§ 68-3032. Warrants and debts prohibited during protest period - Exceptions.

(1)  Pending the expiration of the time within which protests may be filed with the State Auditor and Inspector, no warrant shall be issued or debt contracted by any municipality for any purpose except as provided hereinafter:

(a)  Counties:  For salaries and compensation of each officer and all regular deputies and employees thereunder, including home demonstration agents and farm demonstration agents employed by the board of county commissioners under contract with the Extension Division of the Oklahoma State University or United States Department of Agriculture or any other state or federal department under cooperative agreement with the board of county commissioners as now or that may hereafter be provided by law, salaries of the county superintendent of health and regular employees of any county health unit, for regular salaries and maintenance and operation costs of a county hospital and other quasi-municipal boards now or hereafter created by law; for insurance on county property and risks including premiums on bonds of public officials; for office supplies, blank books, stationery, printing, postage, telephone, telegraph, lights, fuel and water; for rent; for support, maintenance, surgical and medical attention and necessary medicine and hospitalization, and transportation, of the poor or insane, prisoners, and widows; for neglected children, crippled children; for support, maintenance, surgical and medical attention and necessary medicines and hospitalization and transportation of crippled, homeless, abandoned, dependent and neglected children, and children in danger of becoming delinquent, whether or not such debts are contracted in conjunction with a cooperating state department or agency; for jury commissioners, jurors, bailiffs, and witnesses for courts of record, for transcripts and each item of court expense as may be necessary and authorized by law; for fees of peace officers, and for such fees and costs in criminal and coroner actions for which the county is liable; for election expenses, including salaries, per diem, and such other expenses as allowed by law; for annual audits and examination of fiscal affairs of the county; for fuels, oils, and maintenance and repair of county highway equipment and regular salaries and wages of the county engineer, his or her assistants, and regularly employed maintenance workers, in event of emergency entered of record in the minutes of the board by full and unanimous adoption, the necessary wages of emergency help, supplies, and materials for county highway repair, or any other necessity of the county as required by an emergency entered of record in the board minutes; and capital outlay items purchased from temporary appropriations approved by the board of county commissioners and the county excise board or county budget boards whichever is appropriate.

(b)  Cities and towns:  For salaries and temporary compensation for each officer and all regular deputies and employees thereunder, for insurance on city or town property or risks including bonds required of any officials or employees, for office supplies, blank books, stationery, printing, postage, telephone, telegraph, express, freight, drayage, light, current, water, fuels and oils, maintenance materials and supplies, and rents, whether for the city or town proper or for any utility enterprise or for any quasi-municipal or semi-independent board or commission therein authorized and functioning under authority of city charters or the laws of this state, or any department thereof such as street, police, radio, fire, water, light, library, hospital, court, detention home; for board, maintenance and medical care of prisoners; for charities and aid to the poor; for clinics and health service including cooperative agreements with the State Department of Health with or without coordination with the board of county commissioners of the county or schools of the city or town or in cooperation with any other state or federal agency as now or as may hereafter be authorized by law; for jurors and witnesses in the municipal criminal court or police court; for election expenses, including salaries, per diem, and such other expenses as allowed by law; for annual or special audits and examination of fiscal affairs of cities and towns; for maintenance of public libraries, parks, streets or any other continuously functioning governmental, quasi-governmental, or utility enterprise, and the continuing normal expense of operation thereof whether of salaries, wages, materials, or supplies, and whether herein enumerated or not; for capital improvements or capital outlays; and, in event of emergency entered of record by order of the governing board describing it, the necessary wages of emergency help, supplies, materials, and other necessities as the emergency demands.  Provided, however, that this section shall not apply to any city or town if the revenue from the ad valorem tax to the municipal general fund amounted to less than five percent (5%) of the total revenues accruing to the municipal general fund during the prior fiscal year.

(c)  School districts:  For salaries and compensation of officers; for salaries and compensation of teachers and other employees; for office supplies, blank books, stationery and printing; for light, fuel and water; for school supplies, equipment and apparatus; for freight, express and other transportation charges; for repair and maintenance of buildings, grounds and equipment; for administrative expense; for transportation of children to and from school; and for payment of insurance.  Except as otherwise provided by Section 1-117 of Title 70 of the Oklahoma Statutes, capital expenditures, as defined by the section, shall not be authorized by this section from the general fund of a school district but may be authorized from the building fund of a school district.

(d)  Fairs:  For premiums on livestock; poultry, agricultural and horticultural products; dairy products, boys' and girls' club work, products of domestic science and domestic arts, school exhibits, hand paintings, decorating and drawing, manufactured articles, cultivated plants and flowers.

For necessary expenses of management of all fairs authorized by law including office expenses, postage, telegraph and telephone, salary and traveling expenses of the secretary, printing and necessary office supplies, premium ribbons and badges, clerical help, guards, superintendents and judges.

For advertising the fairs and for decorating and cleaning the grounds and buildings.

For transportation and arrangement of fair exhibits at the county fair and county fair exhibits at the Oklahoma State Fair and other state fairs.

(2)  Pending the final determination of any protested levy, no warrant shall be issued or debt contracted against any contested portion of any fund, except for the purposes hereinbefore provided.

Added by Laws 1965, c. 501, § 2.  Amended by Laws 1979, c. 30, § 46, emerg. eff. April 6, 1979; Laws 1980, c. 226, § 7, emerg. eff. May 27, 1980; Laws 1989, c. 156, § 1, emerg. eff. May 8, 1989; Laws 1990, c. 221, § 5, operative July 1, 1990; Laws 1991, c. 209, § 1, eff. July 1, 1991.  Renumbered from § 24112 by Laws 1988, c. 162, § 163, eff. Jan. 1, 1992 and Laws 1991, c. 249, § 3, eff. Jan. 1, 1992; Laws 1995, c. 153, § 1, emerg. eff. May 2, 1995.