Agriculture and Wildlife

HB 3977 amends Oklahoma's law for the State Veterinarian position, requiring the appointee to hold a current Oklahoma veterinary license, have food animal practice experience, and be appointed by the State Board of Agriculture. This bill directly affects the State Veterinarian role by setting specific qualifications for future appointees. The key provisions replace previous requirements with these new standards, effective November 1, 2026. The bill focuses solely on personnel qualifications, not on new veterinary regulations or public health policies.

HB 3557 prohibits the Oklahoma Agricultural Extension Division and related programs from requiring local funding (generated at the county level) to be centralized or spent outside the county where it was collected. The bill directly affects counties that provide local funding to these agricultural extension services and the division itself. Key provisions require that any local revenue must stay within the originating county for use in that county's programs. This ensures local funding remains locally controlled and cannot be redirected to other areas by the state division.

HB 3145 exempts hunters from paying tag fees for female deer, elk, and similar Cervidae animals, feral swine, and non-native exotic wildlife when hunted at commercial hunting areas in Oklahoma. This change directly affects commercial hunting operations and hunters targeting these specific species, removing a $10 fee for required tags. The bill amends existing law to maintain tag requirements (staying attached until consumption) while eliminating fees for the exempted categories. Violations of tag rules still carry fines ($100-$500) or jail time (up to 60 days), unchanged by this bill. It takes effect November 1, 2026.

HB 3056 modifies Oklahoma's Milk and Milk Products Act to allow incidental sales of raw, unpasteurized milk (from cows, goats, sheep, donkeys, or horses) directly to consumers at farms, feed stores, restaurants, farmer's markets, or via farm delivery. It also permits advertising these sales and lets farmers make cheese using milk from their own farm. The bill defines "incidental sales" for goat milk as not exceeding 100 gallons per month on average. This directly affects small-scale dairy farmers and consumers who purchase raw milk directly, effective November 1, 2026.

HB 3270 regulates the transport and release of feral swine (wild pigs) in Oklahoma. It requires anyone moving live feral swine to obtain a license from the Oklahoma Department of Agriculture and restricts transport only to licensed facilities, handling sites, or slaughterhouses. The bill also makes illegal release of feral swine a Class D3 felony with a $2,000 fine, with limited exceptions for licensed sporting facilities or releasing tagged pigs within 24 hours of capture. This directly affects ranchers, landowners, and hunters dealing with invasive feral swine populations. The law takes effect November 1, 2026.