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Oklahoma House Bill HB1638

Oklahoma 2025 Regular Session

Oklahoma House Bill HB1638 Compare Versions

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2828 STATE OF OKLAHOMA
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3030 1st Session of the 60th Legislature (2025)
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3232 HOUSE BILL 1638 By: Sneed
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3838 AS INTRODUCED
3939
4040 An Act relating to The Governmental Tort Claims Act;
4141 amending 51 O.S. 2021, Section 152, as last amended
4242 by Section 111, Chapter 452, O.S. L. 2024 (51 O.S.
4343 Supp. 2024, Section 152), which relates to
4444 definitions; modifying a definition; and providing an
4545 effective date.
4646
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5050 BE IT ENACTED BY THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF OKLAHOMA:
5151 SECTION 1. AMENDATORY 51 O.S. 2021, Section 152, as last
5252 amended by Section 111, Chapter 452, O.S.L. 2024 (51 O.S . Supp.
5353 2024, Section 152), is amended to read as follows:
5454 Section 152. As used in The Governmental Tort Claims Act:
5555 1. "Action" means a proceeding in a court of competent
5656 jurisdiction by which one party brings a suit against another;
5757 2. "Agency" means any board, commission, committee, department ,
5858 or other instrumentality or entity designated to act in on behalf of
5959 the state or a political subdivision;
6060 3. "Charitable health ca re provider" means a person who is
6161 licensed, certified, or otherwise authorize d by the laws of this
6262 state to administer health care in the ordinary course of business
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8989 or the practice of a profession and who provides care to a medically
9090 indigent person, as defined in paragraph 9 of this section, with no
9191 expectation of or acceptance of compensation of any kind;
9292 4. "Claim" means any written demand presented by a claimant or
9393 the claimant's authorized representative in accordance with the The
9494 Governmental Tort Claims Act to recover money from the state or
9595 political subdivision as compens ation for an act or omission of a
9696 political subdivision or the state or an employee;
9797 5. "Claimant" means the person or the person 's authorized
9898 representative who files notice of a claim in accordance with The
9999 Governmental Tort Claims Act. Only the following persons and no
100100 others may be claimants:
101101 a. any person holding an interest in real or personal
102102 property which suffers a loss, provided that the claim
103103 of the person shall be ag gregated with claims of all
104104 other persons holding an interest in the property and
105105 the claims of all other persons which are derivative
106106 of the loss, and that multiple claimants shall be
107107 considered a single claimant,
108108 b. the individual actually involved in th e accident or
109109 occurrence who suffers a loss, provided that the
110110 individual shall aggregate in the claim the losses of
111111 all other persons which are derivative of the loss, or
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138138 c. in the case of death, an administrator, special
139139 administrator or a personal repre sentative who shall
140140 aggregate in the claim all losses of all persons which
141141 are derivative of the death;
142142 6. "Community health care provider " means:
143143 a. a health care provider who volunteers services at a
144144 community health center that has been deemed by the
145145 U.S. Department of Health and Human Services as a
146146 federally qualified health center as defined by 42
147147 U.S.C., Section 1396d(l)(2)(B),
148148 b. a health provider who provides services to an
149149 organization that has been deemed a federally
150150 qualified look-alike community health center, and
151151 c. a health care provider who provides services to a
152152 community health center that has made application to
153153 the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services for
154154 approval and deeming as a federally qualified look -
155155 alike community health ce nter in compliance with
156156 federal application guidance, and has received
157157 comments from the U.S. Department of Health and Human
158158 Services as to the status of such application with the
159159 established intent of resubmitting a modified
160160 application, or, if denied, a new application, no
161161 later than six (6) months from the date of the
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188188 official notification from the U.S. Department of
189189 Health and Human Services requiring resubmission of a
190190 new application;
191191 7. "Employee" means any person who is authorized to act in on
192192 behalf of a political subdivision or the state whether that person
193193 is acting on a permanent or temporary basis, with or without being
194194 compensated or on a full -time or part-time basis.
