HB 4276 Oklahoma House · 2026 Regular Session

Public buildings and public works; Public Competitive Bidding Act of 1974; public improvement; public construction; funds; certification; counties; effective date.

HB 4276 requires Oklahoma counties, school districts, and other public entities subject to the Public Competitive Bidding Act of 1974 to obtain written certification confirming sufficient, unencumbered funds are available before issuing any bids for public construction or improvement projects. This certification must specify the funding source, amount, and confirm funds cover the project cost, and must be retained with bidding documents. Projects without this certification are void, and bidding must pause if costs increase after documents are issued. The bill directly affects all public agencies managing construction projects funded by public money.

Issues: ✓ Budget & Taxes

Bill status died 1 of 4 stages cleared

Introduction

Feb 2026

Committee Review

Floor Vote

Governor

Introduced Feb 2, 2026 Last action Feb 11, 2026

Maddy AI version diff · 1 comparison

What changed between versions

Introduced → Proposed Policy Committee Substitute 1 · 6 edits

MODERATE

The bill was amended by the Policy Committee to update its title and add new funding restrictions for county expenditures. Key changes include adding a prohibition on expenditures exceeding fund balance, clarifying that encumbrances are not subject to the 90% rule, and updating the certification requirements for funding sources. These changes strengthen fiscal controls for public works projects and county spending.

Scope change

The bill's scope was expanded to include new restrictions on county expenditures exceeding fund balance and clarified rules about encumbrances not being subject to the 90% rule.

TITLE

Title was changed from 'As Introduced' to 'Proposed Policy Committee Substitute' to reflect committee amendments.

FISCAL

Added a new Section 2 prohibiting county officers from authorizing expenditures that exceed any fund balance where a budget is not required.

Clarified that encumbrances are not subject to the ninety-percent rule for budget compliance.

REQUIREMENT

Updated funding certification requirements to specify that the funding source must be allowable and designated for the purpose of what is being bid.

Reorganized the certification requirements from three items to a clearer two-item structure with additional detail.

ENFORCEMENT

Added provisions stating that obligations contracted in violation of the new expenditure limits become the personal obligation of the officer and are illegal and void.

Floor votes

How they voted

No floor votes recorded yet.

Full legislative history

Actions timeline

Total actions

Key actions

Committee

Feb 11, 2026

Committee

Referred to Rules

lower

Feb 3, 2026

Committee

Referred to General Government

lower

Feb 2, 2026

Introduced

First Reading

lower

1 primary · 0 co-sponsors