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SENATE FLOOR VERSION
April 8, 2025
ENGROSSED HOUSE
BILL NO. 2163 By: Pfeiffer of the House
and
Howard of the Senate
An Act relating to open records; creating the Public
Access Counselor within the Office of the Attorney
General; allowing certa in persons to file review of
denial of open records requests with the Public
Access Counselor; providing instructions for filing;
prohibiting filings made for a commercial purpose;
establishing procedures for review of requests;
directing Public Access Cou nselor to notify public
body; requiring certain furnishing of records;
permitting subpoena by the Attorney General;
prohibiting disclosure of certain protected
information; allowing public body chance to respond
to request; directing binding opinion s be made within
certain time frame; permitting Attorney General to
choose other means for resolving review requests;
permitting parties to file in district court;
directing for notification of certain proceedings;
permitting the Attorney General to issue advisor y
opinions to public bodies regarding compliance;
exempting certain failures to comply made under good
faith; 74 O.S. 2021, Section 18b, as last amended by
Section 170, Chapter 452, O.S.L. 2024 (74 O.S. Supp.
2024, Section 18b), which relates to duties of the
Attorney General; modifying duties related to
violations of the Oklahoma Open Records Act and the
Oklahoma Open Meetings Act; providing for
codification; and declaring an emergency .
BE IT ENACTED BY THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF OKLAHOMA:
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SECTION 1. NEW LAW A new section of law to be codified
in the Oklahoma Statutes as Section 24A.40 of Title 51, unless there
is created a duplication in numbering, reads as follows:
A. There is hereby established in the Office of the Attorney
General the Public Access Counselor Unit.
B. A person whose request to inspect or copy a public record is
denied by a public body, except the Legislature and committees,
commissions, and agencies thereof, may file a request for review
with the Public Acce ss Counselor not later than thirty (30) calendar
days after the date of the denial. The request for review shall be
in writing on a form prescribed by the Attorney General and signed
by the requester, and shall include:
1. A copy of the request for acces s to records; and
2. Any responses from the public body.
C. A person whose request to inspect or copy a public record
was treated by the public body as a request for a commercial purp ose
may file a request for review with the Public Access Counselor for
the limited purpose of reviewing whether the public body properly
determined that the request was made for a commercial purpose.
D. A person whose request to inspect or copy a public record
has not been returned in a prompt or reasonable manner may file a
request for review with the Public Access Counselor.
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E. No person whose request to inspect or copy a public record
is made for a commercial purpose may file a request for review with
the Public Access Counselor.
F. Upon receipt of a request for review, the Public Access
Counselor shall determine whether further action is warranted. If
the Public Access Counselor determines that the alleged violation is
unfounded, they shall advise the requester and the public body and
no further action shall be undertak en. In all other cases, the
Public Access Counselor shall forward a copy of the request for
review to the public body within seven (7) business days after
receipt and shall specify the records or other documents that the
public body shall furnish to facil itate the review. Within seven
(7) business days after receipt of the request for review, the
public body shall fully cooperate and provide a written response to
the Public Access Counselor. To the extent that records or
documents produced by a public bo dy contain information claimed to
be confidential or exempt from disclosure under the Oklahoma Open
Records Act, the Public Access Counselor shall not further disclose
that information.
G. 1. The Attorney General shall examine the request and
response and shall issue to the public body or public official, or
both, an advisement in response to the request for review within
sixty (60) calendar days after its receipt. Additionally, the
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Attorney General shall notify the requester when the office has
completed its review.
2. Upon receipt of an advisement, the public body shall either
take necessary action promptly and reasonably to comply with the
Oklahoma Open Records Act or shall respond to the requester. If the
advisement concludes that no additional resp onse is required, the
requester may file suit in the proper district court against the
public body of which the request was made.
3. A public body that discloses records in accordance with
advice of the Attorney General is immune from all liabilities by
reason thereof and shall not be liable for penalties under this act.
H. If the requester files suit under Section 24A.17 of Title 51
of the Oklahoma Statutes with respect to the same de nial that is the
subject of a pending request for review, the requester shall notify
the Public Access Counselor, and the Public Access Counselor shall
take no further action with respect to the request for review and
shall so notify the public body.
