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STATE OF OKLAHOMA
1st Session of the 60th Legislature (2025)
HOUSE BILL 2164 By: Pfeiffer
AS INTRODUCED
An Act relating to public corruption; amending 21
O.S. 2021, Section 344, which relates to crimes
against state revenue; changing punis hment; providing
for removal; adding new law 21 O.S. Section 365,
which relates to nonpublic government information;
stating elements of certain unlawful acts; providing
penalties; amending 22 O.S. 2021, Sections 1181,
1181.1, and 1181.2, which relate to r emoval;
providing definitions; specifying scope; adding new
laws 74 O.S. Sections 85.22A, 85.22B, and 85.22C,
which relate to collusion and conflicts of interest;
stating elements of certain unlawful acts; requiring
certain disclosures for bidders; amendin g 74 O.S.
2021, Section 85.42, which relates to the Oklahoma
Central Purchasing Act; providing consequence for
certain unlawful acts; requiring certification of
conflict of interest compliance by state agency head;
amending 74 O.S. 2021, Section 3101, whic h relates to
newly appointed members of state agencies; requiring
ethics training for first-time state officers; and
adding new law 74 O.S. Section 3102.1, which relates
to conflicts of interest; stating elements of certain
unlawful acts; providing definit ions; providing
exceptions; providing penalties; providing for
codification; and providing an effective date.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF OKLAHOMA:
SECTION 1. AMENDATORY 21 O.S. 2021, Section 344, is
amended to read as follows:
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Section 344. A. Except as otherwise provided in this section,
every public officer, being authorized to sell or lease any
property, or make, approve, negotiate, or authorize any contract in
his or her official capacity, who volunt arily becomes interested
individually in such sale, lease or contract, directly or
indirectly, is guilty of a misdemeanor felony and shall further be
prohibited from holding any public office in the state. Violation
of this section shall be grounds for re moval from office or
termination from state employment .
B. The provisions of this section shall not apply to:
1. Municipal officers who are subject to the provisions of
Section 8-113 of Title 11 of the Oklahoma Statutes; and
2. Conservation district boa rd members participating in
programs authorized by Section 3 -2-106 of Title 27A of the Oklahoma
Statutes.
SECTION 2. NEW LAW A new section of law to be codified
in the Oklahoma Statutes as Section 365 of Title 21, unless there is
created a duplication in numbering, reads as follows:
A. Any current or former officer, employee, or contractor of a
state agency who obtains or obtained nonpublic information by virtue
of their government employment, government office, or contract with
a state agency, and who:
1. Uses such information for personal gain or benefit;
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2. Acquires or divests them of a pecuniary interest in any
property, transaction, or enterprise which may be affected by such
information;
3. Speculates or wagers on the basis of such information;
4. Uses such information in a way that would affect any
personal pecuniary interest, including an interest held by an
immediate family member, or business entity their immediate family
member is associated with;
5. Discloses such information to any person, group, entity, or
others not entitled to receive such information; or
6. Aids another to do any of the foregoing,
shall be guilty of a felony punishable by imprisonment in the
custody of the Department of Corrections for a term not exceeding
five (5) years, or by a fine of Ten Thousand Dollars ($10,000.00),
or both by such fine and imprisonment. Any person convicted of
violating any provision of this section shall be prohibited from
holding any public office in this state and shall be prohibited from
entering into any state contract.
B. Violation of any provision of this section shall be grounds
for removal from office or termination from state employment.
C. For purposes of this section, the term "immediate family
member" means:
1. A spouse;
2. A spouse's parents;
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3. A child by birth or adoption;
4. A stepchild;
5. A parent;
6. A grandparent;
7. A grandchild;
8. A sibling;
9. A spouse's siblings; or
10. A spouse of any immediate family member aforementioned.
SECTION 3. AMENDATORY 22 O.S. 2021, Section 1181, is
amended to read as follows:
Section 1181. Any officer not subject to impeachment elected or
appointed to any state, county, township, city, town or other office
under the laws of the state may, in the manner provided in this
article in addition to any other methods and causes provided by law ,
be removed from office for any of the following causes:
First. Habitual or willful neglect of duty, which , for a state
officer, shall include, but no t be limited to, knowingly giving
false testimony to a committee of either house of the Legislature,
knowingly engaging in operations beyond the constitutional or
statutory authority delegated to the agency that the officer is
employed by or serves, or rep eatedly refusing to provide information
to a committee, either house or a memb er of the Legislature in a
timely manner. For the purposes of this section, "timely manner"
means no more than fifteen (15) business days from the date the
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request for informati on was received by the agency, unless extended
by written agreement.
