Governmental Tort Claims Act; modifying definition. Effective date.

SB 496 amends Oklahoma's Governmental Tort Claims Act by clarifying key definitions in Section 152. It specifically defines "charitable health care provider" as entities offering free care to medically indigent patients and expands "community health care provider" to include those working with federally qualified health centers or pending applications. The bill also broadens "employee" to explicitly include certain healthcare professionals (like administrative physicians, resident doctors, and mental health staff) under state contracts. These changes directly affect healthcare providers, state agencies, and individuals filing tort claims against the state or political subdivisions. The amendment aims to clarify eligibility under the tort claims process without altering core legal procedures.