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STATE OF OKLAHOMA
1st Session of the 60th Legislature (2025)
SENATE BILL 535 By: Daniels
AS INTRODUCED
An Act relating to the Oklahoma Open Records Act;
amending 51 O.S. 2021, Sections 24A.3, as last
amended by Section 1, Chapter 358, O.S. L. 2024,
24A.5, as last amended by Section 2, Chapter 116,
O.S.L. 2024, and 24A.17, as amended by Section 3,
Chapter 116, O.S.L. 2024 (51 O.S. Supp. 2024,
Sections 24A.3, 24A.5, and 24A.17), which relate to
definitions, inspection and copying of records, a nd
violations and penalties; modifying definition;
adding exceptions to keep c ertain records
confidential; authorizing public body to require
advance payment for certain records requests;
requiring return of portion of advance payment under
certain circumstances; authorizing public body to
request clarification for certain records requests;
establishing requirements for specificity of records
requests; allowing denial of records requests under
certain circumstances; creating exception for award
of attorney fees; and providing an effective date .
BE IT ENACTED BY THE PEOPL E OF THE STATE OF OKLAHOMA:
SECTION 1. AMENDATORY 51 O.S. 2021, Section 24A.3, as
last amended by Section 1, Chapter 358, O.S.L. 2024 (51 O.S. Supp.
2024, Section 24A.3), is amended to read as follows:
Section 24A.3. As used in the Oklahoma Open Records Act:
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1. “Record” means all documents including, but not limited to,
any book, paper, photograph, microfilm, data files created by or
used with computer software, computer tape, disk, record, sound
recording, film recording, video record or other material regardless
of physical form or characteristic, created by, received by, under
the authority of, or coming into the custody, control or possession
of public officials, public bodies or their representatives in
connection with the transaction of public business, the expenditure
of public funds or the administering of public property. Record
shall also mean applications and other documents related to
licensure matters that are filed of record in a district court,
including, but not li mited to, marriage licenses, process server
licenses, closing out sale licenses, transient merchant licenses,
pool hall licenses, and bail bondsmen registration. Record does not
mean:
a. computer software, or
b. nongovernment personal effects;
2. “Public body” shall include, but not be limited to, any
office, department, board, bureau, commission, agency, trusteeship,
authority, council, committee, trust or any entity created by a
trust, county, city, village, town, township, district, school
district, fair board, court, executive office, advisory group, task
force, study group or any subdivision thereof, supported in whole or
in part by public funds or entrusted with the expendi ture of public
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funds or administering or operating public property, and all
committees, or subcommittees thereof. Except for the records
required by Section 24A.4 of this title, public body does not mean
judges, justices, the Council on Judicial Complaint s, the
Legislature or legislators. Public body shall not include an
organization that is exempt from federal income tax under Section
501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended, and
whose sole beneficiary is a college or university , or an affiliated
entity of the college or university, that is a member of The
Oklahoma State System of Higher Education. Such organization shall
not receive direct appropriations from the Legislature. The
following persons shall not be eligible to serve as a voting member
of the governing board of the organization:
a. a member, officer, or employee of the Oklahoma State
Regents for Higher Education,
b. a member of the board of regents or other governing
board of the college or university that is the sole
beneficiary of the organization, or
c. an officer or employee of the college or university
that is the sole beneficiary of the organization;
3. “Public office” means the physical location where public
bodies conduct business or keep records;
4. “Public official” means any official or employee of any
public body as defined herein; and
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5. “Law enforcement agency ” means any public body charged with
enforcing state or local criminal laws and initiating criminal
prosecutions including, but not limited to, police de partments,
state and local fire marshals when investigating potential
violations of federal, state, or local criminal laws or when acting
on behalf of a law enforcement agency, county sheriffs, the
Department of Public Safety, the Oklahoma State Bureau of Narcotics
and Dangerous Drugs Control, the Alcoholic Beverage Laws Enforcement
Commission, and the Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation.
SECTION 2. AMENDATORY 51 O.S. 2021, Section 24A.5, as
last amended by Section 2, Chapter 11 6, O.S.L. 2024 (51 O.S. Supp.
