1 STATE OF OKLAHOMA
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2 1st Session of the 59th Legislature (2023)
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3 SENATE BILL 742 By: Pederson
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6 AS INTRODUCED
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7 An Act relating to ad valorem tax; amending 68 O.S.
7 2021, Section 3102, which relates to notice of
8 delinquency for taxes on personal property; requiring
8 request and submission to the county treasurer of the
9 listing of assets as reported by the delinquent
9 taxpayer after certain notice; requiring
10 confidentiality; providing exception to inspection
10 under the Oklahoma Open Records Act; amending 51 O.S.
11 2021, Section 24A.5, which relates to the Oklahoma
11 Open Records Act; providing exception; and providing
12 an effective date.
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14 BE IT ENACTED BY THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF OKLAHOMA:
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15 SECTION 1. AMENDATORY 68 O.S. 2021, Section 3102, is
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16 amended to read as follows:
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17 Section 3102. A. Except for periods governed by the provisions
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18 of subsection C of Section 3148 of this title, within sixty (60)
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19 days after taxes on personal property shall become delinquent as of
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20 April 1, the county treasurer shall mail notice to the last-known
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21 address of such delinquent taxpayer and cause a general notice to be
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22 published one time in some newspaper of general circulation,
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23 published in the county, giving the name of each person owing
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24 delinquent personal property taxes, stating the amount thereof due,
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 1 and stating that such delinquent personal property taxes, within
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2 thirty (30) days from date of this publication, shall be placed on a
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3 personal property tax lien docket in the office of the county
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4 treasurer and the homestead exemption of such taxpayer shall be
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5 canceled pursuant to Section 2892 of this title. Such liens are
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6 superior to all other liens, conveyances or encumbrances filed
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7 subsequent thereto, on real or personal property. The tax lien
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8 shall be a lien on all real and personal property of the taxpayer in
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9 the county for a period of seven (7) years, except as otherwise
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10 provided in subsection B of Section 3103 of this title. From and
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11 after the entry of the tax upon the tax lien docket, any person
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12 claiming any interest in any land or personal property can sue the
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13 county treasurer and board of county commissioners in the district
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14 court to determine the validity or priority of the lien.
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15 B. Upon providing notice to the delinquent taxpayer, the county
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16 treasurer shall request, and the county assessor shall submit to the
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17 county treasurer, the listing of assets reported by the delinquent
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18 taxpayer. The information submitted pursuant to this subsection
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19 shall be protected as confidential by the county treasurer and shall
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20 not be available for inspection under the Oklahoma Open Records Act.
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21 SECTION 2. AMENDATORY 51 O.S. 2021, Section 24A.5, is
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22 amended to read as follows:
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 1 Section 24A.5. All records of public bodies and public
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2 officials shall be open to any person for inspection, copying, or
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3 mechanical reproduction during regular business hours; provided:
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4 1. The Oklahoma Open Records Act, Sections 24A.1 through 24A.30
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5 of this title, does not apply to records specifically required by
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6 law to be kept confidential including:
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7 a. records protected by a state evidentiary privilege
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8 such as the attorney-client privilege, the work
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9 product immunity from discovery and the identity of
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10 informer privileges,
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11 b. records of what transpired during meetings of a public
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12 body lawfully closed to the public such as executive
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13 sessions authorized under the Oklahoma Open Meeting
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14 Act,
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15 c. personal information within driver records as defined
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16 by the Driver’s Privacy Protection Act, 18 United
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17 States Code, Sections 2721 through 2725,
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18 d. information in the files of the Board of Medicolegal
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19 Investigations obtained pursuant to Sections 940 and
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20 941 of Title 63 of the Oklahoma Statutes that may be
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21 hearsay, preliminary unsubstantiated investigation-
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22 related findings, or confidential medical information,
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23 or
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 1 e. any test forms, question banks and answer keys
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2 developed for state licensure examinations, but
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3 specifically excluding test preparation materials or
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4 study guides, or
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5 f. information submitted to the county treasurer pursuant
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6 to subsection B of Section 3102 of Title 68 of the
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7 Oklahoma Statutes;
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8 2. All Social Security numbers included in a record may be
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9 confidential regardless of the person’s status as a public employee
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10 or private individual and may be redacted or deleted prior to
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11 release of the record by the public body;
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12 3. Any reasonably segregable portion of a record containing
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13 exempt material shall be provided after deletion of the exempt
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14 portions; provided however, the Department of Public Safety shall
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15 not be required to assemble for the requesting person specific
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16 information, in any format, from driving records relating to any
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17 person whose name and date of birth or whose driver license number
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18 is not furnished by the requesting person.