Second. Gross partiality in office.
Third. Oppression in office.
Fourth. Corruption in office , which shall include the use of
public office or authority to procure, attempt to procure, or that
would foreseeably result in a personal benefit, profit, or
perquisite.
Fifth. Extortion or willful overcharge of fees in office.
Sixth. Willful maladministration.
Seventh. Habitual drunkenness.
Eighth. Failure to produce and account for all pu blic funds and
property in his or her hands, at any settlement or inspection
authorized or required by law.
SECTION 4. AMENDATORY 22 O.S. 2021, Section 1181.1, is
amended to read as follows:
Section 1181.1. All elective or appointed officers in the State
of Oklahoma, including elective or appointed officers of the state
and elective or appointed officers in each county, city, town or
school district of the State of Oklahoma, but excluding any elective
officers liable to impeachmen t, shall be subject to removal from
office in such manner and for such causes as now provided by law, or
as may be provided by law passed subsequent to this act, and any
such officer or officers may be removed or ousted from office for
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any act or acts of c ommission or omission or neglect which may be
committed, done or omitted durin g the term in which such ouster or
removal proceedings may be filed, and any such officer or officers,
may be removed or ousted from office for any act or acts of
commission, omission or neglect committed, done or omitted during a
previous or preceding term in such any office.
SECTION 5. AMENDATORY 22 O.S. 2021, Section 1181.2, is
amended to read as follows:
Section 1181.2. The complaint, petition, accus ation or
proceeding for removal or ouster from office may include allegations
or charges of any act or acts of commission, omission or neglect
which may be committed, done or omitted during the term of office in
which such ouster or removal proceeding may be filed, and may also
include allegations or charges as to any act or acts of commission,
omission or neglect committed, done or omitted during a previous or
preceding term in such any office.
SECTION 6. NEW LAW A new section of la w to be codified
in the Oklahoma Statutes as Section 85.22A of Title 74, unles s there
is created a duplication in numbering, reads as follows:
Any agreement or collusion among bidders or prospective bidders
in restraint of freedom of competition by agreeme nt to bid at a
fixed price or to refrain from bidding, or otherwise, shall render
the bids of such bidders void. Any agreement or collusion among
state officers or employees and bidders or prospective bidders
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intended to create a sole -source acquisition i n contradiction to
Section 85.44D.1 of this title or to give a bidder or prosp ective
bidder a competitive advantage, including the disclosure of
nonpublic information, whether or not in exchange for anything of
value, shall render the bids of such bidders void. Persons
willfully violating this section shall be guilty of a felony. Any
person convicted of violating any provision of this section shall be
prohibited from holding any public office in this state and shall be
prohibited from entering into any st ate contract.
SECTION 7. NEW LAW A new section of law to be codified
in the Oklahoma Statutes as Section 85.22B of Title 74, unless there
is created a duplication in numbering, reads as follows:
Any disclosure by an employee of a pu blic agency of the terms of
a bid submitted in response to a bid notice issued by a public
agency in advance of the time set for opening of all bids so
submitted shall be unlawful. It shall also be unlawful for any
person to solicit, possess, provide, or receive information which is
to be contained in a bid notice of a public agenc y, for use in
preparing a bid, in advance of the date on which said bid notice is
to be made equally and uniformly known to all prospective bidders
and the public, and it shall f urther be unlawful for any employee of
a public agency to withhold or impede the distribution of said
information after notice of the bid has been given, unless the
solicitation of bids has been withdrawn or the particular
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information in question has been deleted or replaced through
alteration of the bid notice and said withdrawal o r alteration has
been made equally and uniformly known. Any violation of this
subsection shall be a felony and shall render the proceedings void
and require solicitation and awa rd anew. Any person convicted of
violating any provision of this section shall be prohibited from
holding any public office in this state and shall be prohibited from
entering into any state contract.
