Oklahoma Senate Bill SB1106

Oklahoma 2026 Regular Session

• Introduced: 2/3/25
• Refer: 2/4/25
• Report Pass: 2/20/25

Caption

Fair Pay for Construction Act; providing certain exceptions. Effective date.

Summary

SB1106 amends Oklahoma’s Fair Pay for Construction Act to expand the list of construction-related projects excluded from the act’s coverage. In addition to the existing exclusions for highway, railroad, and turnpike construction, the bill adds municipal road construction. It also clarifies that the act generally does not apply to certain infrastructure work such as roads, bridges, utilities, traffic control, drainage, sanitary sewer, and waterline construction, except to the extent those items are part of a broader construction contract as defined in the statute. The bill continues the existing exclusion for contracts involving single-family through four-family dwellings. The bill also strengthens the act’s anti-waiver and anti-forum-selection provisions. It declares void and unenforceable any contract term that would make a construction contract subject to another state’s law or require disputes to be resolved outside Oklahoma. It likewise voids any clause that would limit or alter the rights of prime contractors, subcontractors, sub-subcontractors, or material suppliers to enforce the protections created by the Fair Pay for Construction Act. The measure is set to take effect November 1, 2025.

Impact

SB1106 would amend 61 O.S. 2021, Section 227, by broadening and clarifying the statute’s exemptions from the Fair Pay for Construction Act and by reinforcing Oklahoma’s public-policy rules for construction contracts. Its practical effect is to leave more public works and infrastructure projects outside the act’s reach, while preserving the act’s protections for covered construction contracts. It also affects contract drafting and dispute resolution by invalidating out-of-state choice-of-law and out-of-state forum provisions, and by protecting statutory rights for contractors, subcontractors, and material suppliers.

Sentiment

The available legislative history shows strong support for the bill in committee, with the Senate Business and Insurance Committee voting 10-0 to do pass. No committee transcript was provided, so there is no recorded debate to indicate opposition or detailed concerns. The unanimous committee vote suggests the measure was generally well received at that stage.

Contention

The main policy tension in SB1106 is between expanding exemptions for certain construction and infrastructure projects and preserving the Fair Pay for Construction Act’s protections for covered parties. Supporters appear to favor clearer carve-outs for roads, bridges, utilities, and municipal road work, likely to avoid unintended application to public infrastructure contracts. Potential points of contention would be whether the added exclusions narrow worker and contractor protections too much, and whether the bill’s voiding of out-of-state law and forum clauses could limit contractual flexibility for parties operating across state lines. No specific opposition was recorded in the materials provided.