Oklahoma Statutes
The laws in the Oklahoma Statutes are passed by the Oklahoma Legislature, which consists of the Oklahoma House of Representatives and the Oklahoma Senate. The House of Representatives contains 101 members, while the Senate contains 48 members. The members of the House of Representatives serve two-year terms, while the members of the Senate serve four-year terms. The members of both chambers are limited to a lifetime maximum of 12 years in the legislature.
A proposed law is known as a bill, which can be introduced in either chamber of the Oklahoma legislature. After a bill is introduced, it will be referred to one or more standing committees. These committees determine whether a bill should move forward, and they also can propose amendments to a bill. If a bill passes through the committee phase, it will return to the chamber in which it was introduced. This chamber will discuss the bill and consider any amendments suggested by a committee or by members of the chamber. Once the bill has been finalized, the original chamber will vote on whether to pass it.
If the bill is passed, it will go through the same process in the other chamber. Sometimes the second chamber will amend the bill and pass a different version of it. A bill will not reach the next stage unless the differences between these versions are resolved. Each chamber must pass identical versions of the bill.
If each chamber of the legislature passes the bill, the Governor of Oklahoma will review it. The Governor may sign the bill into law, or the Governor may take no action, which usually means that the bill will become law. If the Governor vetoes the bill, however, it will return to the legislature. The legislature can vote to override the Governor’s veto and pass the bill into law. Overriding the Governor’s veto requires a two-thirds majority vote in each chamber of the legislature, or a three-fourths majority for emergency measures.
- 2023 Oklahoma Statutes
- 2022 Oklahoma Statutes
- 2021 Oklahoma Statutes
- 2020 Oklahoma Statutes
- 2019 Oklahoma Statutes
- 2018 Oklahoma Statutes
- 2017 Oklahoma Statutes
- 2016 Oklahoma Statutes
- 2015 Oklahoma Statutes
- 2014 Oklahoma Statutes
- 2013 Oklahoma Statutes
- 2012 Oklahoma Statutes
- 2010 Oklahoma Statutes
- 2006 Oklahoma Statutes