HB 2171, the "Oklahoma Uniform Unlawful Restrictions in Land Records Act," allows property owners and homeowners' associations to remove discriminatory restrictions from land records. It creates a specific process for owners to file an amendment with the county clerk to eliminate restrictions based on race, religion, disability, or other protected characteristics, which violate anti-discrimination laws. Homeowners' associations can also remove such restrictions without member votes by amending their governing documents. The law requires amendments to clearly identify the affected property and state that only unlawful restrictions are removed, leaving valid restrictions intact. This directly affects property owners and HOAs holding discriminatory covenants in recorded documents.
SB 128 extends the required notice period for eviction cases (forcible entry and detainer) in Oklahoma from 3 days to 7 days before the court hearing for most cases, while maintaining a 3-day requirement for emergency evictions under specific subsections of Oklahoma law. It also updates summons language to be plain and understandable, requires public access to the summons form via the court website, and makes certain legal terms gender-neutral. The bill would have affected tenants and landlords in eviction proceedings by giving defendants more time to prepare. However, this bill was vetoed by the Governor on May 5, 2025, and is not currently law.
SB 484 prohibits municipalities with populations under 300,000 (per the latest federal census) from approving new schools, shelters, or homeless shelters operated within places of worship near existing schools, hospitals, or government buildings. The bill directly affects smaller Oklahoma cities and towns by restricting where certain facilities can be built. Key provisions remove ambiguous language about "property" and explicitly include homeless shelters in places of worship within the prohibited locations. This creates a clear geographic restriction to prevent new facilities from being sited adjacent to existing community infrastructure.
This Oklahoma bill creates a tax credit program to encourage converting old, vacant buildings into housing. Property owners can claim up to 50% of qualified costs (like environmental cleanup, code upgrades, or system repairs) for adaptive reuse projects on structures at least 30 years old that have been vacant or underutilized (with rent below 50% of market rate). The program has a $5 million annual cap on approved credits, with unused funds carried forward to future years. Credits cannot reduce tax liability below zero but may be carried forward for up to 10 years. The Oklahoma Department of Commerce and Tax Commission will administer the program and prioritize projects based on local housing needs.
SB 347 amends Oklahoma law (11 O.S. 2021, Section 43-103) to prohibit cities and towns from implementing minimum parking requirements when adopting regulations for buildings, land, or districts. The bill updates the statutory framework governing municipal planning, which previously allowed such parking mandates, and specifies that governing bodies cannot enforce these requirements while following the section's eight stated objectives (e.g., traffic safety, health, historical preservation). This change directly affects local governments' ability to regulate parking in zoning and development decisions. The bill takes effect November 1, 2025.
