State government; creating certain revolving fund; creating the Oklahoma Talent Recruitment Program; specifying certain eligibility requirements. Effective date. Emergency.
SB 1696 creates the Oklahoma Talent Attraction and Relocation Revolving Fund in the state treasury to support a new program administered by the Oklahoma Department of Commerce. It provides grants to cities, counties, or qualifying nonprofits to recruit high-income households (earning at least $55,000 annually) relocating to Oklahoma from outside the state, with a maximum grant of $250,000 per municipality per year. Grants are disbursed in two installments: 50% upfront and 50% after verifying at least half of the targeted household relocations. Recipients must submit semiannual reports on relocation numbers, economic impact, and grant usage, and repay funds if goals aren't met or if funds are misused. The program takes effect November 1, 2026.
Bill status
passed
3 of 5 stages cleared
Introduction
Feb 2026
Committee Review
Mar 2026
Senate Passage
Mar 2026
House Passage
Governor
Introduced Feb 2, 2026
Last action Apr 6, 2026
Maddy AI version diff · 2 comparisons
What changed between versions
Engrossed
→
Committee Substitute
·
4 edits
MODERATE
The bill was converted from an 'Engrossed' version to a 'Committee Substitute' version, which typically indicates that the text was revised during committee review. The substantive legal language regarding the creation of the revolving fund, grant limits, and eligibility criteria appears identical between the two versions. The primary changes are technical, including the addition of the legislative session details (2nd Session of the 60th Legislature, 2026) and the replacement of the original page headers with new tracking numbers and committee identifiers.
Scope change
No substantive change in the scope or applicability of the bill; the core policy provisions remain the same.
TECHNICAL
Added the specific legislative session details (2nd Session of the 60th Legislature, 2026) to the title page, which was missing in the previous version.
Replaced the original page headers with new tracking numbers (Req. No. 3570) and committee-specific identifiers (Committee Substitute, Page numbers).
Removed the bracketed subject matter summary lines that were present in the Engrossed version.
Removed the original bill number attribution line ('By: Coleman of the Senate and Caldwell (Trey) of the House') from the title page.
Floor votes · Senate Mar 12, 2026
How they voted
31–14
Passed · 5 other
Total votes 50
Mar 12, 2026
D
Democratic9
77% Yea
R
Republican41
58% Yea
Vote distribution
All Yea
All Nay
Mixed
No data
Full legislative history
Actions timeline
Total actions
21
Key actions
6
Committee
4
Mar 16, 2026
Introduced
First Reading
lower
Mar 16, 2026
Upper · Passed
Engrossed to House
upper
Mar 12, 2026
Committee
Referred for engrossment
upper
Mar 12, 2026
Upper · Passed
Emergency passed: Ayes: 41 Nays: 2
upper
Mar 12, 2026
Upper · Passed
Measure passed: Ayes: 29 Nays: 14
upper
Mar 12, 2026
Upper · Passed
Motion to reconsider vote adopted: Ayes: 29 Nays: 11
upper
Mar 4, 2026
Upper · Passed
Reported Do Pass Appropriations committee; CR filed
upper
Feb 17, 2026
Committee
Referred to Appropriations
upper
Feb 17, 2026
Upper · Passed
Reported Do Pass, amended by committee substitute Economic Development, Workforce and Tourism committee; CR filed
upper
Feb 2, 2026
Introduced
First Reading
upper
2 primary · 0 co-sponsors
Sponsors
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