195195 a. Employee also includes:
196196 (1) all elected or appointed officers, members of
197197 governing bodies and other persons designated to
198198 act for an agency or politica l subdivision, but
199199 the term does not mean a person or other legal
200200 entity while acting in the capacity of an
201201 independent contractor or an employee of an
202202 independent contractor, and
203203 (2) from September 1, 1991, through June 30, 1996,
204204 licensed physicians, licensed osteopathic
205205 physicians, and certified nurse-midwives
206206 providing prenatal, delivery or infant care
207207 services to State Department of Health clients
208208 pursuant to a contract entere d into with the
209209 State Department of Health in accordance with
210210 paragraph 3 of subsection B of Section 1 -106 of
211211 Title 63 of the Oklahoma Statutes but only
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238238 insofar as services authorized by and in
239239 conformity with the terms of the contract and the
240240 requirements of Section 1-233 of Title 63 of the
241241 Oklahoma Statutes, and
242242 (3) any volunteer, full-time, or part-time
243243 firefighter when performing duties for a fire
244244 department provided for in subparagraph j of
245245 paragraph 11 of this section.
246246 b. For the purposes of The Gover nmental Tort Claims Act,
247247 the following are employees of this state, regardless
248248 of the place in this state where duties as employees
249249 are performed:
250250 (1) physicians acting in an administrative capacity,
251251 (2) resident physicians and resident interns
252252 participating in a graduate medical education
253253 program of the University of Oklahoma Health
254254 Sciences Center, the College of Osteopathic
255255 Medicine of Oklahoma State University, or the
256256 Department of Mental Health and Substance Abuse
257257 Services,
258258 (3) faculty members and staf f of the University of
259259 Oklahoma Health Sciences Center and the College
260260 of Osteopathic Medicine of Oklahoma State
261261 University, while engaged in teaching duties,
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288288 (4) physicians who practice medicine or act in an
289289 administrative capacity as an employee of an
290290 agency of the State of Oklahoma,
291291 (5) physicians who provide medical care to inmates
292292 pursuant to a contract with the Department of
293293 Corrections,
294294 (6) any person who is licensed to practice medicine
295295 pursuant to Title 59 of the Oklahoma Statutes,
296296 who is under an administrative professional
297297 services contract with the Oklahoma Health Care
298298 Authority under the auspices of the Oklahoma
299299 Health Care Authority Chief Medical Officer, and
300300 who is limited to performing administrative
301301 duties such as professional guidance for m edical
302302 reviews, reimbursement rates, service
303303 utilization, health care delivery , and benefit
304304 design for the Oklahoma Health Care Authority,
305305 only while acting within the scope of such
306306 contract,
307307 (7) licensed medical professionals under contract
308308 with city, county, or state entities who provide
309309 medical care to inmates or detainees in the
310310 custody or control of law enforcement agencies,
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337337 (8) licensed mental health professionals as defined
338338 in Sections 1-103 and 5-502 of Title 43A of the
339339 Oklahoma Statutes, who are co nducting initial
340340 examinations of individuals for the purpose of
341341 determining whether an individual meets the
342342 criteria for emergency detention as part of a
343343 contract with the Department of Mental Health and
344344 Substance Abuse Services, and
345345 (9) licensed mental health professionals as defined
346346 in Sections 1-103 and 5-502 of Title 43A of the
347347 Oklahoma Statutes, who are providing mental
348348 health or substance abuse treatment services
349349 under a professional services contract with the
350350 Department of Mental Health and Substance Abuse
351351 Services and are providing such treatment
352352 services at a state-operated facility.
353353 Physician faculty members and physician staff of the
354354 University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center and the
355355 College of Osteopathic Medicine of Oklahoma State
356356 University not acting in an administrative capacity or
357357 engaged in teaching duties are not employees or agents
358358 of the state.
359359 c. For the purposes of The Governmental Tort Claims Act,
360360 employee shall include independent contractors and
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387387 employees of independent contractor s while actively
388388 engaged in the transport of individuals in need of
389389 initial assessment, emergency detention, or protective
390390 custody as authorized by Section 1 -110 of Title 43A of
391391 the Oklahoma Statutes.
392392 d. Except as provided in subparagraph b of this
393393 paragraph, in no event shall the state be held liable
394394 for the tortious conduct of any physician, resident
395395 physician, or intern while practicing medicine or
396396 providing medical treatment to patients.
