OK
Oklahoma Senate Bill SB266

Oklahoma 2025 Regular Session

Oklahoma Senate Bill SB266 Compare Versions

Only one version of the bill is available at this time.
OldNewDifferences
11
22
33
44 Req. No. 565 Page 1 1
55 2
66 3
77 4
88 5
99 6
1010 7
1111 8
1212 9
1313 10
1414 11
1515 12
1616 13
1717 14
1818 15
1919 16
2020 17
2121 18
2222 19
2323 20
2424 21
2525 22
2626 23
2727 24
2828 1
2929 2
3030 3
3131 4
3232 5
3333 6
3434 7
3535 8
3636 9
3737 10
3838 11
3939 12
4040 13
4141 14
4242 15
4343 16
4444 17
4545 18
4646 19
4747 20
4848 21
4949 22
5050 23
5151 24
5252
5353 STATE OF OKLAHOMA
5454
5555 1st Session of the 60th Legislature (2025)
5656
5757 SENATE BILL 266 By: Hall
5858
5959
6060
6161
6262
6363 AS INTRODUCED
6464
6565 An Act relating to state government; amending 74 O.S.
6666 2021, Sections 18b, as last amended by Section 170,
6767 Chapter 452, O.S.L. 2024 , and 20i, as last amended by
6868 Section 1, Chapter 212, O.S.L. 2024 (74 O.S. Supp.
6969 2024, Sections 18b and 20i), which relate to legal
7070 representation of state entities ; providing for
7171 certain funds to be retained by the Oklahoma
7272 Municipal Power Authority; requiring electronic
7373 submission of certain report; updating statutory
7474 language; updating statutory references; and
7575 providing an effective date .
7676
7777
7878
7979
8080
8181 BE IT ENACTED BY THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF OKLAHOMA:
8282 SECTION 1. AMENDATORY 74 O.S. 20 21, Section 18b, as last
8383 amended by Section 170, Chapter 452, O.S.L. 2024 (74 O.S. Supp.
8484 2024, Section 18b), is amended to read as follows:
8585 Section 18b. A. The duties of the Attorney General as the
8686 chief law officer of the state shall be:
8787 1. To appear for the state and prosecute and defend all actions
8888 and proceedings, civil or cr iminal, in the Supreme Court and Court
8989 of Criminal Appeals in which the state is interested as a party;
9090
9191
9292 Req. No. 565 Page 2 1
9393 2
9494 3
9595 4
9696 5
9797 6
9898 7
9999 8
100100 9
101101 10
102102 11
103103 12
104104 13
105105 14
106106 15
107107 16
108108 17
109109 18
110110 19
111111 20
112112 21
113113 22
114114 23
115115 24
116116 1
117117 2
118118 3
119119 4
120120 5
121121 6
122122 7
123123 8
124124 9
125125 10
126126 11
127127 12
128128 13
129129 14
130130 15
131131 16
132132 17
133133 18
134134 19
135135 20
136136 21
137137 22
138138 23
139139 24
140140
141141 2. To appear for the state and prosecute and defend all actions
142142 and proceedings in any of the federal courts in which the state is
143143 interested as a party;
144144 3. To initiate or appear in any action in which the interests
145145 of the state or the people of the state are at issue, or to appear
146146 at the request of the Governor, the Legislatu re, or either branch
147147 thereof, and prosecute and defend in any court or before any
148148 commission, board or officers any cause or proceeding, civil or
149149 criminal, in which the state may be a party or interested; and when
150150 so appearing in any such cause or proceedi ng, the Attorney General
151151 may, if the Attorney General deems it advisable and to the best
152152 interest of the state, take and assume control of the prosecution or
153153 defense of the state ’s interest therein;
154154 4. To consult with and advise district attorneys, when
155155 requested by them, in all matters pertaining to the duties of their
156156 offices, when the district attorneys shall furnish the Attorney
157157 General with a written opinion supported by citation of authorities
158158 upon the matter submitted;
159159 5. To give an opinion in writ ing upon all questions of law
160160 submitted to the Attorney General by the Legislature or either
161161 branch thereof, or by any state officer, board, commission or
162162 department, provided, that the Attorney General shall not furnish
163163 opinions to any but district attorn eys, the Legislature or either
164164 branch thereof, or any other state official, bo ard, commission or
165165
166166
167167 Req. No. 565 Page 3 1
168168 2
169169 3
170170 4
171171 5
172172 6
173173 7
174174 8
175175 9
176176 10
177177 11
178178 12
179179 13
180180 14
181181 15
182182 16
183183 17
184184 18
185185 19
186186 20
187187 21
188188 22
189189 23
190190 24
191191 1
192192 2
193193 3
194194 4
195195 5
196196 6
197197 7
198198 8
199199 9
200200 10
201201 11
202202 12
203203 13
204204 14
205205 15
206206 16
207207 17
208208 18
209209 19
210210 20
211211 21
212212 22
213213 23
214214 24
215215
216216 department, and to them only upon matters in which they are
217217 officially interested;