I. The Attorney General may issue advisory opinions to advise
public bodies regarding compliance with this act. A review may be
initiated upon receipt of a written request from the head of the
public body or its attorney, which shall contain sufficient accura te
facts from which a determination can be made. The Public Access
Counselor may request additional information from the public body in
order to assist in the review. A public body that relies in good
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faith on the advice of the Attorney General in responding to a
request is not liable for penalties under this act if the fac ts upon
which the advice is based have been fully and fairly disclosed to
the Public Access Counselor.
J. If the Public Access Counselor finds that a person
requesting review of an age ncy's action pursuant to subsections B,
C, or D of this section has sub mitted multiple frivolous requests,
the Public Access Counselor may deny future requests for review.
K. Notwithstanding any other provisions of law, the Attorney
General shall not be required to produce pursuant to Section 24A.5
of Title 51 of the Oklahom a Statutes, the following:
1. Any records provided under this section to the Office of the
Attorney General by another public body;
2. Any correspondence between the Office of the Att orney
General and the public body related to advice under this section; or
3. Any work papers or product of the Office of the Attorney
General in carrying out the duties required by this section .
L. Nothing in this section shall be construed to limit the
Attorney General from enforcing or taking action regarding the
Oklahoma Open Records Act.
SECTION 2. AMENDATORY 74 O.S. 2021, Section 18b, as last
amended by Section 170, Chapter 452, O.S.L. 2024 (74 O.S. Supp.
2024, Section 18b), is amended to read as follows:
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Section 18b. A. The duties of the At torney General as the
chief law officer of the state shall be:
1. To appear for the state and prosecute and defend all actions
and proceedings, civil or criminal, in the Supreme Court and Court
of Criminal Appeals in which the state is interested as a par ty;
2. To appear for the state and prosecute and defend all actions
and proceedings in any of the federal courts in which the state is
interested as a party;
3. To initiate or appear in any action in which the interests
of the state or the people of the state are at issue, or to appear
at the request of the Governor, the Legislature, or either branch
thereof, and prosecute and defend in any court or before any
commission, board or officers any cause or proceeding, civil or
criminal, in which the state may be a party or interested; and when
so appearing in any such cause or proceeding, the Attorney General
may, if the Attorney General deems it advisable and to the best
interest of the state, take and assume control of the prosecution or
defense of the state 's interest therein;
4. To consult with and advise district attorneys, when
requested by them, in all matters pertaining to the duties of their
offices, when the district attorneys shall furnish the Attorney
General with a written opinion supported by cit ation of authorities
upon the matter submitted;
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5. To give an opinion in writing upon all questions of law
submitted to the Attorney General by the Legislature or either
branch thereof, or by any state officer, board, commission or
department, provided, t hat the Attorney General shall not furnish
opinions to any but district attorneys, the Legislature or either
branch thereof, or any other state official, board, commission or
department, and to them only upon matters in which they are
officially interested ;
6. At the request of the Governor, State Auditor and Inspector,
State Treasurer, or either branch of the Legislature, to prosecute
any official bond or any contract in which the stat e is interested,
upon a breach thereof, and to prosecute or defend for the state all
actions, civil or criminal, relating to any matter connected with
either of their Departments;
7. Whenever requested by any state officer, board or
commission, to prepare proper drafts for contracts, forms and other
writing which may be want ed for the use of the state;
8. To prepare drafts of bills and resolutions for individual
members of the Legislature upon their written request stating the
gist of the bill or resoluti on desired;
9. To enforce the proper application of monies appropriate d by
the Legislature and to prosecute breaches of trust in the
administration of such funds;
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10. To institute actions to recover state monies illegally
expended, to recover state property and to prevent the illegal use
of any state property, upon the requ est of the Governor or the
Legislature;
11. To pay into the State Treasury, immediately upon its
receipt, all monies received by the Attorney General belonging to
the state;
12. To settle, compromise and dispose of an action in which the
Attorney General represents the interests of the state, so long as
the consideration negotiated for such settlement, compromise or
disposition is payable to the state or one of its agencies which is
a named party of the action and any monies, any property or other
item of value is paid first to the State Treasury;
13. To keep and file copies of all opinions, contracts, forms
