Oklahoma Bankers Association We make bankers better!
At noon, Monday, Feb. 3, the Oklahoma legislature convened for the First Session of the 60th Oklahoma Legislature.
The legislative session will run until 5 p.m. on the final Friday in May. There were over 3,100 bills filed this year between the House and the Senate. With 31 new legislators, we were expecting a lot of bills to be filed.
We have read through all the bills, and we have 313 on our tracking list. The good news is the majority of them will go away after the first deadline, which is in about four weeks.
Before we get to what bills the OBA is tracking, I wanted to share with you what the governor had to say in his annual State of the State address. The State of the State address is where the governor lays out his legislative priorities for the upcoming legislative session.
Gov. Stitt referenced the 2024 presidential election and the results showed a shift in the way we think as a nation. Americans voted for courage and freedom, Stitt said to a meeting of the joint legislature. Stitt also said we have a mandate to support and pass conservative, limited government legislation that make the American dream possible for all Oklahomans. To do that, we need to commit to these four principles that Oklahomans voted for:
Protect Oklahoma taxpayers.
Be the best state for business.
Safeguard our savings.
Protect the Oklahoma way of life.
During his address, Gov. Stitt launched his half-and-a-path plan. This plan would be a half-point cut to the individual and business income tax rate and a path to ultimately have zero percent income tax.
A couple of weeks ago, Gov. Stitt paid a visit to Mar-a-Lago to dive deep into the newly created DOGE: the Department of Government Efficiency. The purpose of DOGE is to reduce wasteful spending and eliminate unnecessary regulations. Gov. Stitt was so impressed with the federal DOGE that he officially launched DOGE-OK. The intent of DOGE-OK is to keep the focus on flat budgets and limited government.
Every year, the governor gives a passionate speech with lots of hopes, dreams and wishes. These feelings are only for the governor, but usually both the House and the Senate have similar thoughts. All of these hopes and dreams largely depend on what the money looks like, and we’ll know in a couple of weeks when the Board of Equalization confirms how much surplus the legislature has to spend during this session. Rumors will tell you it won’t be as much as previous years, but for those of us who lived through major budget deficits, any surplus is greatly appreciated.
As I mentioned earlier, the OBA is tracking over 300 bills this legislative session. I want to focus on just a handful of bills that we are very interested or directly involved in.
HB 2745 — The Oklahoma Rural Lending Act. The ORLA will lower the cost of credit by removing the taxation on interest earned from ag real estate loans, rural home loans and operating loans in rural communities with a population of 5,000 or less. The ORLA will benefit farmers, ranchers and rural homeowners who do business with their local community bank. Other lenders, including the Farm Credit System, already have this exact same tax benefit. The ORLA simply levels the playing field so farmers, ranchers and rural homeowners who choose to utilize their hometown bank can receive the lowest possible interest rates.
SB 988 — Effective Filing Statements (EFS). This bill will move the filing of EFS from the Oklahoma secretary of state’s office to central filing in Oklahoma County. As part of moving from the secretary of state to Oklahoma County, the county must be certified by the U.S. Secretary of Agriculture. This process could take months or years, we just don’t know. As part of the legislation should it pass, this change won’t go into effect until 180 days after Oklahoma County becomes certified. Nothing with the EFS will change except where you file.
SB 1083 — Crypto ATMs. This is a new issue to Oklahoma and legislation has never been introduced regarding crypto ATMs. I want to take a minute to give all the background information you need that will explain how we got to this point.
The problem: Fraudulent activity involving digital asset kiosks, also known as cryptocurrency or bitcoin kiosks, is on the rise in Oklahoma. Digital asset kiosks can be found in supermarkets, convenience stores, gas stations, bars and restaurants. Digital asset kiosks resemble bank ATMs and allow people to conduct legitimate cryptocurrency transactions, such as sending money to digital wallets.
However, because digital asset kiosks are largely unregulated at the state level compared to traditional financial institutions and money service businesses, they lack sufficient consumer fraud protections. As a result, scammers and criminals are using digital asset kiosks to steal hundreds of millions of dollars from Americans each year through fraudulent purchase schemes.
How the scam works: Perpetrators convince individuals they must address an urgent financial matter, directing them to withdrawal large amounts of cash from their banks. The individual is directed to insert the money into a digital asset or kiosk via QR code. The money is immediately transferred to the criminal’s cryptocurrency wallet, which is inaccessible to the victim. Authorities warn recovering the funds is nearly impossible once the payment is made.
The impact: Criminals exploit new and emerging technologies to commit fraud. In 2023, the FBI received over 5,500 complaints involving digital asset kiosks, and Americans reported over $189 million in stolen funds. Today, there are more than 45,000 digital asset kiosks nationwide, and, as of Jan. 28, Oklahoma has approximately 400 digital asset kiosks located across the state operated by 13 different operators.
The solution: SB 1083 will implement important consumer protections by:
Imposing daily transaction limits to avoid potential risks associated with higher transactions.
Posting fraud warning notices that are visible and identify steps people should take if they suspect fraudulent activity.
Clearly displaying terms and conditions before a transaction, including any fees charged and the exchange rate.
Giving paper receipts with relevant transactional information, which allows law enforcement to investigate immediately.
Requiring digital asset kiosk operators to refund kiosk fees for fraudulent transactions related to fraud.
Authorizing the Oklahoma State Banking Department to require licensure in the state of Oklahoma; oversight of complaint activity and revocation of operator licensure if operators are subject of two or more consumer complaints related to fraudulent transfers that are not reimbursed.
There are a lot of other bills that we are involved in, some of these we are closely working with and some we are simply monitoring. Below are just a few examples of the issues we are involved with.
Gold and silver currency.
Statewide credit report consent form.
Debit card/credit card surcharges.
Elimination of interchange on tips, taxes and foundations.
Bank privilege tax.
Bank discrimination.
As you can see, we have a full plate this legislative session. We will continue to keep you posted as the session progresses and make sure you are aware of everything happening in Oklahoma City. We will be sending out Contact Banker program information in the next couple of weeks, so please take a look at the registration form and let us know what date(s) work for you to join us at the state Capitol.
Hopefully you have seen the lineup for this spring’s Bankers’ Night Out events. We’ll be crossing the state with a legislative update and other timely information. We hope you will join us.