218218 6. At the request of the Governor, State Auditor and Inspector,
219219 State Treasurer, or either branch of the Legislature, to prosecute
220220 any official bond or any contract in which the state is interested,
221221 upon a breach thereof, and to prosecute or defend for the state all
222222 actions, civil or criminal, relating to any matter connected wit h
223223 either of their Departments;
224224 7. Whenever requested by any state officer, bo ard or
225225 commission, to prepare proper drafts for contracts, forms and other
226226 writing which may be wanted for the use of the state;
227227 8. To prepare drafts of bills and resolutions fo r individual
228228 members of the Legislature upon their written request stating the
229229 gist of the bill or resolution desired;
230230 9. To enforce the proper application of monies appropriated by
231231 the Legislature and to prosecute breaches of trust in the
232232 administration of such funds;
233233 10. To institute actions to recover state monies illegally
234234 expended, to recover state property and to prevent the illegal use
235235 of any state property, upon the request of the Governor or the
236236 Legislature;
237237 11. To pay into the State Treasury, i mmediately upon its
238238 receipt, all monies received by the Attorney General belonging to
239239
240240
241241 Req. No. 565 Page 4 1
242242 2
243243 3
244244 4
245245 5
246246 6
247247 7
248248 8
249249 9
250250 10
251251 11
252252 12
253253 13
254254 14
255255 15
256256 16
257257 17
258258 18
259259 19
260260 20
261261 21
262262 22
263263 23
264264 24
265265 1
266266 2
267267 3
268268 4
269269 5
270270 6
271271 7
272272 8
273273 9
274274 10
275275 11
276276 12
277277 13
278278 14
279279 15
280280 16
281281 17
282282 18
283283 19
284284 20
285285 21
286286 22
287287 23
288288 24
289289
290290 the state. Provided, monies received on behalf of the Oklahoma
291291 Municipal Power Authority shall be retained by the Authority ;
292292 12. To settle, compromise and dispose of an action in which the
293293 Attorney General represents the interests of the state, s o long as
294294 the consideration negotiated for such settlement, compromise or
295295 disposition is payable to the state or one of its agencies which is
296296 a named party of the action and any monies, any property or other
297297 item of value is paid first to the State Treasury;
298298 13. To keep and file copies of all opinions, contracts, forms
299299 and letters of the office, and to keep an index of all opinions,
300300 contracts and forms according to subject and se ction of the law
301301 construed or applied;
302302 14. To keep a register or docket of al l actions, demands and
303303 investigations prosecuted, defended or conducted by the Attorney
304304 General in behalf of the state. The register or docket shall give
305305 the style of the case o r investigation, where pending, court number,
306306 office number, the gist of the matter, result and the names of the
307307 assistants who handled the matter;
308308 15. To keep a complete office file of all cases and
309309 investigations handled by the Attorney General on behal f of the
310310 state;
311311 16. To report to the Legislature or either branch thereof
312312 whenever requested upon any business relating to the duties of the
313313 Office of the Attorney General’s office General;
314314
315315
316316 Req. No. 565 Page 5 1
317317 2
318318 3
319319 4
320320 5
321321 6
322322 7
323323 8
324324 9
325325 10
326326 11
327327 12
328328 13
329329 14
330330 15
331331 16
332332 17
333333 18
334334 19
335335 20
336336 21
337337 22
338338 23
339339 24
340340 1
341341 2
342342 3
343343 4
344344 5
345345 6
346346 7
347347 8
348348 9
349349 10
350350 11
351351 12
352352 13
353353 14
354354 15
355355 16
356356 17
357357 18
358358 19
359359 20
360360 21
361361 22
362362 23
363363 24
364364
365365 17. To institute civil actions against members of any state
366366 board or commission for failure of such members to perform their
367367 duties as prescribed by the statutes and the Constitution and to
368368 prosecute members of any state board or commission for violation of
369369 the criminal laws of this state where such violations have occ urred
370370 in connection with the performance of such members ’ official duties;
371371 18. To respond to any request for an opinion of the Office of
372372 the Attorney General’s office General, submitted by a member of the
373373 Legislature, regardless of subject matter, by writ ten opinion
374374 determinative of the law regarding such subject matter;
375375 19. To convene multicounty grand juries in such manner and for
