2023 Oklahoma Statutes › Title 47. Motor Vehicles › §47-156.1v1. Use of state-owned or state-leased motor vehicles for private use - Penalty - Exceptions - Temporary authorization - Employee status report.

A. It shall be unlawful for any state official, officer or employee, except any essential employees approved by the Governor and those officers or employees authorized in subsection B of this section, to ride to or from the place of residence of the employee in a state-owned or state-leased automobile, truck or pickup, except in the performance of the official duty of the employee, or to use or permit the use of any such automobile, truck, ambulance or pickup for other personal or private purposes. Any person convicted of violating the provisions of this section shall be guilty of a misdemeanor and shall be punished by a fine of not more than One Hundred Dollars ($100.00) or by imprisonment in the county jail for a period to not exceed thirty (30) days, or by both said fine and imprisonment, and in addition thereto, shall be discharged from state employment.
B. 1. Any state employee, other than the individuals provided for in paragraph 2 of this subsection and any employee of the Department of Public Safety who is an employee in the Driver License Examining Division or the Driver Compliance Division or a wrecker inspector or auditor of the Wrecker Services Division as provided for in paragraph 3 of this subsection, who receives emergency telephone calls regularly at the residence of the employee when the employee is not on duty and is regularly called upon to use a vehicle after normal work hours in response to such emergency calls, may be permitted to use a vehicle belonging to the state to provide transportation between the residence of the employee and the assigned place of employment, provided such distance does not exceed seventy-five (75) miles in any round trip or is within the county where the assigned place of employment is located. Provided further, an employee may be permitted to use a state-owned or state-leased vehicle to provide temporary transportation between a specific work location other than the assigned place of employment and the residence of the employee, if such use shall result in a monetary saving to the agency, and such authorization shall not be subject to the distance or area restrictions provided for in this paragraph. Authorization for temporary use of a state-owned or state-leased vehicle for a specific project shall be in writing stating the justification for this use and the saving expected to result. Such authorization shall be valid for not to exceed sixty (60) days. Any state entity other than law enforcement that avails itself of this provision shall keep a monthly record of all participating employees, the number of emergency calls received and the number of times that a state vehicle was used in the performance of such emergency calls.
2. Any employee of the Department of Public Safety, Oklahoma Department of Corrections, Office of the Attorney General, Oklahoma State Bureau of Narcotics and Dangerous Drugs Control, Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation, Alcoholic Beverage Laws Enforcement Commission, Oklahoma Horse Racing Commission, Oklahoma Department of Agriculture, Food, and Forestry, Office of the Inspector General within the Department of Human Services or Office of the State Fire Marshal, who is a law enforcement officer or criminalist, Public Information officer, Special Investigator or Assistant Director of the Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation, CLEET-certified Investigator for a state board or any employee of a district attorney who is a law enforcement officer, may be permitted to use a state-owned or state-leased vehicle to provide transportation between the residence of the employee and the assigned place of employment and between the residence and any location other than the assigned place of employment to which the employee travels in the performance of the official duty of the employee.
3. Any employee of the Department of Public Safety who is an employee in the Driver License Examining Division, an employee of the Driver Compliance Division, a wrecker inspector or auditor of the Wrecker Services Division, or a noncommissioned pilot may be permitted, as determined by the Commissioner, to use a state-owned or state-leased vehicle to provide transportation between the residence of the employee and the assigned place of employment and between the residence and any location other than the assigned place of employment to which the employee travels in the performance of the official duty of the employee.
4. The Director, department heads and other essential employees of the Department of Wildlife Conservation, as authorized by the Wildlife Conservation Commission, may be permitted to use a state-owned or state-leased vehicle to provide transportation between the residence of the employee and the assigned place of employment and between the residence and any location other than the assigned place of employment to which the employee travels in the performance of the official duty of the employee.
5. The Director, department heads, emergency responders and other essential employees of the Department of Corrections, as authorized by the Director, may be permitted to use a state-owned or state-leased vehicle to provide transportation between the residence of the employee and the assigned place of employment and between the residence and any location other than the assigned place of employment to which the employee travels in the performance of the official duty of the employee.
6. The Attorney General, division heads, emergency responders, agents, assistant attorneys general, and other essential employees of the Office of the Attorney General, as authorized by the Attorney General, may be permitted to use a state-owned or state-leased vehicle to provide transportation between the residence of the employee and the assigned place of employment and between the residence and any location other than the assigned place of employment to which the employee travels in the performance of the official duty of the employee.
C. The principal administrator of the state agency with which the employee is employed shall so designate the status of the employee in writing or provide a copy of the temporary authorization to the Governor, the President Pro Tempore of the Senate and the Speaker of the House of Representatives. Such employee status report shall also be provided to the State Fleet Manager of the Division of Fleet Management if the motor vehicle for emergency use is provided by said Division.
Added by Laws 1941, p. 202, § 3, emerg. eff. May 22, 1941. Amended by Laws 1981, c. 291, § 2; Laws 1983, c. 304, § 23, eff. July 1, 1983; Laws 1987, c. 38, § 1, emerg. eff. April 23, 1987; Laws 1988, c. 322, § 3; Laws 1995, c. 105, § 1, eff. Nov. 1, 1995; Laws 1995, c. 255, § 2, eff. July 1, 1995; Laws 1996, c. 3, § 10, emerg. eff. March 6, 1996; Laws 2002, c. 184, § 1, eff. July 1, 2002; Laws 2003, c. 456, § 3, emerg. eff. June 6, 2003; Laws 2007, c. 326, § 18, eff. Nov. 1, 2007; Laws 2009, c. 248, § 1, eff. Nov. 1, 2009; Laws 2011, c. 335, § 10; Laws 2012, c. 316, § 3, eff. Nov. 1, 2012; Laws 2021, c. 390, § 1, eff. Nov. 1, 2021; Laws 2023, c. 174, § 3, emerg. eff. May 2, 2023.
NOTE: Laws 1988, c. 289, § 13 repealed by Laws 1989, c. 353, § 14, emerg. eff. June 3, 1989. Laws 1995, c. 235, § 2 repealed by Laws 1996, c. 3, § 25, emerg. eff. March 6, 1996.
NOTE: Laws 2023, c. 174, § 4 states that the act shall become effective November 1, 2023. However, § 5 contains an emergency clause, and therefore, the act became effective upon the Governor’s approval, which occurred on May 2, 2023.