Law & Principles
Staff | October 5, 2021
OCPA legislative scorecard: 2021 final bill list
Staff
Below is the final list of the 107 bills that are factored into OCPA’s scorecard for Oklahoma’s 2021 legislative session at the state Capitol.
House Bill 1032—Support
Removes licensing requirements regarding the sale of homemade food products that meet certain conditions [Signed by Governor]
House Bill 1054—Oppose
Would have defined “electronic smoking devices” as “tobacco products” and subjected them to a 44-percent tax at the wholesale level (excluding marijuana) [Did not advance to Governor]
House Bill 1056—Support
Would have prohibited restrictions on religious activities during a state of emergency; similar to bill SB 368, which passed this session [Did not advance to Governor] House Bill 1091—Oppose
Would have put certain restrictions on Medicaid managed-care contracts; private, specialized, managed-care contracts have the potential to reduce new costs facing the state via Medicaid expansion [Did not advance to Governor]
House Bill 1150—Support
Allows the state's Construction Industries Board rule-making authority to further clarify the standard for who is eligible for plumbing licenses [Signed by Governor]
House Bill 1236—Support
Allows the state Legislature to review any federal executive order, federal agency rule or federal legislative action to determine constitutionality [Signed by Governor]
House Bill 1574—Oppose
Called for Oklahoma to join an agreement among other states to allocate Oklahoma's electoral votes in the Presidential election to the winner of the national popular vote, rather than to the winner of the popular vote within Oklahoma [Did not advance to Governor]
House Bill 1594—Oppose
Would have restricted the number of Governor-appointed seats for the State Board of Education to two [Did not advance to Governor]
House Bill 1662—Support
Would have strengthened the immunity provision during early criminal proceedings for persons asserting claims of self-defense [Did not advance to Governor]
House Bill 1677—Support
Would have allowed residents living in long-term care and assisted-living facilities to have an outside caregiver visit the resident, within certain health and safety guidelines [Did not advance to Governor]
House Bill 1679—Support
Requires Department of Corrections (DOC) to help discharged inmates get ID documents; "Sarah Stitt Act” [Signed by Governor]
House Bill 1775—Support
Bans certain "Critical Race Theory" curriculum from being taught in Oklahoma public schools [Signed by Governor]
House Bill 1795—Support
Makes it easier for individuals released from incarceration to obtain a provisional driver license and restricts driver license revocations to crimes related to driving [Signed by Governor]
House Bill 1846—Oppose
Would have revised household income limitations for Equal Opportunity Education Scholarship eligibility [Did not advance to Governor]
House Bill 1981—Support
Would have implemented recognition of professional and occupational licensure for qualifying individuals moving to Oklahoma, including spouses of an Armed Forces member stationed in Oklahoma [Did not advance to Governor]
House Bill 1982—Support
Would have added a funding escalator to the Equal Opportunity Education Scholarship program, allowing more students to participate in the program over time [Did not advance to Governor]
House Bill 1985—Support
Would have modified the prohibition regarding automatic payroll deductions on behalf of public school employees [Did not advance to Governor]
House Bill 2007—Support
Would have reduced the time and program eligibility requirements for mechanical contractor apprentices to take their qualifying exam [Did not advance to Governor]
House Bill 2010—Support
Would have reduced annual fees that charitable food truck vendors pay to the State Department of Health [Did not advance to Governor]
House Bill 2074—Support
Would have allowed for open transfer between public school districts year-round and removed some existing restrictions on those transfers; similar to SB 783 [Did not advance to Governor]
House Bill 2078—Support
Requires public school districts’ state funding to be based on student enrollment counts from either the preceding or current school year; previously, schools could receive funding for student enrollment figures from two years prior, allowing some districts to more easily receive funding for students who have departed the district [Signed by Governor]
House Bill 2105—Support
Would have directed courts to inform juries, for criminal procedures, of the range of penalties prior to their verdict [Did not advance to Governor]
House Bill 2176—Support
Would have added additional disability weights in the funding calculation for the Lindsey Nicole Henry scholarship program, which allows qualifying children, including those with special needs or those who have been in the state's foster care system, to receive educational scholarships; would have also broadened the adoption definition, as relates to program eligibility [Did not advance to Governor]
House Bill 2416—Oppose
Would have increased the state's individual income tax and created two additional high-end tax brackets at 5.75 percent for single individuals and 6.25 percent for married couples filing jointly [Did not advance to Governor]
