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
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2 2nd Session of the 60th Legislature (2026)
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3 SENATE BILL 1850 By: Deevers
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6 AS INTRODUCED
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7 An Act relating to labor; creating the Oklahoma
7 Taxpayer and Citizen Protection Act; providing short
8 title; stating legislative findings; defining terms;
8 requiring employers to verify employees upon hiring;
9 preventing certain employers from hiring employees
9 upon failure of verification; requiring records to be
10 kept; authorizing the Office of the Attorney General
10 to conduct investigations; requiring certain
11 reporting system to be created; providing penalties
11 for violation; allowing for appeal of penalties;
12 requiring database to be maintained; preventing
12 employers in violation from certain business;
13 authorizing Attorney General right to entry;
13 requiring certain conditions for entry; providing for
14 codification; and providing an effective date.
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17 BE IT ENACTED BY THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF OKLAHOMA:
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18 SECTION 1. NEW LAW A new section of law to be codified
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19 in the Oklahoma Statutes as Section 521 of Title 40, unless there is
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20 created a duplication in numbering, reads as follows:
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21 A. This act shall be known and may be cited as the "Oklahoma
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22 Taxpayer and Citizen Protection Act".
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23 B. The Legislature finds and declares that:
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Req. No. 3507 Page 1
1 1. The state has a legitimate and compelling interest in
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2 protecting the economic opportunity, wages, and job availability of
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3 its citizens and lawful residents by ensuring that employment within
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4 the state complies with existing federal work authorization laws;
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5 2. Employment verification promotes lawful commerce and fair
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6 competition by discouraging unlawful employment practices and
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7 protecting employers who comply with the law from being
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8 disadvantaged by those who do not;
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9 3. The E-Verify system does not create or maintain a standalone
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10 database of employee information, but instead temporarily compares
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11 information already required for employment eligibility verification
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12 against existing federal records maintained by the Social Security
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13 Administration and, when applicable, the Department of Homeland
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14 Security;
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15 4. E-Verify does not require the collection of new personal
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16 data from employees. The system relies solely on information that
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17 the federal government already possesses by law, including name,
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18 date of birth, Social Security number, and, when applicable, work
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19 authorization documentation, and does not expand the scope of
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20 information required from workers;
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21 5. Information submitted through E-Verify is not retained as
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22 part of a permanent employee profile or database. The system
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23 operates as a real-time verification mechanism and does not increase
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24 federal data retention or surveillance of employees; and
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Req. No. 3507 Page 2
1 6. E-Verify does not disclose additional personal information
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2 to employers. Employers receive only a confirmation or
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3 disconfirmation indicating whether the information provided matches
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4 existing government records and are not given access to underlying
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5 federal databases or any additional employee data.
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6 SECTION 2. NEW LAW A new section of law to be codified
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7 in the Oklahoma Statutes as Section 522 of Title 40, unless there is
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8 created a duplication in numbering, reads as follows:
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9 As used in this act:
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10 1. "Employee" means any person who supplies labor for
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11 remuneration to his or her employer in this state;
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12 2. "Employer" means any person, firm, corporation, partnership,
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13 association, nonprofit organization, or public employer, which has
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14 one or more employees within this state, or which has offered or may
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15 offer employment to one or more individuals in this state;
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16 3. "Employment verification" or "E-Verify" means the electronic
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17 verification system operated by the United States Citizenship and
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18 Immigration Services, or its successor program, as authorized by the
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19 Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act of 1996,
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20 P.L. No. 104-208, 8 U.S.C., Section 1324a; and
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21 4. "Unauthorized worker" means the same as the term
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22 unauthorized alien as defined in 8 U.S.C., Section 1324a(h)(3).
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1 SECTION 3. NEW LAW A new section of law to be codified
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2 in the Oklahoma Statutes as Section 523 of Title 40, unless there is
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3 created a duplication in numbering, reads as follows:
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4 A. Except as otherwise provided in subsection B of this
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5 section, all employers shall:
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6 1. Register and create an E-Verify employer account;
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7 2. After hiring an employee, employ the new employee
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8 provisionally until the new employee's work authorization has been
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9 verified. An employer shall submit a new employee's name and
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10 information for verification even if the new employee's employment
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11 is terminated less than three (3) business days after becoming
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12 employed;
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13 3. Not employ an employee upon notice of failure of
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14 verification from E-Verify; and
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15 4. Keep a record of the verification for the duration of the
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16 employee's employment with the employer or for a minimum of three
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17 (3) years, whichever is longer.
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18 B. An employer shall not be required to comply with the
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19 provisions of subsection A of this section, if:
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20 1. An employee was hired by the employer before the effective
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21 date of this act; or
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22 2. The employer is not required to verify the employee's status
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23 to work pursuant to federal law.
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1 C. An employer shall not employ any employee who is an
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2 unauthorized worker as defined in Section 2 of this act. An
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3 employer shall be in violation of this section upon failure to
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4 follow the provisions of this section.