SECTION 8. NEW LAW A new secti on of law to be codified
in the Oklahoma Statutes as Section 85.22C of Title 7 4, unless there
is created a duplication in numbering, reads as follows:
Each bidder shall accompany a bid with a written statement under
oath disclosing the following informatio n:
1. Any business or familial relationship then in effect or
which existed within one (1) year prior to the date of such
statement between any officer or director of the bidding company and
any officer or employee of the state agency receiving the bid;
2. The nature of any such business or familial relationships
then in effect or which existed within one (1) year prior to the
date of such statement with any officer or employee of the state
agency receiving the bid; and
3. The names of all persons having any such business or
familial relationships and the positions they hold with their
respective companies, firms, or state agencies. If none of the
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business or familial relationships hereinabove mentioned exist, then
a statement to that effect.
SECTION 9. AMENDATORY 74 O.S. 2021, Section 85.42, is
amended to read as follows:
Section 85.42. A. 1. Except as otherwise provided for in this
section or other applicable law, any agency, whether or not such
agency is subject to the Okla homa Central Purchasing Act, is
prohibited from entering into a sole source contract or a contract
for professional services with or for the services of any person,
who has terminated employment with or who has been terminated by
that agency for one (1) ye ar after the termination date of the
employee from the agency. Any contract, transaction, or agreement
entered into in violation of this subsection shall be void. Any
person found to have violated this subsection shall further be
prohibited from entering into any state contract. The provisions of
this subsection shall not prohibit an agency from hiring or rehiring
such person as a state employee.
2. Any chief administrative officer of an agency, whether or
not such agency is subject to the Oklahoma Cent ral Purchasing Act,
shall not enter into any contract for nonprofessional or
professional services for the purpose of or which would result in
the circumvention of the full -time equivalent employee limitation
established by law for such agency.
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B. Each contract, including change orders, extensions,
renewals, or amendments, entered into by any person or firm with the
State of Oklahoma shall include a statement certifying that no
person who has been involved in any manner in the development ,
approval, or negotiation of that contract while employed by the
state shall be employed or given anything of value to fulfill any of
the services provided for under the contract. Each contract,
including change orders, extensions, renewals, or amendments, shall
also include a statement from the chief executive officer or head of
the contracting state agency certifying that no officer or employee
of the contracting state agency who has any direct or indirect
financial, pecuniary, or other personal interest in the contract has
been involved in any manner in the development, approval, or
negotiation of the contract through influence, decision,
recommendation, or otherwise. This subsection shall not preclude
faculty and staff of the institutions within The State System of
Higher Education from negotiating and participating in research
grants and educational contracts. Nor shall this subsection apply
to Oklahoma Department of Commerce personnel who contract to provide
services to the Oklahoma Capital Investment Board.
C. As used in this section, person is defined as any state
official or employee of a department, board, bureau, commission,
agency, trusteeship, authority, council, committee, trust, school
district, fair board, court, executive office, advisory group, task
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force, study group, supported in whole or in part by public funds or
entrusted with the expenditure of public funds or administering or
operating public property, and all committees, or subcommittees
thereof, judges, justices and state legislators.
D. Notwithstanding anything to the contrary in this section,
the following sole source or professional services contracts are
allowed at any time:
1. A contract for professional services at any time with a
person who is a qualified interpreter for the deaf; and
2. A contract between a business entity that is a part -time
certified court reporter and the Administrative Office of the
Courts, on behalf of the district courts, or the Office of the
Attorney General.