House Bill 2454—Oppose
Would have restricted some schools from participating in the state’s Lindsey Nicole Henry scholarship program for children; the program allows qualifying children, including those with special needs and those who have been in the foster care system, to receive educational scholarships [Did not advance to Governor]
House Bill 2460—Support
Would have prohibited a school shutdown by a board of education or by school employees [Did not advance to Governor]
House Bill 2561—Oppose
Would have increased the state's individual income tax and created two additional high-end tax brackets at 5.5 percent for single filers and 6 percent for married couples filing jointly [Did not advance to Governor]
House Bill 2648—Support
Prohibits closures of places of worship by any government entity [Signed by Governor]
House Bill 2651—Support
Would have modified the state's Equal Opportunity Education Scholarship program [Did not advance to Governor]
House Bill 2655—Support
Would have moved school board elections to November, rather than April [Did not advance to Governor]
House Bill 2701—Support
Would have enhanced potential funding caps for the Equal Opportunity Education Scholarship program, through which qualifying students from households below a certain income level can receive scholarships to attend a private school [Did not advance to Governor]
House Bill 2960—Support
Reduces the state corporate income tax rate from 6 percent to 4 percent [Signed by Governor]
House Bill 2962—Support
Reduces all state individual income tax brackets by 0.25 percent [Signed by Governor]
House Concurrent Resolution 1009—Support
This resolution declares opposition to certain federal mandates regarding driver licenses; procedurally, this resolution was required for enactment of HB 1795 [Adopted]
House Joint Resolution 1031—Support
Proposed a state constitutional amendment which states that only votes of U.S. citizens who are Oklahoma residents will be considered in determining election results, including for determining presidential electors from Oklahoma [Did not advance]
House Resolution 1005—Support
Resolution asserting state sovereignty under the Tenth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution [Adopted]
Senate Bill 2—Support
"Save Women's Sports Act" would have required sports teams at public schools, colleges and universities in Oklahoma to be designated based on biological gender; biological males would not be allowed to compete on girls' teams; similar to SB 331 [Did not advance to Governor]
Senate Bill 38—Support
Turns over oversight of drug courts to Administrative Office of the Courts [Signed by Governor]
Senate Bill 53—Oppose
Would have removed language allowing the State Board of Education to sponsor certain charter schools, potentially limiting the creation of new charter schools [Did not advance to Governor]
Senate Bill 68—Support
Provides for school district residency status for children whose parents are on certain active military duty [Signed by Governor]
Senate Bill 69—Support
Provides for virtual charter school enrollment of children whose parents are on certain active military duty [Signed by Governor]
Senate Bill 101—Oppose
Would have allowed cities and counties in Oklahoma to impose mandatory minimum wage laws [Did not advance to Governor]
Senate Bill 126—Support
Would have clarified state law to explicitly prohibit only the “discrimination on the basis of race, color and national origin” by private schools that participate in the Lindsey Nicole Henry program; this program allows qualifying children, including those with special needs and those who have been in the foster care system, to receive educational scholarships for their schooling [Did not advance to Governor]
Senate Bill 129—Support
Would have removed the cap on itemized deductions, which are itemized expenses that can be subtracted from adjusted gross income (AGI) to reduce taxable income [Did not advance to Governor]
Senate Bill 131—Oppose
Puts restrictions on managed-care contracts between the Oklahoma Health Care Authority and managed-care companies; private, specialized, managed-care contracts have the potential to reduce new costs incurred from implementing Medicaid expansion [Enacted without Governor signature]
Senate Bill 152—Oppose
Would have prohibited the State Board of Education from sponsoring charter schools [Did not advance to Governor]
Senate Bill 155—Support
Requires the Oklahoma Supreme Court to maintain a public calendar of cases [Signed by Governor]
Senate Bill 157—Oppose
Would have limited the Governor's ability to remove and replace his or her appointees to the State Board of Education [Did not advance to Governor]
Senate Bill 176—Oppose
Would have required additional hurdles for state agency directors and cabinet members appointed by the Governor, potentially discouraging individuals with business experience from applying [Did not advance to Governor]
Senate Bill 178—Oppose
Would have lifted the cap on the Ethics Commission Fund, likely incentivizing the Ethics Commission to impose more fines [Did not advance to Governor]
Senate Bill 190—Support
Would have authorized certain elected officials to participate in the state's defined-contribution (DC) retirement system; this type of retirement system allows for individuals to contribute to their retirement and better protects taxpayers from insolvent pension programs [Did not advance to Governor]
