SB258 creates the Preserving and Advancing County Transportation Fund (PACT Fund) in the State Treasury and directs a portion of certain gross production tax revenues into that fund. The new fund is a continuing revolving fund, and its money is appropriated for distribution to counties using a formula tied to county road miles and county bridges. The bill sets a target of $4,000 per county road mile for highway construction and maintenance funding, prioritizing counties with the lowest current ratio until all counties reach that target.
The bill also amends Oklahoma’s gross production tax apportionment statute to divert a share of oil and natural gas tax collections to the PACT Fund, while preserving existing allocations to the General Revenue Fund, county highway funds, school districts, education-related revolving funds, bridge and road improvement funds, water infrastructure funds, tourism, conservation, and circuit engineering district funds. For natural gas at the 5% rate, 20% of the levy is redirected to the PACT Fund, capped at $75 million per fiscal year. The bill also adjusts related apportionment language and maintains overall annual caps on several education, water, tourism, and infrastructure funds.
In addition to the ongoing revenue changes, the bill appropriates $25 million from the General Revenue Fund for fiscal year 2026 to the County Improvements for Roads and Bridges Fund for reconstruction of county bridges on major collector routes. Those projects are to be evaluated and prioritized by the Department of Transportation using criteria such as structural adequacy, safety, serviceability, functional obsolescence, public use, detour length, traffic safety features, school bus routes, and county financial participation.
The bill’s impact on state law is significant because it creates a new statutory funding mechanism for county transportation infrastructure and revises the distribution of gross production tax revenues under Title 68. It also adds a new county bridge appropriation program under Title 69, affecting the State Treasurer, Oklahoma Tax Commission, Department of Transportation, county treasurers, county highway funds, school districts, and several state revolving funds. The measure takes effect July 1, 2025, and includes an emergency clause.
The overall sentiment appears strongly favorable and noncontroversial in the recorded votes, with unanimous or near-unanimous support in both chambers and no recorded opposition votes. The main policy theme is improving county roads and bridges through dedicated, formula-based funding. Any potential contention is limited to how the new revenue stream is divided among counties and how the bridge project selection criteria may favor certain projects or counties, but no explicit opposition appears in the available record.
SB258 creates a new revolving fund in Title 69, the Preserving and Advancing County Transportation Fund, and amends Title 68 gross production tax apportionment provisions to dedicate specified oil and gas tax revenue to county transportation uses. It also adds a one-time $25 million General Revenue Fund appropriation for county bridge reconstruction projects. The bill affects county highway funds, county bridge and road improvement funds, school district distributions tied to gross production taxes, and several state funds for education, water, tourism, conservation, and engineering districts.
The bill appears to have broad bipartisan support and little visible opposition. It passed the Senate and House with unanimous or near-unanimous votes at each recorded stage, including 23-0 in Senate committee, 45-0 on Senate third reading, 8-0 in House committee, 28-0 on House amended action, and 88-0 on House third reading. The available record suggests the measure was viewed as a transportation infrastructure funding bill rather than a controversial policy change.
No direct contention is reflected in the available committee or floor record, but the bill’s structure suggests the main policy questions are distributional: how much gross production tax revenue should be diverted from the General Revenue Fund to county transportation, how counties should be prioritized under the PACT formula, and how bridge reconstruction projects should be ranked by the Department of Transportation. Counties with lower road-mile funding ratios would benefit first under the new formula, while the capped diversion from gas revenues and the reallocation of existing tax streams could be a point of concern for those prioritizing state general revenue or other funded programs.