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1 STATE OF OKLAHOMA
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2 2nd Session of the 60th Legislature (2026)
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3 SENATE BILL 1532 By: Hines
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6 AS INTRODUCED
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7 An Act relating to the Oklahoma Open Records Act;
7 amending 51 O.S. 2021, Sections 24A.5, as last
8 amended by Section 2, Chapter 404, O.S.L. 2025, and
8 24A.7, as amended by Section 2, Chapter 307, O.S.L.
9 2022 (51 O.S. Supp. 2025, Sections 24A.5 and 24A.7),
9 which relate to inspection and reproduction of
10 records and personnel records; authorizing public
10 bodies to require the full name and contact
11 information of requestors; authorizing public bodies
11 to keep timekeeping and badge entrance information
12 confidential; updating statutory reference; updating
12 statutory language; making language gender neutral;
13 and providing an effective date.
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16 BE IT ENACTED BY THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF OKLAHOMA:
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17 SECTION 1. AMENDATORY 51 O.S. 2021, Section 24A.5, as
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18 last amended by Section 2, Chapter 404, O.S.L. 2025 (51 O.S. Supp.
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19 2025, Section 24A.5), is amended to read as follows:
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20 Section 24A.5. All records of public bodies and public
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21 officials shall be open to any person for inspection, copying, or
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22 mechanical reproduction during regular business hours; provided:
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1 1. The Oklahoma Open Records Act, Sections 24A.1 through 24A.34
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2 24A.40 of this title, does not apply to records specifically
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3 required by law to be kept confidential including:
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4 a. records protected by a state evidentiary privilege
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5 such as the attorney-client privilege, the work
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6 product immunity from discovery and the identity of
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7 informer privileges,
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8 b. records of what transpired during meetings of a public
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9 body lawfully closed to the public such as executive
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10 sessions authorized under the Oklahoma Open Meeting
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11 Act,
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12 c. personal information within driver records as defined
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13 by the Driver's Privacy Protection Act, 18 U.S.C.,
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14 Sections 2721 through 2725,
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15 d. information in the files of the Board of Medicolegal
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16 Investigations obtained pursuant to Sections 940 and
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17 941 of Title 63 of the Oklahoma Statutes that may be
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18 hearsay, preliminary unsubstantiated investigation-
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19 related findings, or confidential medical information,
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20 e. any test forms, question banks, and answer keys
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21 developed for state licensure examinations, but
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22 specifically excluding test preparation materials or
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23 study guides,
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1 f. last names, addresses, Social Security numbers or tax
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2 identification numbers, and proof of identification
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3 submitted to the Oklahoma Lottery Commission by
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4 persons claiming a lottery prize,
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5 g. unless public disclosure is required by other laws or
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6 regulations, vehicle movement records of the Oklahoma
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7 Transportation Turnpike Authority obtained in
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8 connection with the Authority's electronic toll
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9 collection system,
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10 h. personal financial information, credit reports, or
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11 other financial data obtained by or submitted to a
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12 public body for the purpose of evaluating credit
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13 worthiness, obtaining a license, permit, or for the
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14 purpose of becoming qualified to contract with a
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15 public body,
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16 i. any digital audio/video audio or video recordings of
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17 the toll collection and safeguarding activities of the
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18 Oklahoma Transportation Turnpike Authority,
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19 j. any personal information provided by a guest at any
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20 facility owned or operated by the Oklahoma Tourism and
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21 Recreation Department to obtain any service at the
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22 facility or by a purchaser of a product sold by or
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23 through the Oklahoma Tourism and Recreation
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24 Department,
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1 k. a United States Department of Defense Form 214 (DD
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2 Form 214) filed with a county clerk, including any DD
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3 Form 214 filed before July 1, 2002,
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4 l. except as provided for in Section 2-110 of Title 47 of
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5 the Oklahoma Statutes:
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6 (1) any record in connection with a Motor Vehicle
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7 Report issued by the Department of Public Safety,
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8 as prescribed in Section 6-117 of Title 47 of the
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9 Oklahoma Statutes, or
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10 (2) personal information within driver records, as
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11 defined by the Driver's Privacy Protection Act,
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12 18 U.S.C., Sections 2721 through 2725, which are
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13 stored and maintained by the Department of Public
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14 Safety,
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15 m. any portion of any document or information provided to
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16 an agency or entity of the state or a political
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17 subdivision to obtain licensure under the laws of this
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18 state or a political subdivision that contains an
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19 applicant's personal address, personal phone number,
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20 personal email address, any government-issued
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21 identification numbers, or other contact information;
