1 STATE OF OKLAHOMA
1
2 2nd Session of the 59th Legislature (2024)
2
3 SENATE BILL 1526 By: Green
3
4
4
5
5
6 AS INTRODUCED
6
7 An Act relating to forestry administration and
7 enforcement; amending 2 O.S. 2021, Sections 16-2, 16-
8 4, and 16-8, which relate to the Oklahoma Forestry
8 Code; defining terms; modifying definitions;
9 modifying duties of Forestry Division of Oklahoma
9 Department of Agriculture, Food, and Forestry;
10 modifying terms; prohibiting liability for certain
10 activities; amending 2 O.S. 2021, Sections 16-21 and
11 16-28.2, which relate to forest fire prevention;
11 modifying term; modifying prescribed notification
12 area plan form; updating statutory references;
12 updating statutory language; and providing an
13 effective date.
13
14
14
15
15
16 BE IT ENACTED BY THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF OKLAHOMA:
16
17 SECTION 1. AMENDATORY 2 O.S. 2021, Section 16-2, is
17
18 amended to read as follows:
18
19 Section 16-2. As used in the Oklahoma Forestry Code:
19
20 1. “Control line” means a constructed or natural barrier and
20
21 treated fire edge used to control a fire;
21
22 2. “Director” means the Director of Forestry of the Oklahoma
22
23 Department of Agriculture, Food, and Forestry;
23
24
24
Req. No. 2711 Page 1
 1 2. 3. “Division” means the Forestry Division of the Oklahoma
1
2 Department of Agriculture, Food, and Forestry;
2
3 3. 4. “Established property line” means any boundary line
3
4 which has been:
4
5 a. recognized by adjoining land owners as a boundary and
5
6 uncontested for at least fifteen (15) years including,
6
7 but not limited to, fence lines, roads, and natural
7
8 features,
8
9 b. established by a registered land surveyor, or
9
10 c. uncontested for at least fifteen (15) years;
10
11 5. “Fire line” means the actively burning or burned perimeter
11
12 of an uncontrolled wildfire of any size that necessitates the use of
12
13 direct or indirect tactical suppression actions to control the
13
14 wildfire;
14
15 4. 6. “Forest rangers” means all employees of the Forestry
15
16 Division who have responsibilities in forest and natural resource
16
17 protection, including laborers, mechanics, and other employees who
17
18 assist in forest and natural resource protection;
18
19 5. 7. “Forest” means a tract of land that is at least ten
19
20 percent (10%) stocked by trees of any size, whether of commercial or
20
21 noncommercial species, or formerly having tree cover and not
21
22 currently developed for nonforest non-forest use, including
22
23 woodlands, woodlots, windbreaks, and shelterbelts;
23
24
24
Req. No. 2711 Page 2
 1 8. “Hazardous duty” means actions performed on or near the fire
1
2 line required to fight and control wildfires in order to protect
2
3 lives, property, forests, and natural resources as well as functions
3
4 associated with wildland hazardous fuels reduction work to mitigate
4
5 and reduce wildfire threat to lives, property, forests, and natural
5
6 resources;
6
7 6. 9. “Logging or timber harvesting operations” means the
7
8 cutting or harvesting of and removal of timber from a site, leaving
8
9 the root mass intact;
9
10 7. 10. “Owner” means the possessor of a fee interest, a tenant,
10
11 lessee, occupant, or other person in lawful control of land;
11
12 8. 11. “Prescribed burning” means the controlled application of
12
13 fire by the owner or designated agent of croplands, rangelands, or
13
14 forestlands of fire to naturally occurring vegetative fuel under
14
15 specified environmental conditions and following appropriate
15
16 precautionary measures, which causes intended to keep the fire to be
16
17 confined to a predetermined area and accomplish land management
17
18 objectives;
18
19 9. 12. “Timber” means live and dead trees and the profit in
19
20 any live and dead trees including, but not limited to, bark,
20
21 foliage, wood, vines, firewood, crossties, and shrubbery;
21
22 10. 13. “Timber owner” means any person who owns the right to
22
23 cut or harvest timber at the time the timber is to be cut or
23
24 harvested, or who legally owns the severed timber;
24
Req. No. 2711 Page 3
 1 11. 14. “Wildfires” means any fire which is not controlled on
1
2 forests, grasslands, fields, or croplands; and
2
3 12. “Wild lands”
3
4 15. “Wildland” means any undeveloped lands land regardless of
4
5 kind of vegetative plant cover including forests forest, prairies
5
6 prairie, marshes marsh, and swamps swamp; and
6
7 16. “Wildland firefighter” means any forest ranger employed by
7
8 the Forestry Division whose duty to fight wildfires includes
8
9 incident management, fire suppression, and hazardous wildland fuel
9
10 mitigation.
