1 STATE OF OKLAHOMA
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2 2nd Session of the 59th Legislature (2024)
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3 HOUSE BILL 3192 By: Newton
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6 AS INTRODUCED
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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.
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16 BE IT ENACTED BY THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF OKLAHOMA:
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17 SECTION 1. AMENDATORY 2 O.S. 2021, Section 16-2, is
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18 amended to read as follows:
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19 Section 16-2. 1. "Control line" means a constructed or natural
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20 barrier and treated fire edge used to control a fire;
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21 2. "Director" means the Director of Forestry of the Oklahoma
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22 Department of Agriculture, Food, and Forestry;
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23 2. 3. "Division" means the Forestry Division of the Oklahoma
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24 Department of Agriculture, Food, and Forestry;
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 1 3. 4. "Established property line" means any boundary line which
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2 has been:
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3 a. recognized by adjoining land owners as a boundary and
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4 uncontested for at least fifteen (15) years including,
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5 but not limited to, fence lines, roads, and natural
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6 features,
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7 b. established by a registered land surveyor, or
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8 c. uncontested for at least fifteen (15) years;
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9 5. "Fire line" means the actively burning or burned perimeter
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10 of an uncontrolled wildfire of any size that necessitates the use of
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11 direct or indirect tactical suppression actions to control the
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12 wildfire;
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13 4. 6. "Forest rangers" means all employees of the Forestry
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14 Division who have responsibilities in forest and natural resource
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15 protection, including laborers, mechanics, and other employees who
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16 assist in forest and natural resource protection;
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17 5. 7. "Forest" means a tract of land that is at least ten
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18 percent (10%) stocked by trees of any size, whether of commercial or
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19 noncommercial species, or formerly having tree cover and not
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20 currently developed for nonforest non-forest use, including
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21 woodlands, woodlots, windbreaks, and shelterbelts;
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22 8. "Hazardous duty" means actions performed on or near the fire
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23 line required to fight and control wildfires in order to protect
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24 lives, property, forests, and natural resources as well as functions
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 1 associated with wildland hazardous fuels reduction work to mitigate
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2 and reduce wildfire threat to lives, property, forests, and natural
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3 resources;
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4 6. 9. "Logging or timber harvesting operations" means the
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5 cutting or harvesting of and removal of timber from a site, leaving
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6 the root mass intact;
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7 7. 10. "Owner" means the possessor of a fee interest, a tenant,
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8 lessee, occupant, or other person in lawful control of land;
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9 8. 11. "Prescribed burning" means the controlled application of
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10 fire by the owner or designated agent of croplands, rangelands, or
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11 forestlands of fire to naturally occurring vegetative fuel under
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12 specified environmental conditions and following appropriate
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13 precautionary measures, which causes intend to keep the fire to be
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14 confined to a predetermined area and accomplish land management
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15 objectives;
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16 9. 12. "Timber" means live and dead trees and the profit in any
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17 live and dead trees including, but not limited to, bark, foliage,
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18 wood, vines, firewood, crossties, and shrubbery;
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19 10. 13. "Timber owner" means any person who owns the right to
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20 cut or harvest timber at the time the timber is to be cut or
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21 harvested, or who legally owns the severed timber;
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22 11. 14. "Wildfires" means any fire which is not controlled on
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23 forests, grasslands, fields, or croplands; and
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 1 12. 15. "Wild lands" "Wildland" means any undeveloped lands
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2 land regardless of kind of vegetative plant cover including forests,
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3 prairies, marshes, and swamps forest, prairie, marsh, and swamp;
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4 and.
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5 16. "Wildland firefighter" means any forest ranger employed by
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6 the Forestry Division whose duty to fight wildfires includes
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7 incident management, fire suppression, and hazardous wildland fuel
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8 mitigation.
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9 SECTION 2. AMENDATORY 2 O.S. 2021, Section 16-4, is
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10 amended to read as follows:
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11 Section 16-4. It shall be the duty of the State Board of
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12 Agriculture under terms the Board determines shall best serve the
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13 public interest to assist and cooperate with federal and state
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14 departments, educational institutions, counties, towns,
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15 corporations, or individuals; to gather and disseminate information
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16 about forests, their care and management; to prevent and extinguish
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17 wildfires; to enforce all laws pertaining to forests and woodlands
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18 wildlands; and to monitor the health, inventory, and condition of
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19 the state's forest resources.