Senate Bill 203—Support
Would have expanded eligibility for the Lindsey Nicole Henry scholarship program to students with at least one incarcerated parent; the program currently provides scholarships to children with special needs and foster children [Did not advance to Governor]
Senate Bill 204—Oppose
Would have created a revolving fund and income tax refund for donations by taxpayers to the state's General Revenue Fund [Did not advance to Governor]
Senate Bill 205—Oppose
Would have required the development of a system for automatic voter registration for certain qualified persons [Did not advance to Governor]
Senate Bill 210—Support
Would have made the recall election process for school board members easier [Did not advance to Governor]
Senate Bill 216—Support
Would have prohibited religious institutions from being forcibly closed or being deemed nonessential; similar to SB 368 [Did not advance to Governor]
Senate Bill 218—Oppose
Would have made the state Earned Income Tax credit refundable [Did not advance to Governor]
Senate Bill 221—Support
Would have provided scholarships to attend a private school of choice for students who have health-related concerns [Did not advance to Governor]
Senate Bill 239—Oppose
Would have allowed the State Superintendent and the Oklahoma State Department of Education (OSDE) to bar the State Board of Education from considering sponsorship of a charter school upon appeal, potentially limiting the number of charter schools [Did not advance to Governor]
Senate Bill 331—Support
"Save Women's Sports Act" would have required sports teams at public schools, colleges and universities in Oklahoma to be designated based on biological gender; biological males would not be allowed to compete on girls' teams; similar to SB 2 [Did not advance to Governor]
Senate Bill 332—Oppose
Would have imposed minimum wage increases on employers [Did not advance to Governor]
Senate Bill 368—Support
Prohibits the closures of religious institutions or deeming them nonessential; religious institution cannot not be subject to harsher closure restrictions than those that are imposed on any private entity facing similar conditions [Signed by Governor]
Senate Bill 375—Oppose
Would have required city and county health departments in Oklahoma to provide birth control [Did not advance to Governor]
Senate Bill 386—Support
Would have created a Digital Wallet program to provide educational financial aid for qualifying students; the scholarship money would follow the student [Did not advance to Governor]
Senate Bill 395—Oppose
Would have required a 3/4 vote of the state Legislature in order to reduce taxes [Did not advance to Governor]
Senate Bill 402—Support
Would have expanded the Lindsey Nicole Henry Scholarship (LNH) eligibility to include children from military families; the program allows qualifying children, including those with special needs and those who have been in the foster care system, to receive educational scholarships for their schooling [Did not advance to Governor]
Senate Bill 435—Oppose
Would have created a tax credit for electric bikes [Did not advance to Governor]
Senate Bill 473—Support
Would have required appellate courts to keep and publish their dockets; similar to SB 155 [Did not advance to Governor]
Senate Bill 484—Support
Would have allowed state agencies to avoid certain onerous federal rules and regulations, with state legislative approval [Did not advance to Governor]
Senate Bill 515—Support
Would have changed how appellate judges are assigned to cases when a judge or justice recuses or is conflicted; similar to SB 957 [Did not advance to Governor]
Senate Bill 523—Support
Would have prohibited court settlements that amend state election law in a way that violates existing law [Did not advance to Governor]
Senate Bill 532—Support
Would have created the School Choice for Disadvantaged Children Program [Did not advance to Governor]
Senate Bill 548—Support
Would have prohibited hospitals and other entities from harming a patient financially without providing the patient with a good-faith cost estimate in advance of the service provided [Did not advance to Governor]
Senate Bill 553—Oppose
Would have eliminated Oklahoma's capital-gains deduction [Did not advance to Governor]
Senate Bill 568—Support
Allows small startup businesses to more easily raise capital through crowdfunding [Signed by Governor]
Senate Bill 576—Oppose
Would have allowed people to "cure" absentee ballots that election officials think contain errors [Did not advance to Governor]
Senate Bill 608—Oppose
Increases funding caps for Oklahoma's taxpayer-funded film incentive program [Signed by Governor]
Senate Bill 633—Support
Would have created the “Student and Administration Equality Act," requiring colleges and universities to allow students to have an attorney represent them during hearings that can result in expulsion [Did not advance to Governor]
Senate Bill 634—Support
Would have required annual authorization by public school district employees for payroll deductions made to the school district's professional organization, including a teachers union [Did not advance to Governor]
Senate Bill 637—Support
