House committee advances Duran Act, housing commission bill and a slate of regulatory measures

A House committee advanced a package of legislative proposals during a meeting, including a bill to require safety devices at fitness facilities and bills on athletic-commission rules, housing strategy, and consumer protections. Committee members moved and the chair declared most measures passed after limited debate.

Representative Hill, the sponsor who presented House Bill 2,379, described the measure as the "Duran Act," named for a 17-year-old in his community who died after an arrhythmia at a fitness facility. "The PCS, working draft in front of you is the Duran Act," Representative Hill said, adding the bill "is to require a safety device at a facility that is known for raising one's heart rate, being fitness facilities." He said the device would be similar in principle to other publicly required safety equipment such as fire extinguishers or sprinkler systems.

The committee also handled a range of other bills. Representative Bayshore explained a package of changes requested by the Oklahoma State Athletic Commission to tighten oversight, update medical requirements and clarify rules for combat-sport events. Representative Blansett presented a bill to create a short-term, legislator-led housing commission that would sunset after three years and submit recommendations to legislative leaders. A bundle of consumer- and workforce-related bills advanced as well, including measures on earned-wage-access protections, appraisal-transparency rules, and a bill to modernize self-storage facility operations.

Nut graf: The meeting moved quickly: sponsors explained draft committee substitutes (PCS) for their measures, members asked clarifying questions on implementation or scope, and the chair opened and closed votes with little extended debate. Several bills were described as request bills from state boards or industry groups and were presented as technical or workforce-oriented changes; the committee recorded approvals or declared bills passed at the meeting.

Votes at a glance

- House Bill 2,379 ("Duran Act"): Sponsor: Representative Hill. Purpose: Require a safety device (defibrillator or similar) at fitness facilities that raise heart rate; named for Zach Duran. Outcome: Declared passed by the chair (vote tally not specified in transcript).

- House Bill 11-22 (Oklahoma State Athletic Commission request): Sponsor: Representative Bayshore. Purpose: Clarify oversight, tighten enforcement of illegal events, update medical requirements and rules around kickboxing, bare-knuckle contests and related events. Outcome: Declared passed by the chair (vote tally not specified in transcript).

- House Bill 22-86 (Funeral Home Board request): Sponsor: Speaker Hilbert (presenting). Purpose: Permit assistant funeral home directors to exercise certain adoption-related duties (as described in the bill); presented as workforce support. Outcome: Declared passed by the chair (vote tally not specified in transcript).

- Oklahoma Uniform Building Code Commission workforce bill (PCS adopted): Sponsor: (presented to committee). Purpose: Allow training for those affected by adopted building codes and establish a workforce development program for code officials. Outcome: Declared passed by the chair (vote tally not specified in transcript).

- House Bill 20-86 (earned-wage-access protections): Sponsor: Representative Blair. Purpose: Establish consumer protections for earned-wage-access services and direct stakeholder engagement on language. Outcome: Declared passed; transcript records "6 ayes, 0 nays."

- House Bill 21-89 (short-term housing strategy commission): Sponsor: Representative Blansett. Purpose: Create a legislator-led commission to develop short- and long-term housing strategy; commission sunsets after three years and reports to legislative leaders. Outcome: Declared passed; transcript records vote as "5 ayes, 1 nay."

- House Bill 13-66 (dentist/hygienist compact/licensure portability): Sponsor: Representative Culver. Purpose: Streamline licensing for dentists and hygienists moving to Oklahoma; proponents said an identical bill passed the House floor previously. Outcome: Declared passed; transcript records "7 ayes, 0 nays."

- House Bill 23-90 (self-storage modernization; transcript lists as House Bill 2,390): Sponsor: Representative Hall. Purpose: Update legal framework for self-storage facilities including electronic contracting practices; committee members asked for clarification on when an electronic acceptance constitutes a contract. Outcome: Declared passed; transcript shows a recorded tally consistent with committee procedure (specific tally not clearly specified).

- House Bill 10-24 (repeal of mandatory 6% retail markup in place since 1949): Sponsor: Representative Bayshore. Purpose: Repeal a mandatory 6% state markup on retail goods to allow retailers to set prices; the second PCS exempts fuel/ petroleum marketers from the repeal. Outcome: Declared passed by the chair (vote tally not specified in transcript).

- House Bill 10-81 (appraisal-management transparency; constituent request): Sponsor: Representative Devitt. Purpose: Require transparency where appraisal-management companies contract out appraisal services and promote transparency in the closing process. Outcome: Declared passed; transcript records "8 ayes, 0 nays."

- House Bill 21-58 (Oklahoma Auto Dealers Association request, title 47 language): Sponsor: Representative (presenter noted association request). Purpose: Update franchise and manufacturer-dealer language in Title 47 as negotiated with manufacturers and dealers. Outcome: Declared passed by the chair (vote tally not specified in transcript).

- House Bill 17-89 (recreational-vehicle off-premises sales): Sponsor: Representative Curves (presenter). Purpose: Allow certain off-premises sales at events such as boat shows after initial regional denials; presented as clarifying dealers' sales options. Outcome: Declared passed by the chair (vote tally not specified in transcript).

- House Bill 18-33 (14(c) transition task force on subminimum wage for persons with disabilities): Sponsor: Representative (presented). Purpose: Establish a task force to plan for potential federal changes to 14(c) certificates and provide up to three years for state readiness; bill frames the issue as workforce and funding-sequencing work. Outcome: Declared passed by the chair (vote tally not specified in transcript).

What was discussed (high-level)

- Public-safety device requirement: Representative Hill framed HB 2,379 as a targeted safety measure for facilities that raise heart rate; he compared the device requirement to other statutorily required public-safety equipment and framed it as a life-saving step.

- Athletic-commission update: Representative Bayshore said the measure clarifies enforcement and medical standards and adds coverage for emerging combat events; he described it as a response to past missing-funds issues and the growth of new event types.

- Housing commission: Representative Blansett described a three-year, legislator-led commission to produce recommendations to legislative leaders; she said the commission would include a cross-section of stakeholders (urban/rural, nonprofit, developers) and sunset after three years.

- Electronic contracting and consumer protections: Sponsors and members asked questions about when an emailed contract or an electronic acceptance (for example via DocuSign) constitutes a contract for purposes such as issuing keys or access codes to a self-storage unit. Sponsors said the bill intends to enable common electronic signing platforms and does not create automatic contract acceptance from a mere email delivery.

Ending: Committee chair actions and next steps

The chair opened and closed individual votes after limited discussion on most measures and declared the bills to have passed at the conclusion of each roll call. The committee laid over House Bill 22-91 and House Bill 17-08 at adjournment and then adjourned.

(Quotes are taken verbatim from the committee transcript. Vote tallies are included only where clearly recorded in the transcript; remaining tallies are listed as not specified.)