397397 e. For purposes of The Governmental Tort Claims Act,
398398 members of the state military forces on state active
399399 duty orders or on Title 32 active duty orders are
400400 employees of this state, regardless of the place,
401401 within or outside this state, where their duties as
402402 employees are performed;
403403 8. "Loss" means death or injury to the body or rights of a
404404 person or damage to real or personal property or rights t herein;
405405 9. "Medically indigent" means a person requiring medically
406406 necessary hospital or other health care services for the person or
407407 the dependents of the person who has no pub lic or private third -
408408 party coverage, and whose personal resources are insufficient to
409409 provide for needed health care;
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436436 10. "Municipality" means any incorporated city or town, and all
437437 institutions, agencies , or instrumentalities of a municipality;
438438 11. "Political subdivision" means:
439439 a. a municipality,
440440 b. a school district, including, but not limited to, a
441441 technology center school district , established
442442 pursuant to Section 4410, 4411, 4420 , or 4420.1 of
443443 Title 70 of the Oklahoma Statutes,
444444 c. a county,
445445 d. a public trust where the sole beneficiary or
446446 beneficiaries are a city, town, school district , or
447447 county. For purposes of The Governmental Tort Claims
448448 Act, a public trust shall include:
449449 (1) a municipal hospital created pursuant to Sections
450450 30-101 through 30-109 of Title 11 of the Oklahoma
451451 Statutes, a county hospital created pursuant to
452452 Sections 781 through 796 of Title 19 of the
453453 Oklahoma Statutes, or is created pursuant to a
454454 joint agreement between such governing
455455 authorities, that is operated for the public
456456 benefit by a public trust created pursuant to
457457 Sections 176 through 180.4 of Title 60 of the
458458 Oklahoma Statutes and managed by a governing
459459 board appointed or elected by the municipality,
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486486 county, or both, who exercises control of the
487487 hospital, subject to the appro val of the
488488 governing body of the municipality, county, or
489489 both,
490490 (2) a public trust created pursuant to Sections 176
491491 through 180.4 of Title 60 of the Oklahoma
492492 Statutes after January 1, 2009, the primary
493493 purpose of which is to own, manage, or operate a
494494 public acute care hospital in this state that
495495 serves as a teaching hospital for a medical
496496 residency program provided by a college of
497497 osteopathic medicine and provides care to
498498 indigent persons, and
499499 (3) a corporation in which all of the capital stock
500500 is owned, or a limited liability company in which
501501 all of the member interest is owned, by a public
502502 trust,
503503 e. for the purposes of The Governmental Tort Claims Act
504504 only, a housing authority created pursuant to the
505505 provisions of the Oklahoma Housing Authorities Act,
506506 f. for the purposes of The Governmental Tort Claims Act
507507 only, corporations organized not -for-profit pursuant
508508 to the provisions of the Oklahoma General Corporation
509509 Act for the primary purpose of developing and
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536536 providing rural water supply and sewage disposal
537537 facilities to serve rural residents,
538538 g. for the purposes of The Governmental Tor t Claims Act
539539 only, districts formed pursuant to the Rural Water,
540540 Sewer, Gas and Solid Waste Management Districts Act,
541541 h. for the purposes of The Governmental Tort Claims Act
542542 only, master conservancy districts formed pursuant to
543543 the Conservancy Act of Oklahoma,
544544 i. for the purposes of The Governmental Tort Claims Act
545545 only, a fire protection district created pursuant to
546546 the provisions of Section 901.1 et seq. of Title 19 of
547547 the Oklahoma Statutes,
548548 j. for the purposes of The Governmental Tort Claims Act
549549 only, a benevolent or charitable corporate volunteer
550550 or full-time fire department for an unincorporated
551551 area created pursuant to the provisions of Section 592
552552 et seq. of Title 18 of the Oklahoma Statutes,
553553 k. for purposes of The Governmental Tort Claims Act only,
554554 an Emergency Services Provider rendering services
555555 within the boundaries of a Supplemental Emergency
556556 Services District pursuant to an existing contract
557557 between the Emergency Servic es Provider and the State
558558 Department of Health. Provided, however, that the
559559 acquisition of commercial liability insurance covering
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586586 the activities of such Emergency Services Provider
587587 performed within this state shall not operate as a
588588 waiver of any of the l imitations, immunities , or