Would have prohibited colleges and universities from requiring students to take any course unrelated to their degree [Did not advance to Governor]
Senate Bill 665—Oppose
Would have barred for-profit entities from managing virtual charter schools [Did not advance to Governor]
Senate Bill 678—Support
Would have prohibited government closure of churches for being "nonessential"; similar to SB 368 [Did not advance to Governor]
Senate Bill 690—Support
Broadens under what conditions medical doctors and osteopathic doctors may hold a license to practice telemedicine and establish a physician-patient relationship [Did not advance to Governor]
Senate Bill 695—Oppose
Would have barred the Oklahoma Health Care Authority, the state's Medicaid agency, from implementing managed care without an affirmative joint resolution vote from the state Legislature [Did not advance to Governor]
Senate Bill 704—Support
Would have eliminated criminal sentence enhancements (additional jail time issued by the court outside the sentencing range authorized in statute) if a person has prior convictions, with certain exceptions (including domestic-abuse offenses, all offenses requiring sex-offender registration, and certain DUI offenses) [Did not advance to Governor]
Senate Bill 734—Oppose
Would have instituted price controls by prohibiting state entities and private insurance companies from purchasing prescription drugs in excess of certain rates [Did not advance to Governor]
Senate Bill 783—Support
Allows for open transfer between public school districts year-round and removes some existing restrictions on those transfers [Signed by Governor]
Senate Bill 786—Support
Would have mandated that all businesses be considered “essential" [Did not advance to Governor]
Senate Bill 823—Support
Would have funded schools based on current-year enrollment or the prior-year number; similar to HB 2078 [Did not advance to Governor]
Senate Bill 876—Support
Would have made all new state government employees unclassified, which dictates that the position is "at-will" and may be removed at any time, much like positions in the private sector [Did not advance to Governor]
Senate Bill 902—Oppose
Would have required the Department of Corrections to give a Medicaid application to all released inmates [Did not advance to Governor]
Senate Bill 913—Support
Allows the state Legislature to repeal a state government agency rule by joint resolution and removes the Governor’s authority to repeal agency rules by declaration [Signed by Governor]
Senate Bill 925—Support
"Clarifies that defensive displays are justified if a person reasonably believes that physical force is immediately necessary to protect himself, herself or another against deadly force; provides greater discretion in sentencing persons convicted of violating this provision and removes the requirement to revoke the violator’s handgun license” [Did not advance to Governor]
Senate Bill 946—Support
Would have made the Judicial Nominating Commission subject to the state's Open Meetings Act [Did not advance to Governor]
Senate Bill 948—Support
Would have moved dates for county, municipal and school district elections to more closely align with the regular calendar for state and federal elections [Did not advance to Governor]
Senate Bill 957—Support
Would have changed how appellate courts operate when a judge or justice is recused or disqualified; similar to SB 515 [Did not advance to Governor]
Senate Bill 961—Support
Adds privacy protections for charitable donations [Signed by Governor]
Senate Bill 962—Support
Would have moved most school board elections to align with the regular calendar for state and federal elections [Did not advance to Governor]
Senate Bill 984—Support
Would have established parameters for the state Attorney General's use of outside counsel [Did not advance to Governor]
Senate Bill 991—Support
Would have eliminated civil asset forfeiture [Did not advance to Governor]
Senate Bill 1009—Support
Would have modified the composition of the Firefighters Pension and Retirement Board [Did not advance to Governor]
Senate Bill 1020—Support
Would have created the Oklahoma Learning Pod Protection Act [Did not advance to Governor]
Senate Bill 1080—Support
Increases funding caps for the state's Equal Opportunity Education Scholarship program, which provides tax credits for donating to organizations that grant private-school scholarships to qualifying students; increases the program's cap from $3.5 million annually to $25 million for scholarship donations [Signed by Governor]
Senate Concurrent Resolution 2—Support
Would have required the Oklahoma State Regents for Higher Education to submit a report to the state Legislature including all faculty courses taught and compensation of faculty, to increase transparency [Did not advance]
Senate Joint Resolution 2—Support
Would have modified procedures for nominating judges, divesting power from the Judicial Nominating Commission [Did not advance]
Senate Joint Resolution 9—Oppose
Would have mandated “equitable” public school funding, turning education funding disputes over to the courts [Did not advance]
Senate Joint Resolution 18—Support
Would have prohibited the raiding of public employee pension assets and the reducing of funded status for state pension plans [Did not advance]
Staff