376376 such purposes as provided by law; provided, such grand juries are
377377 composed of citizens from each of the counties on a pro ra ta basis
378378 by county;
379379 20. To investigate any report by the State Auditor and
380380 Inspector filed with the Attorney General pursuant to Section 223 of
381381 this title and prosecute all actions, civil or criminal, relating to
382382 such reports or any irregularities or dere lictions in the management
383383 of public funds or property which are violations of the laws of this
384384 state;
385385 21. To represent and protect the collective interests of all
386386 utility consumers of this state in rate -related proceedings before
387387 the Corporation Commissi on or in any other state or federal judicial
388388 or administrative proceeding;
389389
390390
391391 Req. No. 565 Page 6 1
392392 2
393393 3
394394 4
395395 5
396396 6
397397 7
398398 8
399399 9
400400 10
401401 11
402402 12
403403 13
404404 14
405405 15
406406 16
407407 17
408408 18
409409 19
410410 20
411411 21
412412 22
413413 23
414414 24
415415 1
416416 2
417417 3
418418 4
419419 5
420420 6
421421 7
422422 8
423423 9
424424 10
425425 11
426426 12
427427 13
428428 14
429429 15
430430 16
431431 17
432432 18
433433 19
434434 20
435435 21
436436 22
437437 23
438438 24
439439
440440 22. To represent and protect the collective interests of
441441 insurance consumers of this state in rate -related proceedings before
442442 the Insurance Commissioner or in any other state or fe deral judicial
443443 or administrative proceeding;
444444 23. To investigate and prosecute any criminal action relating
445445 to insurance fraud, if in the opinion of the Attorney General a
446446 criminal prosecution is warranted, or to refer such matters to the
447447 appropriate district attorney;
448448 24. To monitor and evaluate any action by the federal
449449 government including, but not limited to, executive orders by the
450450 President of the United States, rules or regulations promulgated by
451451 an agency of the federal government or acts of Congress to determine
452452 if such actions are in violation of the Tenth Amendment to the
453453 Constitution of the United States;
454454 25. To cross-deputize police officers of the police department
455455 of any municipality or any officer deputized by the county sheriff
456456 or a designee subject to an interlocal governmental agreement with
457457 the Office of the Attorney General’s Office General in an effort to
458458 combine city, county, and state law enforcement efforts and to
459459 encourage cooperation between city, county, and state law
460460 enforcement officials. Liability for the conduct of any municipal
461461 police officer cross -deputized under the terms and conditions of an
462462 interlocal governmental agreement or any officer deputized by the
463463 county sheriff under the terms and conditions of an interlocal
464464
465465
466466 Req. No. 565 Page 7 1
467467 2
468468 3
469469 4
470470 5
471471 6
472472 7
473473 8
474474 9
475475 10
476476 11
477477 12
478478 13
479479 14
480480 15
481481 16
482482 17
483483 18
484484 19
485485 20
486486 21
487487 22
488488 23
489489 24
490490 1
491491 2
492492 3
493493 4
494494 5
495495 6
496496 7
497497 8
498498 9
499499 10
500500 11
501501 12
502502 13
503503 14
504504 15
505505 16
506506 17
507507 18
508508 19
509509 20
510510 21
511511 22
512512 23
513513 24
514514
515515 governmental agreement shall remain the responsibility of the
516516 respective employer for that officer; and
517517 26. To maintain data related to human trafficking and to assist
518518 law enforcement, social service agencies, and victim services
519519 programs in identifying and supporting victims of human trafficking.
520520 B. Nothing in this section shall be construed as requiring the
521521 Attorney General to appear and defend or prosecute in any court any
522522 cause or proceeding for or on behalf of the Oklahoma Tax Commission ,
523523 the Board of Managers of the State Insurance Fund , or the
524524 Commissioners of the Land Office.
525525 C. In all appeals from the Corporation Commission to the
526526 Supreme Court of Oklahoma in which the state is a party, the
527527 Attorney General shall have the right to designate counsel of the
528528 Corporation Commission as the Attorney General ’s legally appointed
529529 representative in such appeals, and it shall be the duty of the
530530 Corporation Commission counsel to act when so designated and to
531531 consult and advise with the Attorney General regarding such appeals
532532 prior to taking action therein.
