HB 2116: Public retirement systems; Oklahoma Law Enforcement Retirement System; participation; employees; agency; codification; emergency. - Oklahoma

House Committee Substitute → Floor (House) · 1 edit

MINOR

This document is a formatting update to the House Floor version of HB 2116, which amends the Oklahoma Law Enforcement Retirement System. The primary change is the replacement of the 'Committee Substitute' header with the official 'Floor Version' header, indicating the bill has been approved by the House and is ready for final passage. The substantive text of the bill, including the list of eligible law enforcement agencies and retirement terms, remains unchanged.

Scope change

The bill's scope and applicability remain unchanged; only the document versioning has been updated to reflect its status as the official House Floor version.

TECHNICAL

The document header was changed from 'Committee Substitute' to 'Floor Version' to indicate the bill has passed the committee stage and is now in its final form for the House floor vote.

Proposed Policy Committee Substitute 3 → House Committee Substitute · 5 edits

MODERATE

The bill was amended to replace the entire text of the original proposal with a new version. The most significant substantive change is the addition of new eligibility requirements for new law enforcement officers, mandating that they be of good moral character and free from physical or mental conditions that would prevent them from performing duties. The amendment also updates the bill's title and reference numbers to reflect the House Committee's version.

Scope change

The bill's scope regarding new employee eligibility was expanded to include specific health and character standards.

ELIGIBILITY

New requirements were added stating that new law enforcement officers must be of good moral character and free from deformities, mental or physical conditions, or addiction that would prohibit them from performing duties.

REQUIREMENT

New requirements specify that physical-medical examinations must cover age, sight, hearing, agility, and other conditions established by the Board.

New requirements state that these conditions must be met before employment begins but after an offer of employment is made.

TECHNICAL

The bill title was changed from 'Proposed Policy Committee Substitute' to 'Committee Substitute' to reflect the legislative stage.

Reference numbers (RBH No.) were updated from 16291 to 17079.

Proposed Policy Committee Substitute 2 → Proposed Policy Committee Substitute 3 · 7 edits

MODERATE

This revision updates the legislative session dates and bill numbers to reflect the 2026 session. It significantly expands the list of eligible law enforcement personnel by adding new categories for the Oklahoma State Bureau of Narcotics and Dangerous Drugs Control and the Office of the State Fire Marshal. Additionally, it clarifies that certain communications technicians are excluded from the system and removes the requirement for new employees to purchase service credit, replacing it with a codification clause and an emergency declaration.

Scope change

The bill's scope was expanded to include additional law enforcement agencies and specific employee categories not previously covered, while simultaneously narrowing the scope by explicitly excluding certain communications technicians.

TIMELINE

Updated the legislative session from the 1st Session of 2025 to the 2nd Session of 2026 and adjusted the bill identifier from POLPCS2 to POLPCS3.

ELIGIBILITY

Added law enforcement officers from the Oklahoma State Bureau of Narcotics and Dangerous Drugs Control to the list of eligible members.

Added active commissioned or CLEET-certified officers hired by the Office of the State Fire Marshal on or after July 1, 2026, as eligible members.

REQUIREMENT

Added a provision explicitly excluding employees of the Communications Section of the Oklahoma Highway Patrol Division who are information systems telecommunication or tower technicians from being members of the system.

Removed the provision requiring new employees to purchase a certain amount of service credit at an actuarial cost.

DEFINITION

Added a new definition for 'Act' and renumbered the existing definitions within the statute.

ENFORCEMENT

Added a declaration of emergency to expedite the implementation of the new provisions.

Proposed Policy Committee Substitute 1 → Proposed Policy Committee Substitute 2 · 7 edits

MODERATE

The bill was resubmitted with a significantly expanded scope, changing from a simple modification of an existing retirement term to a comprehensive overhaul of the Oklahoma Law Enforcement Retirement System. The new text introduces multiple new categories of eligible employees, including specific roles within the Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation and the Alcoholic Beverage Laws Enforcement Commission, and adds provisions for service credit purchases and benefit elections that were not present in the previous version.