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19 The Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation shall not be required
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20 to assemble for the requesting person any criminal history records
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21 relating to persons whose names, dates of birth, and other
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22 identifying information required by the Oklahoma State Bureau of
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23 Investigation pursuant to administrative rule are not furnished by
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24 the requesting person;
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 1 4. Any request for a record which contains individual records
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2 of persons, and the cost of copying, reproducing or certifying each
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3 individual record is otherwise prescribed by state law, the cost may
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4 be assessed for each individual record, or portion thereof requested
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5 as prescribed by state law. Otherwise, a public body may charge a
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6 fee only for recovery of the reasonable, direct costs of record
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7 copying, or mechanical reproduction. Notwithstanding any state or
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8 local provision to the contrary, in no instance shall the record
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9 copying fee exceed twenty-five cents ($0.25) per page for records
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10 having the dimensions of eight and one-half (8 1/2) by fourteen (14)
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11 inches or smaller, or a maximum of One Dollar ($1.00) per copied
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12 page for a certified copy. However, if the request:
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13 a. is solely for commercial purpose, or
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14 b. would clearly cause excessive disruption of the
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15 essential functions of the public body,
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16 then the public body may charge a reasonable fee to recover the
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17 direct cost of record search and copying; however, publication in a
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18 newspaper or broadcast by news media for news purposes shall not
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19 constitute a resale or use of a record for trade or commercial
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20 purpose and charges for providing copies of electronic data to the
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21 news media for a news purpose shall not exceed the direct cost of
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22 making the copy. The fee charged by the Department of Public Safety
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23 for a copy in a computerized format of a record of the Department
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 1 shall not exceed the direct cost of making the copy unless the fee
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2 for the record is otherwise set by law.
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3 Any public body establishing fees under this act shall post a
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4 written schedule of the fees at its principal office and with the
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5 county clerk.
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6 In no case shall a search fee be charged when the release of
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7 records is in the public interest, including, but not limited to,
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8 release to the news media, scholars, authors and taxpayers seeking
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9 to determine whether those entrusted with the affairs of the
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10 government are honestly, faithfully, and competently performing
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11 their duties as public servants.
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12 The fees shall not be used for the purpose of discouraging
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13 requests for information or as obstacles to disclosure of requested
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14 information;
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15 5. The land description tract index of all recorded instruments
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16 concerning real property required to be kept by the county clerk of
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17 any county shall be available for inspection or copying in
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18 accordance with the provisions of the Oklahoma Open Records Act;
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19 provided, however, the index shall not be copied or mechanically
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20 reproduced for the purpose of sale of the information;
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21 6. A public body must provide prompt, reasonable access to its
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22 records but may establish reasonable procedures which protect the
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23 integrity and organization of its records and to prevent excessive
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24 disruptions of its essential functions. A delay in providing access
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 1 to records shall be limited solely to the time required for
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2 preparing the requested documents and the avoidance of excessive
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3 disruptions of the public body’s essential functions. In no event
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4 may production of a current request for records be unreasonably
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5 delayed until after completion of a prior records request that will
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6 take substantially longer than the current request. Any public body
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7 which makes the requested records available on the Internet shall
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8 meet the obligation of providing prompt, reasonable access to its
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9 records as required by this paragraph; and
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10 7. A public body shall designate certain persons who are
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11 authorized to release records of the public body for inspection,
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12 copying, or mechanical reproduction. At least one person shall be
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13 available at all times to release records during the regular
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14 business hours of the public body.
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15 SECTION 3. This act shall become effective November 1, 2023.
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17 59-1-1163 QD 1/18/2023 5:08:45 PM
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