533533 SECTION 2. AMENDATORY 74 O.S. 2021, Section 20i, as last
534534 amended by Section 1, Chapter 212, O.S.L. 2024 (74 O.S. Supp. 2024,
535535 Section 20i), is amended to read as follows:
536536 A. An agency or official of the executive branch may obtain
537537 legal representation by one or more attorneys by means of one of the
538538 following:
539539
540540
541541 Req. No. 565 Page 8 1
542542 2
543543 3
544544 4
545545 5
546546 6
547547 7
548548 8
549549 9
550550 10
551551 11
552552 12
553553 13
554554 14
555555 15
556556 16
557557 17
558558 18
559559 19
560560 20
561561 21
562562 22
563563 23
564564 24
565565 1
566566 2
567567 3
568568 4
569569 5
570570 6
571571 7
572572 8
573573 9
574574 10
575575 11
576576 12
577577 13
578578 14
579579 15
580580 16
581581 17
582582 18
583583 19
584584 20
585585 21
586586 22
587587 23
588588 24
589589
590590 1. Employing an attorney as such if otherwise authorized by
591591 law;
592592 2. Contracting with the Office of the Attorney General; or
593593 3. If the Attorney General is unable to represent the agency,
594594 or official due to a conflict of interest, or the Office of the
595595 Attorney General is unable or lacks the personnel or expertise to
596596 provide the specific representation required by such agency or
597597 official, contracting with a private attorney or attorneys pursuant
598598 to this section.
599599 B. When entering into a contract for legal representation by
600600 one or more private attorneys or law firms, an agency or official of
601601 the executive branch shall select an attorn ey or attorneys or a law
602602 firm or law firms from a list of attorneys and firms maintained by
603603 the Attorney General. An agency may contract for legal
604604 representation with one or more attorneys who are not on the list
605605 only when there is no attorney or firm on the list capable of
606606 providing the specific representation and only with the approval of
607607 the Attorney General. The list shall include any attorney or firm
608608 who desires to furnish services to an agency or official of the
609609 executive branch and who has filed a schedule of fees for services
610610 with and on a form approved by the Attorney Gene ral. The list of
611611 attorneys and firms desiring to furnish services and a schedule of
612612 fees for each attorney and firm shall be maintained and made
613613 available to the public.
614614
615615
616616 Req. No. 565 Page 9 1
617617 2
618618 3
619619 4
620620 5
621621 6
622622 7
623623 8
624624 9
625625 10
626626 11
627627 12
628628 13
629629 14
630630 15
631631 16
632632 17
633633 18
634634 19
635635 20
636636 21
637637 22
638638 23
639639 24
640640 1
641641 2
642642 3
643643 4
644644 5
645645 6
646646 7
647647 8
648648 9
649649 10
650650 11
651651 12
652652 13
653653 14
654654 15
655655 16
656656 17
657657 18
658658 19
659659 20
660660 21
661661 22
662662 23
663663 24
664664
665665 C. An agency or official may agree to deviate from the schedule
666666 of fees only with the approval of the Attorney General and if the
667667 new schedule of fees would not violate the fee schedules set forth
668668 in subsections D and E of this section.
669669 D. An agency or official of the executive branch shall not
670670 enter into a contingency fee contract that provides for the private
671671 attorney or firm to receive an aggregate contingency fee that
672672 exceeds:
673673 1. Twenty-five percent (25%) of that portion of any amount
674674 recovered that is Ten Million Dollars ($10,000,000.00) or less;
675675 2. Twenty percent (20%) of that portion of any amount recovered
676676 that is more than Ten Million Dollars ($10,000,000.00) but less than
677677 or equal to Fifteen Million Dollars ($15,000,000.00);
678678 3. Fifteen percent (15%) of that portion of any amount
679679 recovered that is more than Fifteen Million Doll ars ($15,000,000.00)
680680 but less than or equal to Twenty Million Dollars ($20,000,000.00);
681681 4. Ten percent (10%) of that portion of any amount recovered
682682 that is more than Twenty Mil lion Dollars ($20,000,000.00) but less
683683 than or equal to Twenty -five Million Dollars ($25,000,000.00); and
684684 5. Five percent (5%) of that portion of any amount recovered
685685 that is more than Twenty -five Million Dollars ($25,000,000.00).
