SB 275 Oklahoma Senate · 2026 Regular Session

Housing; creating the Oklahoma Workforce Housing Commission; authorizing the Oklahoma Workforce Commission to implement certain reports and plans for expansion of affordable housing. Effective date.

SB 275 would create the Oklahoma Workforce Housing Commission to develop strategies for expanding affordable housing options. It authorizes the existing Oklahoma Workforce Commission to implement specific reports and housing plans focused on increasing affordable housing access. The bill directly affects low-to-moderate income residents and housing providers by establishing a dedicated commission to coordinate housing initiatives. This proposal aims to increase housing availability through structured planning and implementation, rather than through new funding or regulations.

Issues: ✓ Housing

Bill status died 1 of 4 stages cleared

Introduction

Feb 2025

Committee Review

Floor Vote

Governor

Introduced Feb 3, 2025 Last action Mar 6, 2025

Maddy AI version diff · 2 comparisons

What changed between versions

Committee Substitute → SB275 (3-17-25) (KIRT) FS FA1.PDF · 7 edits

MODERATE

The bill was renamed from 'Committee Substitute' to 'Floor Substitute' and the Oklahoma Workforce Housing Commission was changed to the Oklahoma Workforce Housing Council. The Council's membership composition was modified to include a representative from a federally recognized tribe and adjust the appointment criteria for certain members. The effective date was set to November 1, 2025.

Scope change

The bill's scope changed from a Commission to a Council, with modified membership requirements including new representation for federally recognized tribes and adjusted population thresholds for some appointees.

SCOPE

The entity name changed from 'Oklahoma Workforce Housing Commission' to 'Oklahoma Workforce Housing Council' throughout the bill.

ELIGIBILITY

The membership composition was updated to include a representative from a federally recognized tribe in Oklahoma that develops housing in rural areas.

Population thresholds for some appointed members were adjusted, with one member now representing a rural community with less than 50,000 persons instead of 75,000 persons.

DEFINITION

A new definition was added for 'urban corridor' to clarify which populated areas are considered urban corridors for appointment purposes.

REQUIREMENT

The appointment criteria for Senate and House members were updated to change 'co-vice chair' to 'co-chair' for minority party representatives.

The comprehensive housing scan and needs assessment requirement was updated to include an 'initial comprehensive Oklahoma workforce housing scan'.

TIMELINE

A specific effective date was added: November 1, 2025.

Introduced → Committee Substitute · 9 edits

MAJOR

The bill was revised from its original introduction to a committee substitute version, resulting in significant changes to the Oklahoma Workforce Housing Commission's structure, membership composition, and operational requirements. The committee version reorganized the Commission's membership categories, added ex officio members, modified appointment terms, and expanded the Commission's rule-making authority to include broader housing assessments and reports.

Scope change

The bill's scope expanded from primarily creating the Commission with basic membership rules to establishing a more comprehensive oversight body with enhanced rule-making powers and broader reporting requirements.

TIMELINE

The Commission's expiration date was extended from December 30, 2034 to December 30, 2035.

ELIGIBILITY

The urban area population threshold for Governor-appointed members was lowered from 100,000 to 75,000 persons.

REQUIREMENT

New membership categories were added including representatives from federally recognized tribes, community housing development organizations, and not-for-profit organizations serving low-income Oklahomans.

Ex officio members were added including representatives from the Oklahoma Housing Finance Agency, USDA, and the Commission's CEO.

The Commission's quorum requirement was established at eight members, and initial appointment terms were set at two years with subsequent terms at three years.

The Commission is now subject to both the Oklahoma Open Meeting Act and the Oklahoma Open Records Act.

The Commission's rule-making authority was expanded to include comprehensive environmental scans, annual reports, long-term expansion plans, program reviews, and policy recommendations.

Commission members are now explicitly prohibited from receiving salary or reimbursement for their duties.

DEFINITION

The original definitions for income-based household categories (extremely low-income through middle-income) were removed from the committee substitute version.

Floor votes

How they voted

No floor votes recorded yet.

Full legislative history

Actions timeline

Total actions

Key actions

Committee

Mar 4, 2025

Upper · Passed

Reported Do Pass, amended by committee substitute Economic Development, Workforce and Tourism committee; CR filed

upper

Mar 4, 2025

Committee

Referred to Economic Development, Workforce and Tourism

upper

Feb 3, 2025

Introduced

First Reading

upper

2 primary · 0 co-sponsors