10
11 SECTION 2. AMENDATORY 2 O.S. 2021, Section 16-4, is
11
12 amended to read as follows:
12
13 Section 16-4. It shall be the duty of the State Board of
13
14 Agriculture under terms the Board determines shall best serve the
14
15 public interest to assist and cooperate with federal and state
15
16 departments, educational institutions, counties, towns,
16
17 corporations, or individuals; to gather and disseminate information
17
18 about forests, their care and management; to prevent and extinguish
18
19 wildfires; to enforce all laws pertaining to forests and woodlands
19
20 wildlands; and to monitor the health, inventory, and condition of
20
21 the state’s forest resources.
21
22 SECTION 3. AMENDATORY 2 O.S. 2021, Section 16-8, is
22
23 amended to read as follows:
23
24
24
Req. No. 2711 Page 4
 1 Section 16-8. A. The Forestry Division of the Oklahoma
1
2 Department of Agriculture, Food, and Forestry, in connection with
2
3 the enforcement of the Oklahoma Forestry Code, shall have the
3
4 following powers, authority, and duties:
4
5 1. To enforce the provisions of this code and other forest and
5
6 forest protection laws of this state;
6
7 2. To prevent, mitigate, detect, extinguish suppress, and
7
8 investigate wildfires in this state;
8
9 3. To provide wildfire fighting wildland firefighting crews,
9
10 who shall be under the control and direction of forest rangers and
10
11 other designated agents of the Division;
11
12 4. To appoint district foresters, assistant district foresters,
12
13 investigators, rangers, and other employees;
13
14 5. To use the resources of the Division on state-owned parks
14
15 and other state-administered land to prevent and suppress fires
15
16 wildfires, to mitigate hazardous wildland fuels, and to establish
16
17 fire fighting wildland firefighting crews who shall be authorized to
17
18 suppress fires wildfires on state land;
18
19 6. To be reimbursed on an actual cost basis for all services
19
20 provided to state parks and other land administered by the State of
20
21 Oklahoma this state;
21
22 7. To investigate cases of forest timber theft;
22
23 8. To make available for sale surplus state vehicles directly
23
24 to rural fire departments or municipal fire departments, in cities
24
Req. No. 2711 Page 5
 1 or towns with a population under ten thousand (10,000) population.
1
2 State vehicles may be offered for sale only after approval is given
2
3 in writing by the Office of Management and Enterprise Services and
3
4 an evaluation is made of each vehicle and a price set by the Office
4
5 of Management and Enterprise Services. The Forestry Division may
5
6 only receive the amount authorized by the Office of Management and
6
7 Enterprise Services for the sale of the vehicle;
7
8 9. To purchase equipment from the Rural Fire Defense Equipment
8
9 Revolving Fund’s inventory, when advantageous to the state, and to
9
10 reimburse the Revolving Fund revolving fund; and
10
11 10. To plan and conduct prescribed burning at the request and
11
12 expense of landowners on public or private land for the purpose of
12
13 controlling Eastern Redcedar and other invasive or exotic species,
13
14 for hazardous fuel reduction, wildlife habitat manipulation,
14
15 ecosystem restoration, or achieving silvicultural objectives.
15
16 Forestry Division employees shall be protected under The
16
17 Governmental Tort Claims Act and shall not be personally liable
17
18 beyond the limits established therein for activities pursuant to
18
19 this paragraph unless gross negligence is established in a competent
19
20 court of law.
20
21 B. Forest rangers, and the fire fighting firefighting crews
21
22 under their control and direction, may enter upon any land for the
22
23 purpose of preventing and suppressing wildfires and to enforce the
23
24
24
Req. No. 2711 Page 6
 1 provisions of the Oklahoma Forestry Code and other wildfire and
1
2 forest protection laws of this state.
2
3 C. Forest rangers, employees of the Division, and all persons
3
4 under contract or agreement with the Division to assist in fire
4
5 fighting firefighting operations, as well as persons called upon by
5
6 forest rangers or other authorized employees of the Division to
6
7 assist in fire fighting firefighting under the direction or
7
8 supervision of employees of the Division, may, in the performance of
8
9 their duties, set backfires, dig trenches, cut firelines control
9
10 lines, and carry on all customary activities in the fighting of
10
11 wildfires without incurring liability to any person.
11
12 D. Under the direction of forest rangers and upon written
12
13 receipt of permission consent of the landowner, county officers and
13
14 employees may, in the performance of their duties and without
14
15 incurring liability to any person, cut firelines construct control
15
16 lines and carry out all customary activities for conducting
16
17 prescribed burns to mitigate hazardous wildland fuels for the
17
18 prevention of to prevent wildfires on private lands.