686686 E. Notwithstanding subs ection D of this section, the total fee
687687 payable to all retained private attorn eys in any contingency fee
688688 contract shall not exceed Fifty Million Dollars ($50,000,000.00),
689689
690690
691691 Req. No. 565 Page 10 1
692692 2
693693 3
694694 4
695695 5
696696 6
697697 7
698698 8
699699 9
700700 10
701701 11
702702 12
703703 13
704704 14
705705 15
706706 16
707707 17
708708 18
709709 19
710710 20
711711 21
712712 22
713713 23
714714 24
715715 1
716716 2
717717 3
718718 4
719719 5
720720 6
721721 7
722722 8
723723 9
724724 10
725725 11
726726 12
727727 13
728728 14
729729 15
730730 16
731731 17
732732 18
733733 19
734734 20
735735 21
736736 22
737737 23
738738 24
739739
740740 exclusive of any costs and expenses provided by the contract and
741741 actually incurred by the retained private attorneys, regardless of
742742 the number of actions or proceedings or the number of retained
743743 private attorneys involved in the matter.
744744 F. The Attorney General shall develop a standard clause for
745745 inclusion in every contract for contingent fee attorney services
746746 that shall be used in all cases, describing in detail wh at is
747747 expected of both the contracted private attorney and the state
748748 including, but not limited to, the requirements as provided in this
749749 subsection. The state shall not enter in to a contract for
750750 contingency fee attorney services that does not incorporate such
751751 requirements:
752752 1. The government attorneys shall retain complete control over
753753 the course and conduct of the case;
754754 2. A government attorney with supervisory authority shall be
755755 personally involved in oversight of the case;
756756 3. The government attorneys shall retain veto power over any
757757 decision made by outside counsel related to the case;
758758 4. Any defendant in the case may contact the lead government
759759 attorneys directly, without h aving to confer with outside counsel;
760760 5. A government attorney with supervisory authority for the
761761 case shall attend all settlement conferences; and
762762
763763
764764 Req. No. 565 Page 11 1
765765 2
766766 3
767767 4
768768 5
769769 6
770770 7
771771 8
772772 9
773773 10
774774 11
775775 12
776776 13
777777 14
778778 15
779779 16
780780 17
781781 18
782782 19
783783 20
784784 21
785785 22
786786 23
787787 24
788788 1
789789 2
790790 3
791791 4
792792 5
793793 6
794794 7
795795 8
796796 9
797797 10
798798 11
799799 12
800800 13
801801 14
802802 15
803803 16
804804 17
805805 18
806806 19
807807 20
808808 21
809809 22
810810 23
811811 24
812812
813813 6. Decisions regarding settlement of the case shall be reserved
814814 exclusively to the discretion of the gover nment attorneys and the
815815 state.
816816 G. Copies of any executed contingency fee cont ract with the
817817 private attorney shall be posted on the Attorney General ’s website
818818 for public inspection within five (5) business days after the date
819819 the contract is executed and s hall remain posted on the website for
820820 the duration of the contingency fee contract including any
821821 extensions or amendments to the contract. Any payment of
822822 contingency fees shall be posted on the Attorney General ’s website
823823 within fifteen (15) days after the payment of the contingency fees
824824 to the private attorney or law firm and shall remain posted on the
825825 website for at least three hundred sixty -five (365) days after the
826826 payment is made.
827827 H. Any private attorney or law firm under contract to provide
828828 services to the state on a contingency fee basis shall from the
829829 inception of the contract until at least four (4) years after the
830830 contract expires or is terminated, maintain detailed current records
831831 including documentation of all expenses, disbursements, charges,
832832 credits, underlying receipts and invoices and other financial
833833 transactions related to the attorney services. The private attorney
834834 or law firm shall make all such records available for inspection and
835835 copying upon request of the Attorney General. In additio n, the
836836 private attorney or law firm shall maintain detailed contemporaneous
837837
838838
839839 Req. No. 565 Page 12 1
840840 2
841841 3
842842 4
843843 5
844844 6
845845 7
846846 8
847847 9
848848 10
849849 11
850850 12
851851 13
852852 14
853853 15
854854 16
855855 17
856856 18
857857 19
858858 20
859859 21
860860 22
861861 23
862862 24
863863 1
864864 2
865865 3
866866 4
867867 5
868868 6
869869 7
870870 8
871871 9
872872 10
873873 11
874874 12
875875 13
876876 14
877877 15
878878 16
879879 17
880880 18
881881 19
882882 20
883883 21
884884 22
885885 23
886886 24
887887
888888 time records for the attorneys and paralegals working on the matter
889889 in increments of no greater than one -tenth (1/10) of an hour and
890890 shall promptly provide such records to the Atto rney General upon
891891 request.
