Motor vehicles; creating the Shelby Johnson and Logan Deardorff Act of 2025; licenses; requiring certain diagnosis report; effective date.
Summary
HB2126 creates the “Shelby Johnson and Logan Deardorff Act of 2025” and amends Oklahoma’s driver licensing law to address applicants and license holders with certain medical conditions that may impair safe driving. Under the bill, Service Oklahoma may cancel, suspend, or deny a driver license when it is informed that a person has a physical disease with a history of seizures, a mental disease, momentary lapses of consciousness, or another ailment that could cause temporary loss or partial loss of control of a motor vehicle.
The bill also expressly requires a person diagnosed with a disorder causing momentary lapses of consciousness that could affect driving ability to report that diagnosis to Service Oklahoma. In addition, physicians and other medical personnel may submit written diagnosis reports when they are treating an individual for an illness or injury that may impair driving, and those reports are given civil-liability immunity when made in good faith and without negligence or malicious intent. The measure preserves an appeal right for affected drivers and authorizes Service Oklahoma to adopt rules to implement the law, with an effective date of November 1, 2025.
Impact
HB2126 amends 47 O.S. Section 6-207, expanding the circumstances under which Service Oklahoma may take licensing action based on medical fitness to drive and clarifying reporting obligations tied to seizure disorders and other conditions causing lapses of consciousness. It also limits the use of diagnosis reports to licensing proceedings, states that such reports are not public records, and protects reporting physicians and medical personnel from civil liability when acting in good faith. The bill affects drivers with certain neurological or mental health conditions, medical providers, and the state agency responsible for driver licensing.
Sentiment
The bill appears to have broad support in committee and on the House floor. It passed the House Public Safety Committee 6-0, the House Judiciary and Public Safety Oversight Committee 13-0, and third reading in the House by a wide margin of 88-2. The available record suggests the measure was generally viewed favorably as a public-safety and licensing administration bill.
Contention
The main policy tension in HB2126 is between roadway safety and privacy or due-process concerns for drivers with medical conditions. Supporters appear to favor giving Service Oklahoma clearer authority to act on diagnoses that may affect driving, while the bill’s safeguards reflect concern about confidentiality, physician-patient privilege, and liability for medical reporters. The appeal provision and non-public-record language suggest an effort to balance enforcement with individual rights, but the bill still places reporting and licensing consequences on people with seizure-related or similar disorders.