New Oklahoma laws take effect on Monday

OKLAHOMA CITY – More than 200 new laws take effect Monday following a legislative session that ended in May.

Oklahoma’s newest laws run the gamut from ones designed to protect children to requiring GPS monitoring for some domestic violence defendants to new state symbols.

Here’s a few of the new laws taking affect: 

Ban on all childhood marriage

Senate Bill 504 sets the marital age at 18.

The measure repeals all exceptions for minors getting married, including allowing matrimony with parental permission or with a court’s permission. Existing law allowed children 16 or under to be married with a judge’s permission.

The measure passed the state House by a single vote.

“It is one more thing we can do to protect children from predators,” said Sen. Warren Hamilton, R-McCurtain.

He said the measure will help preserve the dignity of marriage.

“Marriage is the biggest decision a lot of people will make,” Hamilton said.

Oklahoma becomes the 17th state to ban child marriage. 

Visitation changes

Senate Bill 2170 adds sexual abuse to the list of reasons why supervised visitation shall be required.

Under the new law, anyone who has had

substantiated findings by the Department of Human Services of  of sexualabuse of a child will be required to have a third party present when having visitation with a child.

New state symbols

Some new laws add to the state’s growing list of symbols.

Senate Bill 2159 designates wheat as the state crop.

Meanwhile, Senate Bill 2065, dubbed the “Lucile Morehouse Pollinator Act,” designates the European honeybee as the agricultural pollinator, the American bumblebee the native insect, the Carolina mantis as the predator insect, and the rainbow scarab, a dung beetle, as the soil conservation insect.

Morehouse and her mother started the Lucile’s Pollinator Project after learning that pollinators were in decline. The project provides free seeds.

Weakening the governor’s appointment powers 

Senate Bill 1327 restores the Oklahoma Tourism and Recreation Commission’s power to appoint the head of the Oklahoma Department of Tourism and Recreation.

It removes the governor’s power to make the appointment.

The action comes after the agency was embroiled in a scandal in which a restaurant vendor was convicted of defrauding the state of millions by submitting inflated invoices.

The agency head will serve at the pleasure of the commission instead of the governor, according to the measure.

Tracking domestic violence offenders

Senate Bill 1325 requires certain defendants charged with domestic violence offenses, who are released on bond, to wear a global positioning device that can be tracked by the victim.

Sen. Bill Coleman, R-Ponca City, is the author. Coleman said he talked to a number of judges who thought the measure could save lives.

If a victim were able to have advance warning that the defendant was approaching their home or business, it would allow the victim to get to a safe location, Coleman said.

Marijuana packaging changes

House Bill 4454 prohibits edible marijuana packaging from being attractive to people under 18. It prohibits the use of cartoons, toys, animals and food to sell the product. It also bars the product from being shaped like commercially available candy.

Jed Green, director for Oklahomans for Responsible Cannabis Action, said laws like the one created by HB 4454 can be a little subjective.

“I would urge folks in the industry to err on the side of caution,” Green said. 

Rep. Carl Newton, R-Cherokee, said the measure also requires the products to list the content of Tetrahydrocannabinol, or THC, the psychoactive element of marijuana, to help prevent over medication.

Adoptions and gender-affirming care

House Bill 3586 prohibits the denial of adoption based on the parents’ refusal to enable the child to accessgender-affirming care.

Raising the child consistent with the child’s biological sex does not constitute abuse, according to the measure.

A new bridge

House Bill 2123 allows the Oklahoma Turnpike Authority to build a new bridge crossing the Arkansas River in the Bixby area.

Rep. Mark Tedford, R-Tulsa, said the measure empowers the agency to start surveying and evaluating locations for their portion of the project.

Additional roads would need to be built by local entities, he said.

“It is going to be a team effort to get the proper funding and get the whole project done,” Tedford said.

‘True Grit Trail’

House Bill 1411 establishes the True Grit Trail in southeast Oklahoma.

“True Grit” is a novel written by Arkansas-born author Charles Portis that depicts 14-year-old Mattie Ross’ efforts to avenge her father’s murder. It was made into a 1969 movie featuring the late John Wayne who plays U.S. Marshall Reuben J. “Rooster” Cogburn.

Much of the story was set in Oklahoma, said Rep. Jim Grego, R-Wilburton, in a statement.

“This new trail will give us a way to show off the places made popular in the story and  hopefully will draw new visitors to this area of the state,” Grego said. “This could positively impact our local hotels, restaurants and other businesses.”

Towns and places of interest along the trail include: Sallisaw, Spiro, Bokoshe, McCurtain, Kinta, Quinton, Krebs, McAlester, Hartshorne, Wilburton, Red Oak, Bengal, Talihina, Robbers Cave State Park and the Talimena National Scenic Byway.