892892 I. Before entering into a contract for legal repre sentation by
893893 one or more private attorneys, an agency or official of the
894894 executive branch shall furnish a copy of the proposed contract to
895895 the Attorney General and notify the Att orney General of the
896896 following:
897897 1. The nature and scope of the representation including, but
898898 not limited to, a description of any pending or anticipated
899899 litigation or of the transaction requiring representation;
900900 2. The reason or reasons for not obtaining the representation
901901 from an attorney employed by the agency or official, if an attorney
902902 is employed by the agency or official;
903903 3. The reason or reasons for not obtaining the representation
904904 from the Attorney General by contract;
905905 4. The anticipated cost of the representation including the
906906 following:
907907 a. the basis for or method of calculation of the fee
908908 including, when applicable, the hourly rate for each
909909 attorney, paralegal, legal assistant, or other person
910910 who will perform services under the contract, and
911911
912912
913913 Req. No. 565 Page 13 1
914914 2
915915 3
916916 4
917917 5
918918 6
919919 7
920920 8
921921 9
922922 10
923923 11
924924 12
925925 13
926926 14
927927 15
928928 16
929929 17
930930 18
931931 19
932932 20
933933 21
934934 22
935935 23
936936 24
937937 1
938938 2
939939 3
940940 4
941941 5
942942 6
943943 7
944944 8
945945 9
946946 10
947947 11
948948 12
949949 13
950950 14
951951 15
952952 16
953953 17
954954 18
955955 19
956956 20
957957 21
958958 22
959959 23
960960 24
961961
962962 b. the basis for and method of calculation of any
963963 expenses which will be reimbu rsed by the agency or
964964 official under the contract;
965965 5. An estimate of the anticipated duration of the contract;
966966 6. The past or present relationship, if any, between such
967967 attorney, law firm or any partner or other principal in such law
968968 firm and the state agency or state agent proposing to enter into the
969969 contract;
970970 7. If the contract contemplates that all or part of the fee is
971971 contingent on the outcome of the legal proceeding, the reasons the
972972 contingent fee arrangement is believed to be in the state ’s interest
973973 and any efforts undertaken to obtain private counsel on a
974974 noncontingent fee basis; and
975975 8. The justification for the determination that the selection
976976 of a contract for legal r epresentation by one or more private
977977 attorneys or firms was made based on the ability of the private
978978 attorney or firm to provide the most economical and most competent
979979 service which furthers the best interest of the state.
980980 J. After the approval of the con tract by the Attorney General
981981 for legal representation by one or more private attorneys or law
982982 firms, the Attorney General shall make available to the public on
983983 the Attorney General ’s website the information required pursuant to
984984 paragraphs 1 through 8 of s ubsection I of this section.
985985
986986
987987 Req. No. 565 Page 14 1
988988 2
989989 3
990990 4
991991 5
992992 6
993993 7
994994 8
995995 9
996996 10
997997 11
998998 12
999999 13
10001000 14
10011001 15
10021002 16
10031003 17
10041004 18
10051005 19
10061006 20
10071007 21
10081008 22
10091009 23
10101010 24
10111011 1
10121012 2
10131013 3
10141014 4
10151015 5
10161016 6
10171017 7
10181018 8
10191019 9
10201020 10
10211021 11
10221022 12
10231023 13
10241024 14
10251025 15
10261026 16
10271027 17
10281028 18
10291029 19
10301030 20
10311031 21
10321032 22
10331033 23
10341034 24
10351035
10361036 K. 1. Before entering into a contract for legal representation
10371037 by one or more private attorneys or firms where the agency has
10381038 reason to believe that the case, transaction or matter will equal or
10391039 exceed Twenty Thousand Dollars ($20,000.00) or after employment when
10401040 it becomes apparent that the case, tran saction or matter will equal
10411041 or exceeds Twenty Thousand Dollars ($20,000.00), an agency or
10421042 official of the executive branch shall obtain the approval of the
10431043 Attorney General when the total cost including fees and expenses, of
10441044 all contracts relating to the same case, transaction, or matter will
10451045 equal or exceed Twenty Thousand Dollars ($20,000.00).