589589 defenses provided for political subdivisions pursuant
590590 to the terms of The Governmental Tort Claims Act,
591591 l. for purposes of The Governmental Tort Claims Act only,
592592 a conservation district created pursuant to the
593593 provisions of the Conservation District Act,
594594 m. for purposes of The Governmental Tort Claims Act,
595595 districts formed pursuant to the Oklahoma Irrigation
596596 District Act,
597597 n. for purposes of The Governmental Tort Claims Act only,
598598 any community action agency established pursuant to
599599 Sections 5035 through 5040 of Title 74 of the Oklahoma
600600 Statutes,
601601 o. for purposes of The Governmental Tort Claims Act only,
602602 any organization that is designated as a youth
603603 services agency, pursuant to Section 2 -7-306 of Title
604604 10A of the Oklahoma Statutes,
605605 p. for purposes of The Governmental Tort Claims Act only,
606606 any judge presiding ov er a drug court, as defined by
607607 Section 471.1 of Title 22 of the Oklahoma Statutes,
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634634 q. for purposes of The Governmental Tort Claims Act only,
635635 any child-placing agency licensed by this state to
636636 place children in foster family homes,
637637 r. for purposes of The Governmental Tort Claims Act only,
638638 a circuit engineering district created pursuant to
639639 Section 687.1 of Title 69 of the Oklahoma Statutes,
640640 s. for purposes of the The Governmental Tort Claims Act
641641 only, a substate planning district, regional council
642642 of government, or other entity created pursuant to
643643 Section 1001 et seq. of Title 74 of the Oklahoma
644644 Statutes, and
645645 t. for purposes of The Governmental Tort Claims Act only,
646646 a regional transportation authority or regional
647647 economic development authority created pursuant to
648648 Section 1370.7 of Title 68 of the Oklahoma Statutes
649649 including its contract operator and any railroad
650650 operating in interstate commerce that sells a property
651651 interest or provides services to a regional
652652 transportation authority or allows the authority to
653653 use the property or tracks of the railroad for the
654654 provision of public passenger rail service to the
655655 extent claims against the contract operator or
656656 railroad arise out of or are r elated to or in
657657 connection with such property interest, services , or
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684684 operation of the public passenger rail service.
685685 Provided, the acquisition of commercial liability
686686 insurance to cover the activities of the regional
687687 transportation authority, or regional economic
688688 development authority contract operator, or railroad
689689 shall not operate as a waiver of any liabilities,
690690 immunities, or defenses provided pursuant to the
691691 provisions of the The Governmental Tort Claims Act,
692692 and
693693 u. for purposes of The Governmental Tor t Claims Act only,
694694 an ambulance service district established pursuant to
695695 Section 9C of Article X of the Oklahoma Constitution,
696696 and all their institutions, instrumentalities , or agencies;
697697 12. "Scope of employment" means performance by an employee
698698 acting in good faith within the duties of the employee 's office or
699699 employment or of tas ks lawfully assigned by a competent authority ,
700700 including the operation or use of an agency vehicle or equipment
701701 with actual or implied consent of the supervisor of the employee,
702702 but shall not include corruption or fraud;
703703 13. "State" means the State of Oklahoma or any office,
704704 department, agency, authority, commission, board, institution,
705705 hospital, college, university, public trust created pursuant to
706706 Title 60 of the Oklahoma Statu tes of which the State of Oklahoma is
707707 the beneficiary, or other instrumentalit y thereof;
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734734 14. "State active duty" shall be defined in accordance with
735735 Section 801 of Title 44 of the Oklahoma Statutes;
736736 15. "State military forces " shall be defined in accorda nce with
737737 Section 801 of Title 44 of the Oklahoma Statutes;
738738 16. "Title 32 active duty " shall be defined in accordance with
739739 Section 801 of Title 44 of the Oklahoma Statutes; and
740740 17. "Tort" means a legal wrong, independent of contract,
741741 involving violation o f a duty imposed by general law, statute, the
742742 Constitution of the State of Okl ahoma, or otherwise, resulting in a
743743 loss to any person, association , or corporation as the proximate
744744 result of an act or omission of a political subdivision or the state
745745 or an employee acting within the scope of employment; provided,
746746 however, a tort shall not include a claim for inverse condemnation.
747747 SECTION 2. This act shall become effective November 1, 2025.
748748
749749 60-1-11739 TJ 12/31/24