E. Provided the provisions specified in subsection B of this
section are satisfied, the following professional services contracts
are allowed:
1. The Department of Transportation, Oklahoma Water Resources
Board, Department of Environmental Quality, Oklahoma Tourism and
Recreation Department, the Oklahoma Turn pike Authority and the
Oklahoma Department of Agriculture, Food, and Forestry may contract
with a person who has retired from state service;
2. To maintain public health infrastructure and preparedness,
the State Department of Health and city -county health departments
may contract with a physician assistant, registered nurse, advan ced
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practice nurse, nurse midwife, registered dietician, occupational
therapist, physical therapist or speech -language pathologist who has
retired from state service; and
3. The Department of Mental Health and Substance Abuse Services
may contract with a physician, registered nurse, registered
pharmacist or person meeting the definition of a licensed mental
health professional, as defined in Title 43A of the Oklahoma
Statutes, who has separated and/or retired from state service.
SECTION 10. AMENDATORY 74 O.S. 2021, Section 3101, is
amended to read as follows:
Section 3101. A. The chief executive officer of any state
agency, board, commission, council or other governing body of any
department, system or authority is required, as part of his their
duties, to brief any newly appointed member of such governing body
within two (2) weeks from the date of the member 's appointment
regarding his their duties and responsibilities and those of the
body to which he has they have been appointed, providing the new
member with a copy of the statute or Constitutional provision
pertaining thereto, a copy of the last twelve (12) monthly operating
budgets showing all disburs ements and receipts of such department or
agency, and a copy of all rules and regulations existing in said
agency, and other pertinent information that will assure that the
new appointee is advised of such duties and responsibilities. The
briefing may be delegated in part to the executive director or other
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managing officer of any d epartment, system or authority under
supervision of the governing body, the responsibility for its
accomplishment remaining that of the chief executive officer.
A. B. Each person elected or appointed for the first time as
chief executive officer or head of a state agency, board, bureau,
trust, commission, council, department, system, or authority shall
be required within one (1) year after taking the oath of office to
attend a course directed by the Oklahoma Ethics Commission. The
curriculum for the cours e shall include, but not be limited to:
conflicts of interest, impartiality, misuse of office, misuse of
authority, and financial disclosures. A certificate of completion
shall be awarded to those persons who attend and successfully
complete the course and a list of those persons shall be maintained
the Oklahoma Ethics Commission. Any person who fails to satisfy the
education requirements of this section shall cease to hold offi ce
commencing at the next scheduled meeting of the governing body
following the first-year anniversary of the person 's taking the oath
of office.
SECTION 11. NEW LAW A new section of law to be codified
in the Oklahoma Statutes as Sec tion 3102.1 of Title 74, unless there
is created a duplication in numbering, reads as follows:
A. For purposes of this section:
1. "Private economic interest " shall include any interest that
could foreseeably result in directly or indirectly receiving a
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pecuniary gain, a competitive advantage, or sustaining pecuniary
loss as a result of an official act or forbearance. A "private
economic interest" shall not include an interest in a pension plan,
401k, individual retirement account or other retirement inv estment
vehicle that makes diversified investments over which the state
officer or employee or their immediate family member exercises no
control over the acquisition or sale of particular holdings.
2. The term "immediate family member " of a state officer or
employee means:
a. a spouse,
b. the parents of a spouse,
c. a child by birth or adoption,
d. a stepchild,
e. a parent,
f. a grandparent,
g. a grandchild,
h. a sibling,
i. a spouse's sibling, or
j. a spouse of any immediate family member
aforementioned.
3. The term "associated nongovernment entity " shall mean:
a. any nonprofit or charitable organization or private
business, including but not limited to, a closely held
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corporation, limited liability company, Subchapter S
corporation, or partnership, in w hich:
(1) the state officer or employee or their immediate
family member has or has had a business
relationship other than a routine consumer
transaction at any point during the previous
three hundred sixty-five (365) days,
(2) the state officer or employe e or their immediate
family member is a director, officer, owner,
partner, manager, employee, contractor,
consultant, board member, or agent ,
(3) the state officer or employee or their immediate
family member receives or has received income or
other financial compensation at any point during
the previous three hundred sixty -five (365) days,
(4) the state officer or employee or their immediate
family member, directly or indirectly, owns or
has owned stock, another form of equity interest,
stock options, debt instruments, or has received
dividends or income at any point during the
previous three hundred sixty -five (365) days, or
(5) the state officer or employee or their immediate
family member is negotiating or has any
arrangement concerning prospective emplo yment,
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b. any publicly traded corporation or other business
entity in which:
(1) the state officer or employee or their immediate
family member holds or has held an ownership
interest of five percent (5%) or more at any
point during the previous three hund red sixty-
five (365) days, or
(2) the state officer or employee or their immediate
family member serves or has served as a director
or officer at any point during the previous three
hundred sixty-five (365) days.