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20 SECTION 3. AMENDATORY 2 O.S. 2021, Section 16-8, is
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21 amended to read as follows:
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22 Section 16-8. A. The Forestry Division of the Oklahoma
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23 Department of Agriculture, Food, and Forestry, in connection with
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 1 the enforcement of the Oklahoma Forestry Code, shall have the
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2 following powers, authority, and duties:
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3 1. To enforce the provisions of this code and other forest and
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4 forest protection laws of this state;
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5 2. To prevent, mitigate, detect, extinguish suppress, and
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6 investigate wildfires in this state;
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7 3. To provide wildfire fighting wildland firefighting crews,
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8 who shall be under the control and direction of forest rangers and
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9 other designated agents of the Division;
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10 4. To appoint district foresters, assistant district foresters,
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11 investigators, rangers, and other employees;
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12 5. To use the resources of the Division on state-owned parks
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13 and other state-administered land to prevent and suppress fires
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14 wildfires, to mitigate hazardous wildland fuels, and to establish
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15 fire fighting wildland firefighting crews who shall be authorized to
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16 suppress fires wildfires on state land;
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17 6. To be reimbursed on an actual cost basis for all services
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18 provided to state parks and other land administered by the State of
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19 Oklahoma;
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20 7. To investigate cases of forest timber theft;
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21 8. To make available for sale surplus state vehicles directly
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22 to rural fire departments or municipal fire departments, in cities
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23 or towns under ten thousand (10,000) population. State vehicles may
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24 be offered for sale only after approval is given in writing by the
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 1 Office of Management and Enterprise Services and an evaluation is
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2 made of each vehicle and a price set by the Office of Management and
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3 Enterprise Services. The Forestry Division may only receive the
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4 amount authorized by the Office of Management and Enterprise
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5 Services for the sale of the vehicle;
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6 9. To purchase equipment from the Rural Fire Defense Equipment
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7 Revolving Fund's inventory, when advantageous to the state, and to
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8 reimburse the Revolving Fund; and
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9 10. To plan and conduct prescribed burning at the request and
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10 expense of landowners on public or private land for the purpose of
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11 controlling Eastern Redcedar and other invasive or exotic species,
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12 for hazardous fuel reduction, wildlife habitat manipulation,
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13 ecosystem restoration, or achieving silvicultural objectives.
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14 Forestry Division employees shall be protected under The
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15 Governmental Tort Claims Act and shall not be personally liable
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16 beyond the limits established therein for activities pursuant to
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17 this paragraph unless gross negligence is established in a competent
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18 court of law.
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19 B. Forest rangers, and the fire fighting firefighting crews
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20 under their control and direction, may enter upon any land for the
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21 purpose of preventing and suppressing wildfires and to enforce the
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22 provisions of the Oklahoma Forestry Code and other wildfire and
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23 forest protection laws of this state.
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 1 C. Forest rangers, employees of the Division, and all persons
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2 under contract or agreement with the Division to assist in fire
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3 fighting firefighting operations, as well as persons called upon by
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4 forest rangers or other authorized employees of the Division to
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5 assist in fire fighting firefighting under the direction or
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6 supervision of employees of the Division, may, in the performance of
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7 their duties, set backfires, dig trenches, cut firelines control
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8 lines, and carry on all customary activities in the fighting of
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9 wildfires without incurring liability to any person.
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10 D. Under the direction of forest rangers and upon written
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11 receipt of permission consent of the landowner, county officers and
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12 employees may, in the performance of their duties and without
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13 incurring liability to any person, cut firelines construct control
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14 lines and carry out all customary activities for conducting
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15 prescribed burns to mitigate hazardous wildland fuels for the
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16 prevention of to prevent wildfires on private lands.
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17 E. Upon written consent from a landowner or designated agent,
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18 forest rangers in the performance of their duties and without
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19 incurring liability to any person, may construct control lines,
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20 carry out all customary activities for conducting prescribed burns,
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21 and utilize mechanized equipment to reduce hazardous wildland fuels
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22 in order to mitigate or reduce the effects of wildfires on lives,
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23 property, forests, and natural resources on private and public lands
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24 in this state.