10461046 2. Before entering into a contract for legal representation by
10471047 one or more private a ttorneys or firms to initiate a legal action on
10481048 behalf of the state where the agency has reason to believe that the
10491049 total cost of the case, transaction or matter including fees and
10501050 expenses will equal or exceed One Million Dollars ($1,000,000.00),
10511051 an agency or official of the executive branch shall initiate a
10521052 request for proposal from at least three qualified private attorneys
10531053 or firms, when possible, engaged in providing such services. Notice
10541054 of the request for proposal shall be published on the Attorney
10551055 General’s website. The request for proposal shall solicit a
10561056 billable hourly rate, regardless of whether a contingency fee is
10571057 ultimately agreed upon, and shall specify the importance of price,
10581058 quality, ability and experience. The selection of a contract f or
10591059 legal representation by one or more private attorneys or firms shall
10601060
10611061
10621062 Req. No. 565 Page 15 1
10631063 2
10641064 3
10651065 4
10661066 5
10671067 6
10681068 7
10691069 8
10701070 9
10711071 10
10721072 11
10731073 12
10741074 13
10751075 14
10761076 15
10771077 16
10781078 17
10791079 18
10801080 19
10811081 20
10821082 21
10831083 22
10841084 23
10851085 24
10861086 1
10871087 2
10881088 3
10891089 4
10901090 5
10911091 6
10921092 7
10931093 8
10941094 9
10951095 10
10961096 11
10971097 12
10981098 13
10991099 14
11001100 15
11011101 16
11021102 17
11031103 18
11041104 19
11051105 20
11061106 21
11071107 22
11081108 23
11091109 24
11101110
11111111 be made using the criteria established in the request for proposal
11121112 and shall be based on the response to the request which is the most
11131113 economical and provides the most competent servic e which furthers
11141114 the best interests of the state. Most economical and most co mpetent
11151115 shall not be construed to mean the least expensive proposal.
11161116 3. Any amendment, modification or extension of a contract
11171117 which, had it been a part of the original contract would have
11181118 required approval by the Attorney General, shall also require
11191119 approval by the Attorney General.
11201120 L. After entering into a contract for legal representation by
11211121 one or more private attorneys or firms where the agency has reason
11221122 to believe that the case, transaction or matter will equal or exceed
11231123 One Million Dollars ($1,000 ,000.00), an agency or official of the
11241124 executive branch shall submit a copy of the contract to the
11251125 Legislative Oversight Committee legislative oversight committee
11261126 overseeing the operations of the Legislative Office of Fiscal
11271127 Transparency (LOFT) along with the following:
11281128 1. A description of the litigation or of the transaction
11291129 requiring representation;
11301130 2. The reason or reasons for not obtaining the representation
11311131 from an attorney employed by the agency or official;
11321132 3. The justification for selecting an at torney or firm
11331133 contracted to represent the state; and
11341134 4. An estimate of the anticipated duration of the contract.
11351135
11361136
11371137 Req. No. 565 Page 16 1
11381138 2
11391139 3
11401140 4
11411141 5
11421142 6
11431143 7
11441144 8
11451145 9
11461146 10
11471147 11
11481148 12
11491149 13
11501150 14
11511151 15
11521152 16
11531153 17
11541154 18
11551155 19
11561156 20
11571157 21
11581158 22
11591159 23
11601160 24
11611161 1
11621162 2
11631163 3
11641164 4
11651165 5
11661166 6
11671167 7
11681168 8
11691169 9
11701170 10
11711171 11
11721172 12
11731173 13
11741174 14
11751175 15
11761176 16
11771177 17
11781178 18
11791179 19
11801180 20
11811181 21
11821182 22
11831183 23
11841184 24
11851185
11861186 M. A settlement agreement shall not contemplate the ultimate
11871187 use and destination of recovered funds unless done in accordance
11881188 with paragraphs 11 and 12 of subsection B of Section 18b of this
11891189 title. Provided, the provisions of this subsection shall not apply
11901190 to settlement agreements entered into on behalf of the Okla homa
11911191 Municipal Power Authority .
11921192 N. Within ten (10) days of an agency or offic ial of the
11931193 executive branch entering into a settlement agreement where a
11941194 private attorney or firm was hired on a contingency fee contract and
11951195 the settlement was equal to or great er than One Million Dollars
11961196 ($1,000,000.00), the agency or official of the executive branch
11971197 shall present the settlement agreement to the Legislative Oversight
11981198 Committee legislative oversight committee with oversight of the
11991199 operations of the Legislative Of fice of Fiscal Transparency (LOFT),
12001200 unless otherwise postponed by LOFT.