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5 D. Nothing in this act shall absolve an employer's obligation
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6 to comply with federal immigration laws, including the completion
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7 and maintenance of federal employment verification forms or
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8 documents.
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9 E. An employer who terminates an employee in order to comply
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10 with the provisions of this act shall not be subject to a civil
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11 action for wrongful termination of the employee as otherwise
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12 provided by law.
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13 SECTION 4. NEW LAW A new section of law to be codified
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14 in the Oklahoma Statutes as Section 524 of Title 40, unless there is
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15 created a duplication in numbering, reads as follows:
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16 A. The Office of the Attorney General shall establish a system
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17 for accepting complaints for individuals in violation of Section 3
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18 of this act. The Attorney General shall not require personal
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19 identifying information to be presented on the complaint by the
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20 complainant. A complainant shall submit the complaint to the
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21 Attorney General. The Attorney General shall investigate any
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22 violation alleged in the complaint submitted to the Office of the
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23 Attorney General.
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1 1. At his or her discretion, the Attorney General may
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2 investigate a complaint submitted by an anonymous complainant.
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3 2. The Office of the Attorney General shall not investigate any
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4 complaint filed based on race, color, national origin, or any other
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5 discriminatory factors as may be prescribed in Section 1301 et seq.
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6 of Title 25 of the Oklahoma Statutes.
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7 B. If the Office of the Attorney General conducts an
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8 investigation pursuant to this section and determines that
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9 reasonable evidence exists that an employer violated the provisions
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10 of this act, the Attorney General shall:
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11 1. Provide notice of the alleged violation to the employer and
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12 provide the employer with an opportunity to comment;
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13 2. For a first violation or a violation involving a single
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14 unauthorized worker, issue a formal warning letter to the employer
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15 and cease the investigation upon determination by the Attorney
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16 General that the employer presented proof of correction;
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17 3. For a second violation or a violation involving two or more
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18 unauthorized workers, order the employer to pay a fine of Two
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19 Thousand Five Hundred Dollars ($2,500.00) per violation; and
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20 4. For a third or subsequent violation, order the employer to
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21 pay a fine of Five Thousand Dollars ($5,000.00) per violation and
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22 institute proceedings before a court to suspend or revoke any
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23 licenses issued by the state to the employer.
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1 C. An employer assessed a fine pursuant to this section may
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2 appeal the determination in court but shall pay an appeal bond equal
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3 to the amount of the fine being appealed. If the employer is found
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4 successful in his or her appeal by the court, the bond shall be
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5 released, and the violation shall not be recorded.
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6 D. The Attorney General shall bring proper action against an
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7 employer who fails to pay the fine or fails to appeal the assessment
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8 pursuant to this act. If a court determines that the employer is
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9 liable, the court may assess a fine greater than previously assessed
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10 by the Office of the Attorney General.
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11 E. The Office of the Attorney General shall coordinate with any
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12 applicable agency to maintain a database of employers licensed in
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13 this state that were assessed a fine pursuant to this section. An
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14 employer shall remain in the database for a minimum of one (1) year,
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15 and during that period, the employer shall not be eligible to bid
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16 for or participate in any state contract. After the one-year
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17 period, the employer shall be eligible to bid for and participate in
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18 state contracts following submission by the employer to the Office
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19 of the Attorney General of a sworn affidavit that one (1) year or
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20 more has elapsed since the violation occurred and that the employer
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21 has not violated any provisions of this act during that period.
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22 F. The Attorney General, or his or her inspectors, agents, or
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23 designees, upon proper presentation of credentials to the owner,
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24 manager, or agent of the employer, may enter at reasonable times and
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Req. No. 3507 Page 7
1 have the right to question either publicly or privately any
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2 employer, owner, manager, agent of the employer, or employees of the
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3 employer and inspect, investigate, reproduce, or photograph any
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4 records relevant to determining compliance with the provisions of
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5 this act. The Attorney General, or his or her inspectors, agents,
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6 or designees, shall be required to obtain a warrant or subpoena and
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7 provide proper notice to the owner, manager, or agent of the
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8 employer prior to entry to the premises or access to records
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9 relevant to the areas under investigation pursuant to this
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10 subsection. Access to the premises and documentation shall be
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11 limited to the records and areas under investigation pursuant to
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12 violations of this act.
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13 SECTION 5. NEW LAW A new section of law to be codified
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14 in the Oklahoma Statutes as Section 525 of Title 40, unless there is
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15 created a duplication in numbering, reads as follows:
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16 No city, town, or municipality shall enact an ordinance or
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17 policy, whether written or oral, that limits or otherwise impedes
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18 the efforts of the Office of the Attorney General to enforce the
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19 provisions of this act.
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20 SECTION 6. This act shall become effective November 1, 2026.
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22 60-2-3507 TEK 1/15/2026 12:06:54 AM
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Req. No. 3507 Page 8Every fact on this page links to its source, starting with the official bill record.