and letters of the office, and to keep an index of all opinions,
contracts and forms according to subject and section of the law
construed or applied ;
14. To keep a register or docket of all actions, demands and
investigations prosecuted, defended or conducted by the Attorney
General in behalf of the state. The register or docket shall give
the style of the case or investigation, where pending, court number,
office number, the gist of the matter, result and the names of the
assistants who handled the matter;
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15. To keep a complete office file of all cases and
investigations handle d by the Attorney General on behalf of the
state;
16. To report to the Legislature or either branch thereof
whenever requested upon any business relating to the duties of the
Attorney General's office;
17. To institute civil actions against members of any state
board or commission for failure of such members to perform thei r
duties as prescribed by the statutes and the Constitution and to
prosecute members of any state board or commission for violation of
the criminal laws of this state where such violati ons have occurred
in connection with the performance of such members ' official duties;
18. To respond to any request for an opinion of the Attorney
General's office, submitted by a member of the Legislature,
regardless of subject matter, by written opinion determinative of
the law regarding such subject matter;
19. To convene multicounty grand juries in such manner and for
such purposes as provided by law; provided, such grand juries are
composed of citizens from each of the counties on a pro rata basis
by county;
20. To investigate any report by the State Auditor and
Inspector filed with the Attorney General pursuant to Section 223 of
this title and prosecute all actions, civil or criminal, relating to
such reports or any irregularities or derelictions in the management
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of public funds or property which are violations of th e laws of this
state;
21. To represent and protect the collective interests of all
utility consumers of this state in rate -related proceedings before
the Corporation Commission or in a ny other state or federal judicial
or administrative proceeding;
22. To represent and protect the collective interests of
insurance consumers of this state in rate -related proceedings before
the Insurance Commissioner or in any other state or federal judicial
or administrative proceeding;
23. To investigate and prosecute an y criminal action relating
to insurance fraud, if in the opinion of the Attorney General a
criminal prosecution is warranted, or to refer such matters to the
appropriate district attorn ey;
24. To monitor and evaluate any action by the federal
government including, but not limited to, executive orders by the
President of the United States, rules or regulations promulgated by
an agency of the federal government or acts of Congress to determine
if such actions are in violation of the Tenth Amendment to the
Constitution of the United States;
25. To cross-deputize police officers of the police department
of any municipality or any officer deputized by the county sheriff
or a designee subject to an interlocal governmental agreement with
the Attorney General’s Of fice in an effort to combine city, county,
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and state law enforcement efforts and to encourage cooperation
between city, county, and state law enforcement officials.
Liability for the conduct of any municipal police officer cross -
deputized under the terms and conditions of an interlocal
governmental agreement or any officer deputized by the county
sheriff under the terms and conditions of an interlocal governmental
agreement shall remain the responsibility of the respective employer
for that officer; and
26. To maintain data related to human trafficking and to assist
law enforcement, social service agencies, and victim services
programs in identifying and supporting victims of human trafficking ;
and
27. To investigate and prosecute any civil or criminal ac tion
relating to violations of the Oklahoma Open Records Act, Section
24A.1 et seq. of Title 51 of the Oklahoma Statutes, or the Oklahoma
Open Meeting Act, Section 301 et seq. of Title 25 of the Oklahoma
Statutes, if the Attorney General determines that a civil or
criminal prosecution is warranted or to defer such matters to a
district attorney.
B. Nothing in this section shall be construed as requiring the
Attorney General to appear and defend or prosecute in any court any
cause or proceeding for or on be half of the Oklahoma Tax Commission,
the Board of Managers of the State Insurance Fund, or the
Commissioners of the Land Office.
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C. In all appeals from the Corporation Commission to th e
Supreme Court of Oklahoma in which the state is a party, the
Attorney General shall have the right to designate counsel of the
Corporation Commission as the Attorney General 's legally appointed
representative in such appeals, and it shall be the duty of the
Corporation Commission counsel to act when so designated and to
consult and advise with the Attorney General regarding such appeals
prior to taking action therein.
SECTION 3. It being immediately necessary 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 from and after its passage and approval.
COMMITTEE REPORT BY: COMMITTEE ON JUDICIARY
April 8, 2025 - DO PASS