12011201 O. When an agency or official of the executive branch enters
12021202 into a contract for professional legal services pursuant to this
12031203 section, the agency shall also comply with the applicable provisions
12041204 of Section 85.41 of this title.
12051205 P. The provisions of this section shall not apply to the
12061206 Oklahoma Indigent Defense System created pursuant to Section 1355 et
12071207 seq. of Title 22 of the Oklahoma Statutes.
12081208 Q. Upon request of an agency or official of the executive
12091209 branch, the Governor, the President Pro Tempore of the Oklahoma
12101210
12111211
12121212 Req. No. 565 Page 17 1
12131213 2
12141214 3
12151215 4
12161216 5
12171217 6
12181218 7
12191219 8
12201220 9
12211221 10
12221222 11
12231223 12
12241224 13
12251225 14
12261226 15
12271227 16
12281228 17
12291229 18
12301230 19
12311231 20
12321232 21
12331233 22
12341234 23
12351235 24
12361236 1
12371237 2
12381238 3
12391239 4
12401240 5
12411241 6
12421242 7
12431243 8
12441244 9
12451245 10
12461246 11
12471247 12
12481248 13
12491249 14
12501250 15
12511251 16
12521252 17
12531253 18
12541254 19
12551255 20
12561256 21
12571257 22
12581258 23
12591259 24
12601260
12611261 State Senate and the Speaker of the Oklahoma House of
12621262 Representatives may exempt a legal matter from the requirements of
12631263 this section if an exemption is deemed to be in the be st interest of
12641264 the state. Such exemption shall be issued at their discretion, in
12651265 writing and by unanimous consent, and shall be submitted to LOFT.
12661266 R. By February 1 of each year, the Attorney General shall
12671267 submit a report electronically to the Governor, the President Pro
12681268 Tempore of the Senate, the Speaker of the House of Representa tives,
12691269 the Chair of the Appropriations and Budget Committee of the House of
12701270 Representatives and the Chair of the Appropriations Committee of the
12711271 Senate, that describes the use of contracts with private attorneys
12721272 or law firms in the preceding fiscal year. At a minimum, the report
12731273 shall identify all new contracts entered into during the fiscal year
12741274 being reported and all previously executed contracts that remain
12751275 current during any part of the fiscal year. For each contract, the
12761276 report shall contain:
12771277 1. The name of the private attorney with whom the agency has
12781278 contracted including the name of the attorney ’s law firm;
12791279 2. The nature and status of the legal matter;
12801280 3. The name of the parties to the legal matter;
12811281 4. The amount of any recovery;
12821282 5. The amount of any hourly rate;
12831283 6. The amount of any contingency fee paid, if applicable; and
12841284 7. The amount paid under the contract for the fiscal year.
12851285
12861286
12871287 Req. No. 565 Page 18 1
12881288 2
12891289 3
12901290 4
12911291 5
12921292 6
12931293 7
12941294 8
12951295 9
12961296 10
12971297 11
12981298 12
12991299 13
13001300 14
13011301 15
13021302 16
13031303 17
13041304 18
13051305 19
13061306 20
13071307 21
13081308 22
13091309 23
13101310 24
13111311 1
13121312 2
13131313 3
13141314 4
13151315 5
13161316 6
13171317 7
13181318 8
13191319 9
13201320 10
13211321 11
13221322 12
13231323 13
13241324 14
13251325 15
13261326 16
13271327 17
13281328 18
13291329 19
13301330 20
13311331 21
13321332 22
13331333 23
13341334 24
13351335
13361336 S. The provisions of subsections B through R of this section
13371337 shall not apply to any agency that invests funds on behalf of its
13381338 beneficiaries and, as part of its fiduciary duty, retains one or
13391339 more private attorneys or law firms to pursue individual, derivative
13401340 or class litigation concernin g its investments or assets.
13411341 T. The provisions of this section shall not apply to any entity
13421342 exempted from Article I of the Administrative Procedures Act
13431343 pursuant to paragraphs 6 and 7 of subsection A of Section 250.4 of
13441344 Title 75 of the Oklahoma Statutes.
13451345 SECTION 3. This act shall become effective November 1, 2025.
13461346
13471347 60-1-565 RD 12/30/2024 7:28:37 PM