Scope change

The bill's scope expanded from a minor amendment regarding term modification to a full re-enactment of the retirement system provisions, adding new eligibility criteria and benefit options for law enforcement personnel.

ELIGIBILITY

Added new categories of eligible members, specifically including law enforcement officers from the Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation and the Alcoholic Beverage Laws Enforcement Commission.

Included employees of the Communications Section of the Oklahoma Highway Patrol Division (radio technicians and tower technicians) who were employed in specific capacities as of June 30, 2008.

Added active commissioned or CLEET-certified agents hired by the Office of the Attorney General or the Military Department on or after July 1, 2024.

Added active commissioned or CLEET-certified officers hired by the Office of the State Fire Marshal on or after the effective date of the act.

REQUIREMENT

Inserted new provisions authorizing members to make elections to participate in the system, allowing for the purchase of service credit at actuarial cost, and requiring the transfer of credited service upon request.

Added a clause stating that members shall forfeit all rights regarding certain credited service under specific conditions.

TIMELINE

Updated the document metadata and tracking numbers to reflect the new committee substitute version.

Engrossed → Proposed Policy Committee Substitute 1 · 4 edits

MODERATE

The bill was completely rewritten by the Policy Committee to update the legal citation for the previous amendment, correct a future effective date from 2026 to 2024, and remove a specific exemption for leased employees and independent contractors that was previously included in the text.

Scope change

The bill's scope remains focused on the Oklahoma Law Enforcement Retirement System, but the eligibility criteria for 'Members' were altered by removing the exclusion for leased employees and independent contractors.

TIMELINE

The effective date for new hires by the Office of the State Fire Marshal was changed from July 1, 2026, to the effective date of the act (July 1, 2024).

TECHNICAL

The citation for the prior amendment was updated from Chapter 45 of the 2025 session to Chapter 361 of the 2024 session.

ELIGIBILITY

The specific clause excluding 'leased employees' and 'independent contractors' from membership in the retirement system was deleted.

DEFINITION

The definition of 'Member' was restructured to remove the leased employee exclusion and adjust the hiring date criteria for State Fire Marshal officers.

Introduced → Engrossed · 8 edits · Mar 11, 2026

MODERATE

This bill updates the legal citation for the Oklahoma Law Enforcement Retirement System to reflect the 2025 legislative session and amends the definition of 'Member' to explicitly include specific new categories of law enforcement personnel, such as certain DPS cadets, criminalists, and state narcotics officers, while clarifying eligibility for others based on employment dates.

Scope change

The bill expands the scope of the Oklahoma Law Enforcement Retirement System by adding specific groups of employees to the list of eligible members and clarifies the definition of 'Member' to include new categories of law enforcement officers and criminalists.

TECHNICAL

Updated the legislative session reference from the 2024 session to the 2025 session and changed the chapter number for the amending statute.

DEFINITION

Added 'cadets of a Patrol Academy of the Department of Public Safety' to the definition of 'Member' alongside commissioned officers.

Added 'criminalists of the Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation' to the list of eligible members.

Added 'law enforcement officers of the Oklahoma State Bureau of Narcotics and Dangerous Drugs Control' to the list of eligible members.

Added 'employees of the Communications Section of the Oklahoma Highway Patrol Division' (radio technicians and tower technicians) to the list of eligible members, effective July 1, 2008.

Added 'active commissioned or CLEET-certified agents hired by the Office of the Attorney General or the Military Department on or after July 1, 2024' to the list of eligible members.

Added 'police officers who are CLEET-certified and employed by the University of Oklahoma or Oklahoma State University' to the list of eligible members.

Added 'active commissioned or CLEET-certified officers hired by the Office of the State Fire Marshal on or after July 1, 2026' to the list of eligible members.

Public retirement systems; Oklahoma Law Enforcement Retirement System; participation; employees; agency; codification; emergency.

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