SB 2173 Oklahoma Senate · 2026 Regular Session

Agriculture; creating the Landowner Energy Negotiation, Agricultural Preservation, and Orphaned Well Mitigation Education Act of 2026. Effective date. Emergency.

SB 2173 creates an education program within Oklahoma's Cooperative Extension Service to help landowners negotiate energy contracts and preserve agricultural operations. The program provides training on negotiating oil, gas, wind, and solar leases; incorporating dual-use land management (like grazing under solar arrays); identifying and addressing orphaned wells; and adopting voluntary water conservation practices. It focuses exclusively on educational resources - such as workshops, model contracts, and guides - not on regulating water rights or land use. The bill directly affects Oklahoma landowners with surface rights who lease property for energy development, aiming to support informed decisions about energy agreements and agricultural preservation.

Bill status in committee 1 of 4 stages cleared

Introduction

Feb 2026

Committee Review

Floor Vote

Governor

Introduced Feb 2, 2026 Last action Mar 2, 2026

Maddy AI version diff · 1 comparison

What changed between versions

Introduced → Committee Substitute · 9 edits

MAJOR

The Committee Substitute version of SB 2173 significantly expands the bill's scope by adding solar energy education, legal assistance provisions, and detailed solar lease negotiation training. It also modifies definitions to align with existing state law and changes funding language from appropriated to collected funds, indicating a shift toward fee-based program financing.

Scope change

Expanded from oil, gas, and wind energy to include solar energy education and training; added legal assistance component to the program; changed funding source from appropriated to collected funds

SCOPE

Added solar energy lease negotiation training covering ground cover, panel spacing, technology requirements, fencing, vegetation management, and agrivoltaics system layouts

REQUIREMENT

Added legal assistance provision to the program, expanding services beyond education and training to include legal support for landowners

Added new training topics including agricultural preservation clauses, dual-use provisions, land restoration requirements, and decommissioning assurances in energy contracts

Added training on legal and financial considerations for energy development on agricultural land

Added training on evaluation of risks and obligations related to energy infrastructure on agricultural property

Added training on negotiation of timelines and procedures for dismantling energy equipment and land restoration

Added training on negotiation of ownership, responsibilities, and repair procedures for energy equipment during lease life

DEFINITION

Changed 'Orphaned or abandoned well' definition to reference existing statutory definition in Title 17 of Oklahoma Statutes for consistency

FISCAL

Changed funding language from 'appropriated pursuant to this section' to 'collected pursuant to this section', indicating shift to fee-based financing

Floor votes

How they voted

No floor votes recorded yet.

Full legislative history

Actions timeline

Total actions

Key actions

Committee

Mar 2, 2026

Committee

Referred to Appropriations

upper

Mar 2, 2026

Upper · Passed

Reported Do Pass, amended by committee substitute Agriculture and Wildlife committee; CR filed

upper

Feb 2, 2026

Introduced

First Reading

upper

1 primary · 0 co-sponsors