SB 1545 Oklahoma Senate · 2026 Regular Session

Cities and towns; creating the Yes In God's Backyard Act; allowing faith-based organizations to apply to construct certain project. Emergency.

SB 1545, the "Yes In God’s Backyard Act," allows religious organizations (like churches and mosques) to develop affordable housing on their owned properties without discretionary municipal approval. It requires 60% of mixed-use projects to be residential, with 80% of units designated as affordable housing (capped at 40% non-affordable units for staff housing). The bill preempts local zoning rules that would block such projects, mandates municipalities to approve applications within a set timeframe, and requires compliance with building codes and fair housing laws. This directly affects faith-based groups seeking to use underutilized land for housing, aiming to address housing shortages by streamlining development.
Bill status in committee 1 of 4 stages cleared
Introduction
Feb 2026
Committee Review
Floor Vote
Governor
Introduced Feb 2, 2026 Last action Feb 3, 2026
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Full legislative history

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Total actions
3
Key actions
0
Committee
0
Feb 2, 2026
Introduced
First Reading
upper
1 primary · 0 co-sponsors

Sponsors

Role
Legislator
Party
State
District
P
Photo of Julia Kirt
Julia Kirt
DDemocratic
OK
30