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Oklahoma Legislature· HB 2243Referred to Rules

An act relating to state government, the official text

Shown verbatim: the complete text as captured from the official PDF posted by the Oklahoma Legislature, fetched 2026-07-23. Page and line markers are part of the official record; nothing is edited or removed. The official bill page.
1                            STATE OF OKLAHOMA

2   1st Session of the 60th Legislature (2025)

3 HOUSE BILL 2243                  By: Waldron

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6                            AS INTRODUCED

7   An Act relating to state government; denouncing

    antisemitism; adopting definitions; creating

8   guidelines for antisemitism discrimination; providing

    for codification; and providing an effective date.

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10

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12 BE IT ENACTED BY THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF OKLAHOMA:

13  SECTION 1.      NEW LAW        A new section of law to be codified

14 in the Oklahoma Statutes as Section 13001 of Title 74, unless there

15 is created a duplication in numbering, reads as follows:

16  The Legislature finds that:

17  1. Antisemitism, including harassment on the basis of actual or

18 perceived Jewish origin, ancestry, ethnicity, identity, affiliation,

19 or faith, remains a persistent, pervasive, and disturbing problem in

20 contemporary American society;

21  2. Jewish people continue to be a targeted minority in the

22 United States. Data shows, for instance, that Jews are consistently

23 the most likely of all religious groups to be victimized by

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    Req. No. 11713                                              Page 1
1 incidents of hate, and that such incidents are increasing at an

2 alarming rate;

3   3. State officials and institutions have a responsibility to

4 protect citizens from acts of hate and bigotry motivated by

5 discriminatory animus, including antisemitism, and must be given the

6 tools to do so;

7   4. Valid monitoring, informed analysis and investigation, and

8 effective policymaking all require uniform definitions;

9   5. While there can be no exhaustive definition of antisemitism,

10 as it can take many forms, the International Holocaust Remembrance

11 Alliance (IHRA) Working Definition has been an essential

12 definitional tool used to determine contemporary manifestations of

13 antisemitism and includes useful examples of discriminatory anti-

14 Israel acts that can cross the line into antisemitism;

15  6. The IHRA definition is used by various agencies of the

16 federal government and by over 30 governments around the world,

17 recommended for use by the European Council and the European

18 Parliament, endorsed by the Secretary-General of the United Nations,

19 included in policy guides prepared by the Organization for Security

20 and Cooperation in Europe, and has been formally adopted by a

21 growing number of nations, cities, universities, and civil society

22 organizations; and

23  7. Use of this definition of antisemitism, although it is not

24 to be taken as an exhaustive definition, will increase the awareness

    Req. No. 11713                                                  Page 2
1 and understanding of the parameters of contemporary anti-Jewish

2 discrimination in certain circumscribed areas.

3   SECTION 2.       NEW LAW        A new section of law to be codified

4 in the Oklahoma Statutes as Section 13002 of Title 74, unless there

5 is created a duplication in numbering, reads as follows:

6   A. As used in this section, the term "antisemitism" has the

7 same meaning as provided for in the working definition of

8 antisemitism adopted by the International Holocaust Remembrance

9 Alliance (IHRA) on May 26, 2016, and includes the examples of

10 antisemitism set forth therein.

11  B. All state departments and agencies shall consider

12 antisemitism as evidence of discriminatory intent for any law or

13 policy in this state which prohibits discrimination based on race,

14 color, religion, or national origin or provides for enhanced

15 criminal penalties for criminal offenses when the defendant

16 intentionally selected any victim or group of victims or any

17 property as the object of the offense because of such victim's or

18 group of victims' actual or perceived race, color, religion, or

19 national origin.

20  C. Nothing in this section shall be construed to diminish or

21 infringe upon any right protected under the First Amendment to the

22 United States Constitution or the Oklahoma Constitution.

23  D. Nothing in this section shall be construed to conflict with

24 local, federal, or state discrimination laws.

    Req. No. 11713                                                  Page 3
1   E. Nothing in this section shall be construed to alter the

2 evidentiary requirements pursuant to which an agency or department

3 makes a determination that conduct, including harassment, amounts to

4 actionable discrimination, or to diminish or infringe upon the

5 rights protected under any other provision of law.

6   F. Nothing in this section shall be construed to impair or

7 otherwise affect the authority granted by law to a department or

8 agency.

9   G. This section is not intended to and does not create any

10 right or benefit, substantive or procedural, enforceable at law or

11 in equity by any party against the state, its departments, agencies,

12 or entities, its officers, employees, or agents, or any other

13 person.

14  SECTION 3. This act shall become effective November 1, 2025.

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16  60-1-11713      TKR  01/15/24

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