HB 3974 Oklahoma House · 2026 Regular Session

Government Tort Claims Act; housing of inmates; counties; cities; emergency.

HB 3974 modifies Oklahoma's Governmental Tort Claims Act to limit lawsuits against state, city, or county governments for housing federal inmates or inmates from other states in facilities run by private prison contractors. It removes immunity for governments or public trusts (where the sole beneficiary is a city/town/county) that house such inmates, and limits lawsuits to the specific government entity that placed an inmate in shared housing facilities. This bill directly affects counties, cities, and private prison contractors by clarifying which entities can be sued regarding inmate housing conditions. The changes take effect November 1, 2026.

Bill status passed 3 of 5 stages cleared

Introduction

Feb 2026

Committee Review

Apr 2026

House Passage

Mar 2026

Senate Passage

Governor

Introduced Feb 2, 2026 Last action Apr 23, 2026

Maddy AI version diff · 3 comparisons

What changed between versions

Floor (House) → Floor (Senate) · 3 edits

MINOR

The bill was revised to reflect the Senate's version, which adds a new provision limiting lawsuits in shared inmate housing facilities to only the specific government entity responsible for placing the inmate there. The effective date was changed from a fixed November 1, 2026, to immediately upon passage and approval, and the committee report was updated to reflect the Judiciary Committee instead of the joint committee.

Scope change

The bill now explicitly addresses liability in shared inmate housing facilities by restricting lawsuits to the specific entity that placed the inmate there, rather than allowing broader claims against the state or other entities.

SCOPE

Added a new subsection (B) limiting lawsuits in shared inmate housing facilities to the specific state, city, county, or tribe responsible for placing the inmate in the facility.

TIMELINE

Changed the effective date from a fixed date of November 1, 2026, to immediately upon the bill's passage and approval.

TECHNICAL

Updated the committee report attribution from the Committee on Judiciary and Public Safety Oversight to the Committee on Judiciary only.

Floor votes · House Mar 25, 2026

How they voted

87–6

Passed · 7 other

Total votes 100

Mar 25, 2026

D Democratic18

14 Yea 2 Nay 2

77% Yea

R Republican82

73 Yea 4 Nay 5

89% Yea

Vote distribution

All Yea All Nay Mixed No data

Full legislative history

Actions timeline

Total actions

Key actions

Committee

Amendments

Apr 21, 2026

Upper · Passed

Reported Do Pass Judiciary committee; CR filed

upper

Mar 26, 2026

Introduced

First Reading

upper

Mar 26, 2026

Lower · Passed

Engrossed, signed, to Senate

lower

Mar 25, 2026

Committee

Referred for engrossment

lower

Mar 25, 2026

Lower · Passed

Third Reading, Measure and Emergency passed: Ayes: 86 Nays: 6

lower

Mar 25, 2026

Lower · Passed

Amended

lower

Feb 26, 2026

Lower · Passed

CR; Do Pass Judiciary and Public Safety Oversight Committee

lower

Feb 5, 2026

Lower · Passed

Policy recommendation to the Judiciary and Public Safety Oversight committee; Do Pass Civil Judiciary

lower

Feb 3, 2026

Committee

Referred to Civil Judiciary

lower

Feb 2, 2026

Introduced

First Reading

lower

2 primary · 0 co-sponsors