2024, Section 24A.5), is amended to read as follows:
Section 24A.5. All records of public bodies and public
officials shall be open to any person for inspection, copying, or
mechanical reproduction during regular business hou rs; provided:
1. The Oklahoma Open Records Act, Sections 24A.1 through 24A.30
of this title, does not apply to records specifically required by
law to be kept confidential including:
a. records protected by a state evidentiary privilege
such as the attorney-client privilege, the work
product immunity from discovery and the identity of
informer privileges,
b. records of what transpired during meetings of a public
body lawfully closed to the public such as executive
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sessions authorized under the Oklahoma Ope n Meeting
Act,
c. personal information within driver records as defined
by the Driver’s Privacy Protection Act, 18 United
States Code, Sections 2721 through 2725,
d. information in the files of the Board of Medicolegal
Investigations obtained pursuant to S ections 940 and
941 of Title 63 of the Oklahoma Statutes that may be
hearsay, preliminary unsubstantiated investigation -
related findings, or confidential medical information,
e. any test forms, question banks and answer keys
developed for state licensure e xaminations, but
specifically excluding test preparation materials or
study guides,
f. last names, addresses, Social Security numbers or tax
identification numbers, and proof of identification
submitted to the Oklahoma Lottery Commission by
persons claiming a lottery prize,
g. unless public disclosure is required by other laws or
regulations, vehicle movement records of the Oklahoma
Transportation Authority obtained in connection with
the Authority’s electronic toll collection system,
h. personal financial information, credit reports, or
other financial data obtained by or submitted to a
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public body for the purpose of evaluating credit
worthiness, obtaining a license, permit, or for the
purpose of becoming qualified to contract with a
public body,
i. any digital audio/video recordings of the toll
collection and safeguarding activities of the Oklahoma
Transportation Authority,
j. any personal information provided by a guest at any
facility owned or operated by the Oklahoma Tourism and
Recreation Department to obtain any service at the
facility or by a purchaser of a product sold by or
through the Oklahoma Tourism and Recreation
Department,
k. a Department of Defense Form 214 (DD Form 214) filed
with a county clerk, including any DD Form 214 filed
before July 1, 2002,
l. except as provided for in Section 2 -110 of Title 47 of
the Oklahoma Statutes:
(1) any record in connection with a Motor Vehicle
Report issued by the Department of Public Safety,
as prescribed in Section 6 -117 of Title 47 of the
Oklahoma Statutes, or
(2) personal information within driver records, as
defined by the Driver ’s Privacy Protection Act,
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18 U.S.C., Sections 2721 through 2725, which are
stored and maintained by the Department of Public
Safety,
m. any portion of any document or information provided to
an agency or entity of the state or a political
subdivision to obtain licensure under the laws of this
state or a political subdivision that contains an
applicant’s personal address, personal phone number,
personal email address, any government -issued
identification numbers, or other contact information;
provided, however, lists of persons licensed, the
existence of a license of a person, or a business or
commercial address, or other business or commercial
information disclosable under state law submitted with
an application for licensure shall be public record,
unless the business or commercial address is the same
as the applicant’s personal address, except when the
applicant permits in writing the disclosure of the
address,
n. an investigative file obtained during an investigation
conducted by the State Department of Hea lth into
violations of the Long -Term Care Administrator
Licensing Act under Title 63 of the Oklahoma Statutes,
or
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o. documents, evidence, materials, records, reports,
complaints, or other information in the possession or
control of the Attorney General or Insurance
Department pertaining to an evaluation, examination,
investigation, or review made pursuant to the
provisions of the Patient ’s Right to Pharmacy Choice
Act, the Pharmacy Audit Integrity Act, or Sections 357
through 360 of Title 59 of the Oklahoma Statutes, or
p. records sought by a party or the party ’s
representative to a pending civil litigation or
criminal prosecution in which the records may be
sought through a subpoe na process;
2. All Social Security numbers included in a record may be
confidential regardless of the person ’s status as a public employee
or private individual and may be redacted or deleted prior to
release of the record by the public body;
3. Any home address, home telephone number, private electronic
mail address, and private mobile phone number of a person may be
confidential regardless of the person ’s status as a public employee
or private individual and may be redacted or deleted prior to
release of the record by the public body; provided, any address and
telephone number used for business purposes may be made available
for public inspection;
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4. Any reasonably segregable portion of a record containing
exempt material shall be provided after deletio n of the exempt
portions; provided however, the Department of Public Safety sh all
not be required to assemble for the requesting person specific
information, in any format, from driving records relating to any
person whose name and date of birth or whose d river license number
is not furnished by the requesting person.
The Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation shall not be required
to assemble for the requesting person any criminal history records
relating to persons whose names, dates of birth, and other
identifying information required by the Oklahoma State Bureau of
Investigation pursuant to administrative rule are not furnished by
the requesting person;
4. 5. Any request for a record which contains individual
records of persons, and the cost of copying, reproducing or
certifying each individual record is otherwise prescribed by state
law, the cost may be assessed for each individual record, or portion
thereof requested as prescribed by state law. Otherwise, a public
body may charge a fee only for recove ry of the reasonable, direct
costs of record copying, or mechanical reproducti on.