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 1 1. The Director of the Forestry Division may appoint, subject
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2 to the approval of the State Board of Agriculture, special officers
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3 who shall have the power and authority to arrest. The special
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4 officers shall have power and authority throughout the state, under
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5 the direction and control of the Division, to enforce the criminal
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6 provisions contained in the Oklahoma Forestry Code, other laws
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7 relating to forests and wildfires and the Oklahoma Agricultural
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8 Code.
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9 2. The special officers shall have power and authority to make
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10 arrests with or without warrants for violations of the criminal
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11 provisions of the Oklahoma Forestry Code, other laws relating to
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12 forests and wildfires and the Oklahoma Agricultural Code to the same
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13 extent and under the same limitations and duties as peace officers
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14 under the provisions of Title 22, Chapter 3 Chapter 3 of Title 22 of
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15 the Oklahoma Statutes.
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16 3. In connection with the enforcement of the criminal
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17 provisions, the special officers and other state investigators or
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18 law enforcement officers may go upon all premises when necessary for
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19 the enforcement of laws. All special officers shall be ex officio
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20 forest rangers and shall be under the control and direction of the
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21 Division; except, the Director may at any time, for cause, remove
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22 any powers and authority of arrest conferred. Special officers
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23 shall have the same right and authority to carry arms as the
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 1 sheriffs of this state. The compensation of special officers shall
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2 be fixed and paid by the Division from its funds.
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3 SECTION 4. AMENDATORY 2 O.S. 2021, Section 16-21, is
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4 amended to read as follows:
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5 Section 16-21. The Division shall organize forest protection
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6 areas to prevent, detect, and suppress wildfires most effectively,
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7 and may employ forest rangers to have charge of its activities in
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8 each area; may subdivide each area into patrol areas; may construct
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9 lookout towers, roads, bridges, firelines control lines, office
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10 facilities, and communication facilities; may purchase tools for
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11 firefighting as well as other necessary supplies and equipment; and
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12 may carry on all activities necessary to protect the area
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13 effectively from fires.
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14 SECTION 5. AMENDATORY 2 O.S. 2021, Section 16-28.2, is
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15 amended to read as follows:
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16 Section 16-28.2 A. 1. The provisions of this section apply to
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17 a prescribed burn.
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18 2. Any owner wishing to set fire to land in order to conduct a
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19 prescribed burn shall comply with the provisions of this section.
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20 B. 1. Within sixty (60) days prior to conducting a prescribed
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21 burn, the owner of the land to be burned shall orally or in writing
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22 notify all landowners whose lands adjoin the owner's land to be
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23 burned.
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 1 2. If any landowner is burning on a large, consolidated tract
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2 of land in which there are multiple adjacent owners, only those
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3 owners with adjoining land within one (1) mile of the proposed burn
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4 area must be notified.
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5 3. The owner shall include in the written notice or shall
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6 orally notify the adjoining landowners of the proposed date and
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7 location of the burn and a telephone number where the owner can be
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8 reached for information regarding the prescribed burn.
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9 C. In addition to notification of adjoining property owners
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10 pursuant to subsection B of this section, the owner of the land to
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11 be burned shall complete the prescribed burn notification plan
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12 specified in subsection D of this section and shall submit such plan
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13 to the rural fire department nearest the land to be burned. If the
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14 land to be burned is in a protection area, the owner shall also
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15 submit a copy of the notification plan to the local office or local
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16 representative of the Forestry Division nearest to the land to be
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17 burned.
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18 D. Any person wishing to conduct a prescribed burn shall
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19 complete this a form, distributed prescribed by the Oklahoma
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20 Department of Agriculture, Food, and Forestry, which shall be in
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21 substantially the following form:.
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22 PRESCRIBED BURN NOTIFICATION PLAN
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23 Name_______________________________________ Phone____________
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24 Address_____________________________________ County____________
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 1 City, State, Zip_______________________________________________
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2 Ranch name, if any_____________________________________________
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3 Area to be burned______________________________________________
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4 Approximate acres to be burned_________________________________
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5 Written distance description of location_______________________
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6 _______________________________________________________________
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7 Projected time frame___________________________