1 STATE OF OKLAHOMA
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2 2nd Session of the 59th Legislature (2024)
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3 HOUSE BILL 3547 By: Sterling
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6 AS INTRODUCED
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7 An Act relating to state government; amending 74 O.S.
7 2021, Section 20i, as amended by Section 1, Chapter
8 308, O.S.L. 2022 (74 O.S. Supp. 2023, Section 20i),
8 which relates to the collection of information by
9 Attorney General; modifying reporting on certain
9 contracts to fiscal year; adding information to be
10 included in report; and providing an effective date.
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13 BE IT ENACTED BY THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF OKLAHOMA:
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14 SECTION 1. AMENDATORY 74 O.S. 2021, Section 20i, as
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15 amended by Section 1, Chapter 308, O.S.L. 2022 (74 O.S. Supp. 2023,
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16 Section 20i), is amended to read as follows:
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17 Section 20i. A. An agency or official of the executive branch
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18 may obtain legal representation by one or more attorneys by means of
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19 one of the following:
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20 1. Employing an attorney as such if otherwise authorized by
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21 law;
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22 2. Contracting with the Office of the Attorney General; or
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23 3. If the Attorney General is unable to represent the agency,
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24 or official due to a conflict of interest, or the Office of the
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 1 Attorney General is unable or lacks the personnel or expertise to
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2 provide the specific representation required by such agency or
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3 official, contracting with a private attorney or attorneys pursuant
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4 to this section.
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5 B. When entering into a contract for legal representation by
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6 one or more private attorneys or law firms, an agency or official of
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7 the executive branch shall select an attorney or attorneys or a law
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8 firm or law firms from a list of attorneys and firms maintained by
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9 the Attorney General. An agency may contract for legal
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10 representation with one or more attorneys who are not on the list
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11 only when there is no attorney or firm on the list capable of
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12 providing the specific representation and only with the approval of
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13 the Attorney General. The list shall include any attorney or firm
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14 who desires to furnish services to an agency or official of the
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15 executive branch and who has filed a schedule of fees for services
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16 with and on a form approved by the Attorney General. The list of
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17 attorneys and firms desiring to furnish services and a schedule of
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18 fees for each attorney and firm shall be maintained and made
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19 available to the public.
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20 C. An agency or official may agree to deviate from the schedule
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21 of fees only with the approval of the Attorney General and if the
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22 new schedule of fees would not violate the fee schedules set forth
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23 in subsections D and E of this section.
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 1 D. An agency or official of the executive branch shall not
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2 enter into a contingency fee contract that provides for the private
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3 attorney or firm to receive an aggregate contingency fee that
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4 exceeds:
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5 1. Twenty-five percent (25%) of that portion of any amount
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6 recovered that is Ten Million Dollars ($10,000,000.00) or less;
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7 2. Twenty percent (20%) of that portion of any amount recovered
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8 that is more than Ten Million Dollars ($10,000,000.00) but less than
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9 or equal to Fifteen Million Dollars ($15,000,000.00);
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10 3. Fifteen percent (15%) of that portion of any amount
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11 recovered that is more than Fifteen Million Dollars ($15,000,000.00)
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12 but less than or equal to Twenty Million Dollars ($20,000,000.00);
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13 4. Ten percent (10%) of that portion of any amount recovered
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14 that is more than Twenty Million Dollars ($20,000,000.00) but less
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15 than or equal to Twenty-five Million Dollars ($25,000,000.00); and
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16 5. Five percent (5%) of that portion of any amount recovered
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17 that is more than Twenty-five Million Dollars ($25,000,000.00).
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18 E. Notwithstanding subsection D of this section, the total fee
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19 payable to all retained private attorneys in any contingency fee
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20 contract shall not exceed Fifty Million Dollars ($50,000,000.00),
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21 exclusive of any costs and expenses provided by the contract and
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22 actually incurred by the retained private attorneys, regardless of
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23 the number of actions or proceedings or the number of retained
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24 private attorneys involved in the matter.