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22 provided, however, lists of persons licensed, the
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23 existence of a license of a person, or a business or
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24 commercial address, or other business or commercial
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1 information disclosable under state law submitted with
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2 an application for licensure shall be public record,
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3 unless the business or commercial address is the same
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4 as the applicant's personal address, except when the
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5 applicant permits in writing the disclosure of the
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6 address,
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7 n. an investigative file obtained during an investigation
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8 conducted by the State Department of Health into
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9 violations of the Long-Term Care Administrator
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10 Licensing Act under Title 63 of the Oklahoma Statutes,
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11 or
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12 o. documents, evidence, materials, records, reports,
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13 complaints, or other information in the possession or
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14 control of the Attorney General or Insurance
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15 Department pertaining to an evaluation, examination,
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16 investigation, or review made pursuant to the
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17 provisions of the Patient's Right to Pharmacy Choice
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18 Act, the Pharmacy Audit Integrity Act, or Sections 357
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19 through 360 of Title 59 of the Oklahoma Statutes;
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20 2. All Social Security numbers included in a record may be
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21 confidential regardless of the person's status as a public employee
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22 or private individual and may be redacted or deleted prior to
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23 release of the record by the public body;
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1 3. Any reasonably segregable portion of a record containing
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2 exempt material shall be provided after deletion of the exempt
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3 portions; provided, however, the Department of Public Safety shall
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4 not be required to assemble for the requesting person specific
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5 information, in any format, from driving records relating to any
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6 person whose name and date of birth or whose driver license number
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7 is not furnished by the requesting person.
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8 The Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation shall not be required
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9 to assemble for the requesting person any criminal history records
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10 relating to persons whose names, dates of birth, and other
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11 identifying information required by the Oklahoma State Bureau of
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12 Investigation pursuant to administrative rule are not furnished by
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13 the requesting person;
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14 4. Any request for a record which contains individual records
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15 of persons, and the cost of copying, reproducing or certifying each
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16 individual record is otherwise prescribed by state law, the cost may
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17 be assessed for each individual record, or portion thereof requested
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18 as prescribed by state law. Otherwise, a public body may charge a
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19 fee only for recovery of the reasonable, direct costs of record
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20 copying, or mechanical reproduction. Notwithstanding any state or
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21 local provision to the contrary, in no instance shall the record
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22 copying fee exceed twenty-five cents ($0.25) per page for records
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23 having the dimensions of eight and one-half (8 1/2) by fourteen (14)
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1 inches or smaller, or a maximum of One Dollar ($1.00) per copied
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2 page for a certified copy. However, if the request:
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3 a. is solely for commercial purpose, or
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4 b. would clearly cause excessive disruption of the
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5 essential functions of the public body,
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6 then the public body may charge a reasonable fee to recover the
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7 direct cost of record search and copying; however, publication in a
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8 newspaper or broadcast by news media for news purposes shall not
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9 constitute a resale or use of a record for trade or commercial
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10 purpose and charges for providing copies of electronic data to the
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11 news media for a news purpose shall not exceed the direct cost of
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12 making the copy. The fee charged by the Department of Public Safety
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13 for a copy in a computerized format of a record of the Department
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14 shall not exceed the direct cost of making the copy unless the fee
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15 for the record is otherwise set by law. A public body may require
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16 advance payment of the estimated fees authorized under this section
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17 when the estimated cost exceeds Seventy-five Dollars ($75.00) or if
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18 the requestor has outstanding fees from previous requests. Any
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19 portion of an advance payment that exceeds the costs of responding
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20 to the request shall be returned to the requestor.
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21 Any public body establishing fees under the Oklahoma Open
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22 Records Act shall post a written schedule of the fees at its
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23 principal office and with the county clerk.
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1 In no case shall a search fee be charged when the release of
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2 records is in the public interest, including, but not limited to,
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3 release to the news media, scholars, authors and taxpayers seeking
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4 to determine whether those entrusted with the affairs of the
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5 government are honestly, faithfully, and competently performing
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6 their duties as public servants.
