§ 75-12a. Legislative bills and resolutions - Enrollment - Filing in Office of Secretary of State.

A.  Bills and resolutions referred to in Section 35, Article V of the Constitution of the State of Oklahoma, after their passage but before they are signed by the presiding officer of each house of the Legislature as provided in said section, shall be correctly enrolled either in permanent ink on appropriate paper or in an electronic form pursuant to rules adopted by each house.  Bills and resolutions originating in one house of the Legislature which, after being duly passed and engrossed thereby, are transmitted to the other house and thereafter returned without amendment to the house in which same originated, shall, when referred for enrollment, be transmitted to the Office of Engrossing and Enrolling thereof, which office may cause each and every such engrossed bill or resolution, without retyping, to be reported properly enrolled for fourth reading and final signature by attaching or jacketing in the forefront thereof a proper jurat for certification by the presiding officer as to the previous passage of said bill or resolution.  After said bills and resolutions have been duly signed by the presiding officer of each house of the Legislature, and after same have been either affirmatively or negatively approved by the Governor or passed over his objections, as provided in Section 11, Article VI of the Constitution of the State of Oklahoma, they shall be filed in the office of the Secretary of State where they shall be permanently preserved.

B.  For purposes of this section and subject to the provisions of subsection C of this section, bills and resolutions and amendments thereto may be transmitted between the two houses of the Legislature electronically.  Enrolled bills and resolutions may be transmitted electronically to the Office of the Governor.  Bills and resolutions that are filed in the Office of the Secretary of State may be transmitted electronically.  If a bill or resolution is transmitted electronically, the signature of the presiding officer may be an electronic signature.  All bills and resolutions transmitted electronically must be signed by the presiding officer in compliance with the provisions of Section 35 of Article V of the Oklahoma Constitution; provided, such signatures may be in electronic form.

C.  Electronic transmittal of bills and resolutions shall be allowed if safeguards established by the Clerk of the House and the Secretary of the Senate are in place to protect against unauthorized users.  Transmission between the respective houses shall require a written agreement signed by the Speaker of the House of Representatives and the President Pro Tempore of the Senate.  Transmission from either house of the Legislature to the Office of the Governor shall require a written agreement signed by the Governor, the Speaker of the House of Representatives and the President Pro Tempore of the Senate.  Transmission from either house of the Legislature to the Office of the Secretary of State shall require a written agreement signed by the Secretary of State, the Speaker of the House of Representatives and the President Pro Tempore of the Senate.  The Clerk of the House of Representatives and the Secretary of the Senate shall be the guardians of electronic signatures for their respective houses of the Legislature and shall be authorized to make determinations as to validity and authenticity of electronic signatures.

Added by Laws 1945, p. 480, § 1.  Amended by Laws 1945, p. 491, § 1, emerg. eff. Jan. 23, 1945; Laws 1959, p. 367, § 1, emerg. eff. Feb. 24, 1959; Laws 1981, c. 272, § 37, eff. July 1, 1981; Laws 2011, c. 339, § 1.