County officers; allowing for certain counties to employ a county manager. Effective date.

SB 976 would allow Oklahoma counties with populations over 500,000 (per the latest federal census) to hire a county manager with approval from the county budget board. The county manager would handle operations, human resources, information technology, and budget planning while serving as an ex officio member of the county budget board. This bill amends existing law to add the county manager role to the budget board structure and update language to be gender-neutral. The change is optional for qualifying counties and would take effect November 1, 2025.