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 2nd Session of the 60th Legislature (2026)
3 HOUSE BILL 3984 By: Caldwell (Trey)
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6 AS INTRODUCED
7 An Act relating to workforce recruitment; creating
the Oklahoma Talent Attraction and Relocation Act;
8 assigning administration to the Oklahoma Department
of Commerce; stating purpose; defining terms;
9 limiting administration to the availability of funds;
authorizing grant incentives; limiting grant
10 incentives; providing disbursement methodology;
establishing criteria for eligibility and
11 consideration; authorizing standard and process for
repayment by recipient; requiring certain periodic
12 reporting; establishing required content of reports;
requiring certain audits under certain conditions;
13 authorizing the promulgation of rules; creating the
Oklahoma Talent Attraction and Relocation Revolving
14 Fund; establishing revolving fund nature and
characteristics; assigning the fund to the Oklahoma
15 Department of Commerce; authorizing and limiting the
expenditure of funds; providing budgetary procedures;
16 providing for codification; and providing an
effective date.
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19 BE IT ENACTED BY THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF OKLAHOMA:
20 SECTION 1. NEW LAW A new section of law to be codified
21 in the Oklahoma Statutes as Section 5160.1 of Title 74, unless there
22 is created a duplication in numbering, reads as follows:
23 A. This act shall be known and may be cited as the "Oklahoma
24 Talent Attraction and Relocation Act".
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1 B. There is hereby created within the Oklahoma Department of
2 Commerce the "Oklahoma Talent Attraction and Relocation Program", to
3 be administered by the Department for the purpose of awarding grants
4 to support talent recruitment programs that incent households to
5 relocate to Oklahoma from outside the state.
6 C. As used in this section:
7 1. "Department" means the Oklahoma Department of Commerce;
8 2. "Eligible applicant" means:
9 a. a city, town, or county, or
10 b. a nonprofit corporation whose primary purpose includes
11 economic development, workforce development, or
12 community development;
13 3. "Household" means a group of one or more individuals who
14 dwell together within the same dwelling; and
15 4. "Household goal" means the total number of households that a
16 talent recruitment program seeks to successfully incent to relocate
17 or commit to relocate from outside this state to a municipality in
18 this state.
19 D. Subject to availability of funds, the Department may award
20 grants to eligible applicants for the administration of talent
21 recruitment programs and for costs associated with incenting
22 households to relocate from outside this state to establish
23 residency within this state. No more than Two Hundred Fifty
24 Thousand Dollars ($250,000.00) in grant funds may be awarded to
Req. No. 15178 Page 2
1 support talent recruitment programming in a single municipality in a
2 single fiscal year.
3 E. To the extent funds are available, the Department shall
4 disburse fifty percent (50%) of the total grant amount upon
5 execution of a grant contract and fifty percent (50%) of the total
6 grant amount upon verification that the recipient has successfully
7 met at least one-half of the household goal stated in the approved
8 talent recruitment program plan. If the recipient fails to meet at
9 least one-half of its stated household goal, the remaining portion
10 of the grant shall not be disbursed.
11 F. To be considered for a grant, an eligible applicant shall
12 submit to the Department a written talent recruitment program plan
13 that includes:
14 1. The total estimated cost of the program and the estimated
15 costs associated with program design, administration, marketing, and
16 relocation incentive initiatives;
17 2. The household goal and the estimated total grant amount per
18 household;
19 3. The estimated state and local tax impact;
20 4. The estimated total economic impact; and
21 5. Evidence that the proposed incentives do not duplicate
22 existing state or local relocation programs serving the same
23 households or geographic area.
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1 G. The applicant shall demonstrate the ability to contribute at
2 least twenty percent (20%) of the total cost of the talent
3 recruitment program, which may include local investments and in-kind
4 donations. An applicant that has previously received a grant under
5 this section shall not be eligible for an additional grant unless
6 the applicant has met or exceeded the household goal stated in its
7 prior approved talent recruitment program plan.
