	Transportation shall develop standards that fire departments and
403	403	appropriate county officials shall adhere to in placing signage. It
404	404	shall be the responsibility of the entity placing the sign to post
405	405	and remove signage in a timely manner. Signage shall not obstruct
406	406	the view of traffic. Signage costs shall be the resp onsibility of
407	407	the fire department or county wishing to install.
408	408	SECTION 2. It being immediately necessary for the preservation
409	409	of the public peace, health or safety, an emergency is hereby
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436	436	declared to exist, by reason whereof this act shal l take effect and
437	437	be in full force from and after its passage and approval.
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439	439	60-1-11228 JL 12/17/24

Oklahoma 2025 Regular Session

Oklahoma House Bill HB1552 Compare Versions