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 1 F. The Attorney General shall develop a standard clause for
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2 inclusion in every contract for contingent fee attorney services
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3 that shall be used in all cases, describing in detail what is
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4 expected of both the contracted private attorney and the state
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5 including, but not limited to, the requirements as provided in this
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6 subsection. The state shall not enter into a contract for
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7 contingency fee attorney services that does not incorporate such
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8 requirements:
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9 1. The government attorneys shall retain complete control over
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10 the course and conduct of the case;
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11 2. A government attorney with supervisory authority shall be
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12 personally involved in oversight of the case;
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13 3. The government attorneys shall retain veto power over any
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14 decision made by outside counsel related to the case;
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15 4. Any defendant in the case may contact the lead government
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16 attorneys directly, without having to confer with outside counsel;
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17 5. A government attorney with supervisory authority for the
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18 case shall attend all settlement conferences; and
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19 6. Decisions regarding settlement of the case shall be reserved
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20 exclusively to the discretion of the government attorneys and the
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21 state.
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22 G. Copies of any executed contingency fee contract with the
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23 private attorney shall be posted on the Attorney General's website
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24 for public inspection within five (5) business days after the date
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 1 the contract is executed and shall remain posted on the website for
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2 the duration of the contingency fee contract including any
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3 extensions or amendments to the contract. Any payment of
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4 contingency fees shall be posted on the Attorney General's website
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5 within fifteen (15) days after the payment of the contingency fees
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6 to the private attorney or law firm and shall remain posted on the
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7 website for at least three hundred sixty-five (365) days after the
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8 payment is made.
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9 H. Any private attorney or law firm under contract to provide
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10 services to the state on a contingency fee basis shall from the
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11 inception of the contract until at least four (4) years after the
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12 contract expires or is terminated, maintain detailed current records
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13 including documentation of all expenses, disbursements, charges,
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14 credits, underlying receipts and invoices and other financial
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15 transactions related to the attorney services. The private attorney
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16 or law firm shall make all such records available for inspection and
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17 copying upon request of the Attorney General. In addition, the
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18 private attorney or law firm shall maintain detailed contemporaneous
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19 time records for the attorneys and paralegals working on the matter
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20 in increments of no greater than one-tenth (1/10) of an hour and
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21 shall promptly provide such records to the Attorney General upon
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22 request.
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23 I. Before entering into a contract for legal representation by
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24 one or more private attorneys, an agency or official of the
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 1 executive branch shall furnish a copy of the proposed contract to
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2 the Attorney General and notify the Attorney General of the
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3 following:
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4 1. The nature and scope of the representation including, but
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5 not limited to, a description of any pending or anticipated
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6 litigation or of the transaction requiring representation;
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7 2. The reason or reasons for not obtaining the representation
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8 from an attorney employed by the agency or official, if an attorney
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9 is employed by the agency or official;
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10 3. The reason or reasons for not obtaining the representation
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11 from the Attorney General by contract;
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12 4. The anticipated cost of the representation including the
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13 following:
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14 a. the basis for or method of calculation of the fee
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15 including, when applicable, the hourly rate for each
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16 attorney, paralegal, legal assistant, or other person
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17 who will perform services under the contract, and
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18 b. the basis for and method of calculation of any
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19 expenses which will be reimbursed by the agency or
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20 official under the contract;
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21 5. An estimate of the anticipated duration of the contract;
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22 6. The past or present relationship, if any, between such
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23 attorney, law firm or any partner or other principal in such law
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 1 firm and the state agency or state agent proposing to enter into the
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2 contract;
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3 7. If the contract contemplates that all or part of the fee is
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4 contingent on the outcome of the legal proceeding, the reasons the
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5 contingent fee arrangement is believed to be in the state's interest
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6 and any efforts undertaken to obtain private counsel on a
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7 noncontingent fee basis; and
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8 8. The justification for the determination that the selection
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9 of a contract for legal representation by one or more private
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10 attorneys or firms was made based on the ability of the private
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11 attorney or firm to provide the most economical and most competent
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12 service which furthers the best interest of the state.
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13 J. After the approval of the contract by the Attorney General
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14 for legal representation by one or more private attorneys or law
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15 firms, the Attorney General shall make available to the public on
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16 the Attorney General's website the information required pursuant to
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17 paragraphs 1 through 8 of subsection I of this section.
