HB 3977 Oklahoma House · 2026 Regular Session

State veterinarian; certain qualifications; effective date.

HB 3977 amends Oklahoma's law for the State Veterinarian position, requiring the appointee to hold a current Oklahoma veterinary license, have food animal practice experience, and be appointed by the State Board of Agriculture. This bill directly affects the State Veterinarian role by setting specific qualifications for future appointees. The key provisions replace previous requirements with these new standards, effective November 1, 2026. The bill focuses solely on personnel qualifications, not on new veterinary regulations or public health policies.

Bill status signed all 5 stages cleared

Introduction

Feb 2026

Committee Review

May 2026

House Passage

Mar 2026

Senate Passage

May 2026

Signed into Law

May 2026

Introduced Feb 2, 2026 Signed May 11, 2026

Maddy AI version diff · 4 comparisons

What changed between versions

Floor (House) → Floor (Senate) · 3 edits

MINOR

The bill was amended to move from the House to the Senate floor, adding a Senate floor version header and a committee report from the Agriculture and Wildlife Committee. The substantive policy content regarding the State Veterinarian's qualifications and duties remains unchanged, though the effective date was moved to the end of the bill text.

Scope change

The bill's scope and applicability remain unchanged; the differences are procedural formatting and committee reporting.

TECHNICAL

Added a Senate floor version header and a committee report from the Committee on Agriculture and Wildlife.

Reordered the bill text to place the effective date (November 1, 2026) at the end rather than in the middle.

Removed the House floor version header and the committee report from the Energy and Natural Resources Oversight Committee.

Floor votes · Senate May 5, 2026 · House Mar 24, 2026

How they voted

42–5

Passed · 3 other

Total votes 50

May 5, 2026

D Democratic9

2 Yea 5 Nay 2

55% Nay

R Republican41

40 Yea 1

97% Yea

Vote distribution

All Yea All Nay Mixed No data

Full legislative history

Actions timeline

Total actions

Key actions

Committee

May 11, 2026

Signed into law

Approved by Governor 05/11/2026

lower

May 5, 2026

Committee

Referred for enrollment

lower

May 5, 2026

Upper · Passed

Engrossed measure signed, returned to House

upper

May 5, 2026

Upper · Passed

Measure passed: Ayes: 40 Nays: 5

upper

Apr 6, 2026

Upper · Passed

Reported Do Pass Agriculture and Wildlife committee; CR filed

upper

Mar 25, 2026

Introduced

First Reading

upper

Mar 25, 2026

Lower · Passed

Engrossed, signed, to Senate

lower

Mar 24, 2026

Committee

Referred for engrossment

lower

Mar 24, 2026

Lower · Passed

Third Reading, Measure passed: Ayes: 90 Nays: 0

lower

Feb 25, 2026

Lower · Passed

CR; Do Pass Energy and Natural Resources Oversight Committee

lower

Feb 9, 2026

Lower · Passed

Policy recommendation to the Energy and Natural Resources Oversight committee; Do Pass Agriculture

lower

Feb 3, 2026

Committee

Referred to Agriculture

lower

Feb 2, 2026

Introduced

First Reading

lower

2 primary · 0 co-sponsors