8 H. If a recipient fails to meet its household goal by the end
9 of the program period, or if after notice and hearing the Department
10 determines grant funds were used for unauthorized purposes or
11 obtained through material misrepresentation of fact, the Department
12 may require repayment of all or part of the grant disbursed, plus
13 interest at the rate provided in Section 2357 of Title 68 of the
14 Oklahoma Statutes. The Department shall promulgate rules for
15 repayment procedures pursuant to the Administrative Procedures Act.
16 I. Each recipient of a grant under this section shall provide
17 semiannual reports to the Department that include:
18 1. The total number of household applications;
19 2. The total number of approved households;
20 3. The cost per approved household;
21 4. The annual incomes and occupations of approved households,
22 reported in aggregate form;
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1 5. The economic impact of the talent recruitment program,
2 including state and local tax revenue and new consumer spending, to
3 the extent such information can be reasonably estimated;
4 6. Certification by a certified public accountant or other
5 independent third party acceptable to the Department verifying
6 household relocations through documentation including lease
7 agreements, utility service transfers, or employment records; and
8 7. If total grant funds exceed One Hundred Thousand Dollars
9 ($100,000.00), a financial audit of program expenditures.
10 J. A household shall be eligible to receive incentives under a
11 talent recruitment program funded pursuant to this section if:
12 1. The household resides outside the State of Oklahoma at the
13 time the household applies for incentives;
14 2. The household has an individual household income of at least
15 Fifty-five Thousand Dollars ($55,000.00); and
16 3. The household submits an application to a grant recipient
17 for incentives under the talent recruitment program.
18 K. Beginning two (2) years after the effective date of this
19 section, and every two (2) years thereafter, the Department shall
20 submit a report to the Governor, Speaker of the Oklahoma House of
21 Representatives, and President Pro Tempore of the Oklahoma State
22 Senate evaluating:
23 1. Total grants awarded versus verified household relocations;
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1 2. Actual versus projected state and local tax revenue
2 generated;
3 3. Cost per verified household; and
4 4. Net economic impact.
5 L. The Oklahoma Department of Commerce shall promulgate rules
6 as necessary to implement and administer the provisions of this
7 section pursuant to the Administrative Procedures Act.
8 SECTION 2. NEW LAW A new section of law to be codified
9 in the Oklahoma Statutes as Section 5160.2 of Title 74, unless there
10 is created a duplication in numbering, reads as follows:
11 A. There is hereby created in the State Treasury a revolving
12 fund for the Oklahoma Department of Commerce to be designated the
13 "Oklahoma Talent Attraction and Relocation Revolving Fund".
14 B. The fund shall be a continuing fund, not subject to fiscal
15 year limitations, and shall consist of all monies appropriated by
16 the Legislature for the purposes of the Oklahoma Talent Attraction
17 and Relocation Program, any monies received by the Department from
18 federal funds, gifts, grants, donations, or any other source for the
19 purposes of the Program, and any repayments, refunds, or other
20 amounts received by the Department pursuant to Section 1 of this
21 act.
22 C. All monies accruing to the credit of the fund are hereby
23 appropriated and may be budgeted and expended by the Oklahoma
24 Department of Commerce for the purpose of implementing and
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1 administering the Oklahoma Talent Attraction and Relocation Program,
2 including the award and administration of grants, program
3 evaluation, and related administrative costs.
4 D. Expenditures from the Oklahoma Talent Attraction and
5 Relocation Revolving Fund shall be made upon warrants issued by the
6 State Treasurer against claims filed as prescribed by law with the
7 Director of the Office of Management and Enterprise Services for
8 approval and payment.
9 SECTION 3. This act shall become effective November 1, 2026.
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11 60-2-15178 JM 01/11/26
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Req. No. 15178 Page 7Every fact on this page links to its source, starting with the official bill record.