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18 K. 1. Before entering into a contract for legal representation
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19 by one or more private attorneys or firms where the agency has
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20 reason to believe that the case, transaction or matter will equal or
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21 exceed Twenty Thousand Dollars ($20,000.00) or after employment when
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22 it becomes apparent that the case, transaction or matter will equal
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23 or exceeds Twenty Thousand Dollars ($20,000.00), an agency or
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24 official of the executive branch shall obtain the approval of the
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 1 Attorney General when the total cost including fees and expenses, of
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2 all contracts relating to the same case, transaction, or matter will
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3 equal or exceed Twenty Thousand Dollars ($20,000.00).
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4 2. Before entering into a contract for legal representation by
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5 one or more private attorneys or firms to initiate a legal action on
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6 behalf of the state where the agency has reason to believe that the
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7 total cost of the case, transaction or matter including fees and
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8 expenses will equal or exceed One Million Dollars ($1,000,000.00),
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9 an agency or official of the executive branch shall initiate a
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10 request for proposal from at least three qualified private attorneys
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11 or firms, when possible, engaged in providing such services. Notice
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12 of the request for proposal shall be published on the Attorney
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13 General's website. The request for proposal shall solicit a
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14 billable hourly rate, regardless of whether a contingency fee is
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15 ultimately agreed upon, and shall specify the importance of price,
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16 quality, ability and experience. The selection of a contract for
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17 legal representation by one or more private attorneys or firms shall
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18 be made using the criteria established in the request for proposal
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19 and shall be based on the response to the request which is the most
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20 economical and provides the most competent service which furthers
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21 the best interests of the state. Most economical and most competent
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22 shall not be construed to mean the least expensive proposal.
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23 3. Any amendment, modification or extension of a contract
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24 which, had it been a part of the original contract would have
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 1 required approval by the Attorney General, shall also require
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2 approval by the Attorney General.
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3 L. After entering into a contract for legal representation by
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4 one or more private attorneys or firms where the agency has reason
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5 to believe that the case, transaction or matter will equal or exceed
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6 One Million Dollars ($1,000,000.00), an agency or official of the
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7 executive branch shall submit a copy of the contract to the
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8 Legislative Oversight Committee overseeing the operations of the
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9 Legislative Office of Fiscal Transparency (LOFT) along with the
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10 following:
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11 1. A description of the litigation or of the transaction
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12 requiring representation;
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13 2. The reason or reasons for not obtaining the representation
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14 from an attorney employed by the agency or official;
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15 3. The justification for selecting an attorney or firm
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16 contracted to represent the state; and
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17 4. An estimate of the anticipated duration of the contract.
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18 M. A settlement agreement shall not contemplate the ultimate
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19 use and destination of recovered funds unless done in accordance
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20 with paragraphs 11 and 12 of Section 18b of this title.
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21 N. Within ten (10) days of an agency or official of the
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22 executive branch entering into a settlement agreement where a
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23 private attorney or firm was hired on a contingency fee contract and
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24 the settlement was equal to or greater than One Million Dollars
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 1 ($1,000,000.00), the agency or official of the executive branch
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2 shall present the settlement agreement to the Legislative Oversight
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3 Committee with oversight of the operations of the Legislative Office
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4 of Fiscal Transparency (LOFT), unless otherwise postponed by LOFT.
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5 O. When an agency or official of the executive branch enters
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6 into a contract for professional legal services pursuant to this
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7 section, the agency shall also comply with the applicable provisions
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8 of Section 85.41 of this title.
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9 P. The provisions of this section shall not apply to the
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10 Oklahoma Indigent Defense System created pursuant to Section 1355 et
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11 seq. of Title 22 of the Oklahoma Statutes.
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12 Q. Upon request of an agency or official of the executive
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13 branch, the Governor, the President Pro Tempore of the Oklahoma
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14 State Senate and the Speaker of the Oklahoma House of
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15 Representatives may exempt a legal matter from the requirements of
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16 this section if an exemption is deemed to be in the best interest of
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17 the state. Such exemption shall be issued at their discretion, in
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18 writing and by unanimous consent, and shall be submitted to LOFT.
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19 R. By February 1 of each year, the Attorney General shall
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20 submit a report to the Governor, the President Pro Tempore of the
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21 Senate, the Speaker of the House of Representatives, the Chair of
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22 the Appropriations and Budget Committee of the House of
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23 Representatives and the Chair of the Appropriations Committee of the
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24 Senate, that describes the use of contracts with private attorneys
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