§ 51-46. Procedure authorized - Checks and balances preserved - Withholding and disbursing agents defined - Warrants - Reservation of funds - Transmission - Lost checks.

In every instance where the United States of America or the State of Oklahoma, or both, have enacted laws requiring reservation or withholding of tax levied upon salaries, wages, or other compensation of officers, deputies, and employees of the state or of any county, city, town, board of education, or school district or any other municipal subdivision thereof, the public funds of which, under the system of checks and balances prescribed by the Legislature under mandate of the Constitution of this state, are disbursed only upon warrant upon the treasurer pursuant to verified itemized claim, the procedures herein prescribed are authorized, and required to be followed, for the purpose of enabling the tax so withheld to be transmitted, without delay and without peril of penalty, to the Collector of Internal Revenue in the case of the United States and to the Oklahoma Tax Commission in the case of the state.

a.  It is specifically provided that the Oklahoma system of checks and balances upon the receiving and disbursing of public monies be preserved intact, regulations of federal agencies to the contrary notwithstanding.

b.  Withholding agents, charged with the duty of reserving or withholding any tax upon the salary, wage or compensation of public officers, deputies, or employees, shall comprehend and include all of the following:

1.  All officers, boards, and commissions charged with the administrative duty of considering salary, wage and compensation claims for final approval and order to issue warrant in payment thereof;

2.  All officers charged with the duty of issuing, signing, attesting, registering, or paying the warrant drawn and issued pursuant to the order allowing the claim.

c.  Disbursing officers, for purpose of paying the tax so withheld, shall be the same officers hereinbefore defined as withholding agents, with liability for such tax payment in the same order or sequence.

d.  The tax withheld shall be paid only upon warrant against the reserves or withholdings accumulated, in the same manner as other warrants; except that, in lieu of verified claim, the issuing officer shall prepare and present a detailed statement of account on behalf of the U.S. Collector of Internal Revenue or of the Oklahoma Tax Commission, as the case may be, which shall be entered upon the calendar, considered as other claims, and warrant ordered issued, signed, and attested in the amount found proper.

e.  If no monies have been collected for credit to the fund account against which such warrant was drawn, the same shall be registered "funds not available," and no treasurer or other withholding officer shall be liable or penalized for nonacceptance.

f.  When monies have been collected for credit to any fund account subject to such warrant, it shall be the duty of the treasurer to estimate and reserve a sufficient amount of cash on hand to register such warrant "funds available" as such tax withholdings accrue, regardless of other warrant registrations; and such treasurer shall not be liable to the holder of any warrant previously registered by reason of such reserve.

g.  The warrant order upon the treasurer directing him to pay the accumulation of tax withheld to the U.S. Collector of Internal Revenue or the Oklahoma Tax Commission, as the case may be, when the warrant is registered "funds available" as aforesaid, shall require no endorsement, but the treasurer shall forthwith draw his check upon his depository bank in payment thereof and mail it to the proper office.  If required, he may require his depository bank to certify on the face of the check as to the funds on deposit, but no charge may be made for such certification.

h.  It shall be unlawful for the treasurer to purchase bank draft or any other commercial exchange that has not the protection and security of the bank collateral or insurance for his funds on deposit; and no additional expense may be incurred by the treasurer against the municipality for transmitting such tax other than ordinary postage, or registered mail if required.

i.  No bond shall be required for duplicate issue of lost check; but, in such event, stop-payment order shall be posted with the depository bank.  This provision shall apply only in instance of checks transmitting tax.

Added by Laws 1943, p. 125, § 1, emerg. eff. Feb. 26, 1943.