18
19 E. Upon written consent from a landowner or designated agent,
19
20 forest rangers in the performance of their duties and without
20
21 incurring liability to any person, may construct control lines,
21
22 carry out all customary activities for conducting prescribed burns,
22
23 and utilize mechanized equipment to reduce hazardous wildland fuels
23
24 in order to mitigate or reduce the effects of wildfires on lives,
24
Req. No. 2711 Page 7
 1 property, forests, and natural resources on private and public lands
1
2 in this state.
2
3 1. The Director of the Forestry Division may appoint, subject
3
4 to the approval of the State Board of Agriculture, special officers
4
5 who shall have the power and authority to arrest. The special
5
6 officers shall have power and authority throughout the state, under
6
7 the direction and control of the Division, to enforce the criminal
7
8 provisions contained in the Oklahoma Forestry Code, other laws
8
9 relating to forests and wildfires, and the Oklahoma Agricultural
9
10 Code.
10
11 2. The special officers shall have power and authority to make
11
12 arrests with or without warrants for violations of the criminal
12
13 provisions of the Oklahoma Forestry Code, other laws relating to
13
14 forests and wildfires, and the Oklahoma Agricultural Code to the
14
15 same extent and under the same limitations and duties as peace
15
16 officers under the provisions of Title 22, Chapter 3 Chapter 3 of
16
17 Title 22 of the Oklahoma Statutes.
17
18 3. In connection with the enforcement of the criminal
18
19 provisions, the special officers and other state investigators or
19
20 law enforcement officers may go upon all premises when necessary for
20
21 the enforcement of laws. All special officers shall be ex officio
21
22 forest rangers and shall be under the control and direction of the
22
23 Division; except, the Director may at any time, for cause, remove
23
24 any powers and authority of arrest conferred. Special officers
24
Req. No. 2711 Page 8
 1 shall have the same right and authority to carry arms as the
1
2 sheriffs of this state. The compensation of special officers shall
2
3 be fixed and paid by the Division from its funds.
3
4 SECTION 4. AMENDATORY 2 O.S. 2021, Section 16-21, is
4
5 amended to read as follows:
5
6 Section 16-21. The Division shall organize forest protection
6
7 areas to prevent, detect, and suppress wildfires most effectively,
7
8 and may employ forest rangers to have charge of its activities in
8
9 each area; may subdivide each area into patrol areas; may construct
9
10 lookout towers, roads, bridges, firelines control lines, office
10
11 facilities, and communication facilities; may purchase tools for
11
12 firefighting as well as other necessary supplies and equipment; and
12
13 may carry on all activities necessary to protect the area
13
14 effectively from fires.
14
15 SECTION 5. AMENDATORY 2 O.S. 2021, Section 16-28.2, is
15
16 amended to read as follows:
16
17 Section 16-28.2. A. 1. The provisions of this section apply
17
18 to a prescribed burn.
18
19 2. Any owner wishing to set fire to land in order to conduct a
19
20 prescribed burn shall comply with the provisions of this section.
20
21 B. 1. Within sixty (60) days prior to conducting a prescribed
21
22 burn, the owner of the land to be burned shall orally or in writing
22
23 notify all landowners whose lands adjoin the owner’s land to be
23
24 burned.
24
Req. No. 2711 Page 9
 1 2. If any landowner is burning on a large, consolidated tract
1
2 of land in which there are multiple adjacent owners, only those
2
3 owners with adjoining land within one (1) mile of the proposed burn
3
4 area must be notified.
4
5 3. The owner shall include in the written notice or shall
5
6 orally notify the adjoining landowners of the proposed date and
6
7 location of the burn and a telephone number where the owner can be
7
8 reached for information regarding the prescribed burn.
8
9 C. In addition to notification of adjoining property owners
9
10 pursuant to subsection B of this section, the owner of the land to
10
11 be burned shall complete the prescribed burn notification plan
11
12 specified in subsection D of this section and shall submit such plan
12
13 to the rural fire department nearest the land to be burned. If the
13
14 land to be burned is in a protection area, the owner shall also
14
15 submit a copy of the notification plan to the local office or local
15
16 representative of the Forestry Division nearest to the land to be
16
17 burned.
17
18 D. Any person wishing to conduct a prescribed burn shall
18
19 complete this a form, distributed prescribed by the Oklahoma
19
20 Department of Agriculture, Food, and Forestry, which shall be in
20
21 substantially the following form:.
21
22 PRESCRIBED BURN NOTIFICATION PLAN
22
23 Name_______________________________________ Phone____________
23
24 Address_____________________________________ County____________
24
Req. No. 2711 Page 10
 1 City, State, Zip_______________________________________________
1
2 Ranch name, if any_____________________________________________
2
3 Area to be burned______________________________________________
3
4 Approximate acres to be burned_________________________________
4
5 Written distance description of location_______________________
5
6 _______________________________________________________________
6