Oklahoma Senate Bill SB354

Oklahoma 2025 Regular Session

• Introduced: 2/3/25
• Refer: 2/4/25
• Report Pass: 2/25/25

Caption

Municipal ordinances; removing certain requirement for deposit of certain permanent volume in county law libraries. Effective date.

Impact

The proposed legislation is expected to have a significant impact on how municipalities handle the dissemination of their penal ordinances. Currently, municipalities must ensure that copies of these documents are physically filed in county law libraries, which incurs both time and financial costs. By eliminating this requirement, SB354 would reduce bureaucratic burdens on local governments and potentially cut down on costs associated with printing and distributing physical copies. This change may also encourage municipalities to adopt more digital methods of publication, aligning with current trends in technology and information dissemination.

Summary

Senate Bill 354, introduced by Senator Guthrie, proposes an amendment to the existing regulations governing the publication and notice of municipal ordinances within Oklahoma. The bill specifically targets Section 14-110 of Title 11 of the Oklahoma Statutes, which currently mandates municipalities to compile and publish their penal ordinances and the requirement to deposit physical copies in county law libraries. By removing the deposit requirement, the bill aims to streamline the administrative process involved in publishing and notifying the public about municipal laws and ordinances.

Contention

However, the bill is not without its points of contention. Critics might argue that removing the requirement to deposit ordinances in county law libraries could affect public access to vital legal information. Although the bill indicates that municipalities will still provide public notice of their ordinances through resolutions, concerns persist about whether the public will remain adequately informed about local laws without the traditional deposit method. There may be fears that such changes could lead to decreased transparency in how local laws are communicated to residents, particularly in smaller communities where access to digital information may be limited.