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7 The fees shall not be used for the purpose of discouraging
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8 requests for information or as obstacles to disclosure of requested
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9 information;
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10 5. The land description tract index of all recorded instruments
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11 concerning real property required to be kept by the county clerk of
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12 any county shall be available for inspection or copying in
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13 accordance with the provisions of the Oklahoma Open Records Act;
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14 provided, however, the index shall not be copied or mechanically
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15 reproduced for the purpose of sale of the information;
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16 6. A public body must provide prompt, reasonable access to its
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17 records but may establish reasonable procedures which protect the
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18 integrity and organization of its records and to prevent excessive
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19 disruptions of its essential functions. A delay in providing access
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20 to records shall be limited solely to the time required for
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21 preparing the requested documents and the avoidance of excessive
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22 disruptions of the public body's essential functions. In no event
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23 may production of a current request for records be unreasonably
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24 delayed until after completion of a prior records request that will
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1 take substantially longer than the current request. Any public body
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2 which makes the requested records available on the Internet shall
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3 meet the obligation of providing prompt, reasonable access to its
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4 records as required by this paragraph;
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5 7. A public body may require a requestor to complete a records
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6 request form that includes the full name and contact information of
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7 the requestor. If a records request does not describe the requested
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8 records with reasonable specificity, a public body may ask the
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9 requestor to clarify the request. To have reasonable specificity, a
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10 request shall:
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11 a. specify a general time frame within which the
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12 requested records would have been created or
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13 transmitted,
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14 b. seek identifiable records, rather than general
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15 information without any qualifiers or other
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16 specifications, and
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17 c. include search terms that are sufficiently specific to
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18 assist the public body in identifying the requested
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19 records.
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20 If a public body has engaged with the requestor to seek the
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21 information needed to fulfill the request and to identify the
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22 records sought by the requestor, including providing the requestor
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23 with general topics or a specific list of records related to the
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1 request, the request may be denied if it is still not reasonably
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2 specific; and
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3 8. A public body shall designate certain persons who are
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4 authorized to release records of the public body for inspection,
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5 copying, or mechanical reproduction. At least one person shall be
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6 available at all times to release records during the regular
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7 business hours of the public body.
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8 SECTION 2. AMENDATORY 51 O.S. 2021, Section 24A.7, as
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9 amended by Section 2, Chapter 307, O.S.L. 2022 (51 O.S. Supp. 2025,
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10 Section 24A.7), is amended to read as follows:
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11 Section 24A.7. A. At the sole discretion of the public body, a
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12 public body may keep personnel records confidential:
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13 1. Which relate to internal personnel investigations including
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14 examination and selection material for employment, hiring,
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15 appointment, promotion, demotion, discipline, or resignation; or
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16 2. Where disclosure would constitute a clearly unwarranted
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17 invasion of personal privacy such as employee evaluations, payroll
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18 deductions, timekeeping and badge entrance information, employment
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19 applications submitted by persons not hired by the public body, and
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20 transcripts from institutions of higher education maintained in the
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21 personnel files of certified public school employees; provided,
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22 however, that nothing in this subsection shall be construed to
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23 exempt from disclosure the degree obtained and the curriculum on the
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24 transcripts of certified public school employees.
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1 B. All personnel records not specifically falling within the
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2 exceptions provided in subsection A or D of this section shall be
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3 available for public inspection and copying including, but not
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4 limited to, records of:
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5 1. An employment application of a person who becomes a public
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6 official;
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7 2. The gross receipts of public funds;
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8 3. The dates of employment, title or position; and
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9 4. Any final disciplinary action resulting in loss of pay,
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10 suspension, demotion of position or termination.
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11 C. Except as may otherwise be made confidential by statute, an
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12 employee of a public body shall have a right of access to his or her
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13 own personnel file.
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14 D. The home addresses, home telephone numbers, Social Security
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15 numbers, private email addresses, and private mobile phone numbers
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16 of current and former public employees shall not be open to public
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17 inspection or disclosure; provided, however, that nothing in this
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18 subsection shall be construed to exempt from disclosure public
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19 records created using a private email address or private mobile
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20 phone.
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21 E. Except as otherwise required by Section 6-101.16 of Title 70
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22 of the Oklahoma Statutes, public bodies shall keep confidential all
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23 records created pursuant to the Oklahoma Teacher and Leader
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24 Effectiveness Evaluation System (TLE) which identify a current or
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1 former public employee and contain any evaluation, observation or
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2 other TLE record of such employee.
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3 SECTION 3. This act shall become effective November 1, 2026.
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Req. No. 3550 Page 12Every fact on this page links to its source, starting with the official bill record.