Notwithstanding any state or local provision to the contrary, in no
instance shall the record copying fee exceed twenty -five cents
($0.25) per page for records having the di mensions of eight and one -
half (8 1/2) by fourteen (14) inches or smaller, or a maximum of One
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Dollar ($1.00) per copied page for a certified copy. However, if
the request:
a. is solely for commercial purpose, or
b. would clearly cause excessive disruptio n of the
essential functions of the public body,
then the public body may char ge a reasonable fee to recover the
direct cost of record search and copying; however, publication in a
newspaper or broadcast by news media for news purposes shall not
constitute a resale or use of a record for trade or commercial
purpose and charges for providing copies of electronic data to the
news media for a news purpose shall not exceed the direct cost of
making the copy. The fee charged by the Department of Public Safety
for a copy in a computerized format of a record of the Department
shall not exceed the direct cost of making the copy unless the fee
for the record is otherwise set by law. A public body may require
advance payment of the estimated fees authorized under th is section
when the estimated costs of searching, redacting, or making a copy
of the record or records exceeds Seventy -five Dollars ($75.00). Any
portion of an advance payment that exceeds the costs of responding
to the request shall be returned to the re questor.
Any public body establishing fees under this act shall post a
written schedule of the fees at its principal office and with the
county clerk.
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In no case shall a search fee be charged when the release of
records is in the public interest, including , but not limited to,
release to the news media, scholars, authors and taxpayers seeking
to determine whether those entrusted with the affairs of the
government are honestly, faithfully, and competently performing
their duties as public servants.
The fees shall not be used for the purpose of discouraging
requests for information or as obstacles to disclosure of requested
information;
5. 6. The land description tract index of all recorded
instruments concerning real property required to be kept by the
county clerk of any county shall be available for inspection or
copying in accordance with the provisions of the Oklahoma Open
Records Act; provided, however, the index shall not be copied or
mechanically reproduced for the purpose of sale of the information;
6. 7. A public body must provide prompt, reasonable access to
its records but may establish reasonable procedures which protect
the integrity and organization of its records and to prevent
excessive disruptions of its essential functions. A delay in
providing access to records shall be limited solely to the time
required for preparing the requested documents and the avoidance of
excessive disruptions of the public body ’s essential functions. In
no event may production of a current request for records be
unreasonably delayed until after completion of a prior records
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request that will take substantially longer than the current
request. Any public body which makes the requested records
available on the Internet shall meet the obligation of providing
prompt, reasonable access to its records as required by this
paragraph;
8. If a records request is unreasonably vague, open -ended, or
otherwise does not describe the requested records with reasonable
specificity, a public body may ask the requestor to clarify the
request. To have reasonable specificity, a request shall:
a. specify a general time frame within which the
requested records would have been created or
transmitted,
b. seek identifiable records, rather than general
information without any qualifiers or o ther
specifications, and
c. include search terms that are sufficiently specific to
avoid generating an unreasonably large number of
records, such as thousands of pages of emails.
If a public body has engaged with the request or to seek the
information needed to fulfill the request and to reach a reasonable
solution that accommodates the interests of both the request or and
the public body, including providing the request or with general
topics of records related to the request, the request may be denied
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if it is still not reasonably specific and would excessively disrupt
the public body’s essential functions ; and
7. 9. A public body shall designate certain persons who are
authorized to release records of the public body for inspection,
copying, or mechanical r eproduction. At least one person shall be
available at all times to release r ecords during the regular
business hours of the public body.
SECTION 3. AMENDATORY 51 O.S. 2021, Section 24A.17, as
amended by Section 3, Chapter 116, O .S.L. 2024 (51 O.S. Supp. 2024,
Section 24A.17), is amended to read as follows:
Section 24A.17. A. Any public official who willfully violates
any provision of the Oklahoma Open Records Act, upon conviction,
shall be guilty of a misdemeanor, and shall be punished by a fine
not exceeding Five Hundred Dollars ($500.00) or by imprison ment in
the county jail for a period not exceeding one (1) year, or by both
such fine and imprisonment.
B. Any person who requests and is denied access to records of a
public body or public official:
1. May bring a civil suit for declarative or injunctive relief,
or both, but such civil suit shall be limited to records requested
and denied prior to filing of the civil suit; and
2. If successful, shall be entitled to reasonable attorney fees
unless the court finds the public body or public official acted in
good faith.
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C. Prior to bringing a civil suit under subsection B of this
section, any person seeking declaratory or injunctive relief, or
both, must notify the public body or public official of his or her
intent to bring a civil suit to obtain relief in writing ten (10)
business days prior to filing for such relief. Such notice must
also be provided to the Attorney General.
D. If the public body or public official successful ly defends a
civil suit and the court finds that the suit was clearly frivolou s,
the public body or public official shall be entitled to reasonable
attorney fees.
E. A public body or public official shall not be civilly liable
for damages for providing ac cess to records as allowed under the
Oklahoma Open Records Act.
SECTION 4. This act shall become effective November 1, 2025.
60-1-103 TEK 1/13/2025 12:05:25 PM