4. "State agency" includes any office, bur eau, board, council,
commission, department, authority, institution, trust, un it,
division, or body of the executive branch of the state government,
excluding political subdivisions of the state.
B. It shall be unlawful for any state officer or employee o f a
state agency to participate in their official capacity, through
decision, approval, disapproval, authorization, recommendation,
investigation, the rendering of advice, influence, or otherwise, in
any matter in which their immediate family member, or an associated
nongovernment entity has a direct or indirect private economic
interest. Any person convicted of willfully violating the
provisions of this subsection shall be guilty of a felony,
punishable by imprisonment in the custody of the Department of
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Corrections for a term not less than one (1) year nor more than ten
(10) years and a fine not exceeding Ten Thousand Dollars
($10,000.00), and shall further be prohibited from holding any
public office in the state. The fact that the accused 's conduct
also served a legitimate governmental purpose is no ground of
defense or of mitigation of punishment. Prosecutions for violations
of this subsection shall be commenced in accordance with subsection
A of Section 152 of Title 22 of the Oklahoma Statutes.
C. A state officer or employee who, in the discharge of their
official responsibilities, is required or called upon to participate
in a matter in which their immediate family member, or an associated
nongovernment entity has a private economic interest, within thirty
(30) days of becoming aware of such potential conflict arising from
a private economic interest or prior to the official action affected
by the private economic interest, whichever is first, shall:
1. Prepare a certified written statement describi ng the matter
requiring participation and the nature of their potential conflict
of interest with respect to the matter in detail sufficient to be
understood by the public ;
2. Furnish a copy of the statement to their superior, if any,
who shall assign the matter to another employee who does not have a
private economic interest. Their superior shall furnish a copy of
the statement to the Oklahoma Ethics Commission. If he has no
immediate superior, he shall furnish a copy of the statement
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directly to the Oklahoma Ethics Commission. The statement shall
remain available for public inspection ;
3. If they are an elected officer or if they are appointed as
the chief executive officer or head of a state agency, they shall
furnish a copy of the statement to the presiding officer of the
governing body of the agency on which they serve, who shall cause
the statement to be printed in the minutes of the next meeting and
require that they be excused from any votes, deliberations, and
other actions on the matter in whi ch the potential conflict of
interest exists and shall cause the disqualification and the reasons
for it to be noted in the minutes.
D. Any person convicted of violating the provisions of
subsection C of this section shall be guilty of a misdemeanor and
punished by imprisonment in the county jail for a term not to exceed
one (1) year, or by a fine not exceeding One Thousand Dollars
($1,000.00), or by both such fine and imprisonment.
E. Violation of any provision of this section shall be grounds
for removal from office or termination from state employment.
F. Any transaction or contract entered into in violation of any
provision of this section is void.
G. A person shall not be guilty of an offense under this
section if the person 's performance of officia l functions would not
affect the person, immediate family member, or associate d
nongovernment entity differently than such performance would affect
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the public generally, or would not affect the person, immediate
family member, or associated nongovernment e ntity, as a member of a
business, profession, occupation, or large class differently than
such performance would affect any other member of such business,
profession, occupation, or large class.
H. The provisions of this section shall be cumulative to
existing laws. Nothing in this section shall prohibit state
agencies from implem enting more restrictive policies to address
conflicts of interest that remain in compliance with this section.
Nothing in this section shall be construed to invalidate any other
provision of law establishing more restrictive procedures or
measures to prevent conflicts of interest between public duties and
private economic interests.
SECTION 12. This act shall become effective November 1, 2025.
60-1-11044 MJ 12/31/24