Oklahoma Uniform Building Code; removing limitation on duration of certain authorized overnight stays; prohibiting entities from enforcing codes. Effective date.
SB 1761 amends Oklahoma law governing churches’ use of their buildings for temporary overnight visitors. The bill states that, to protect religious exercise, the Oklahoma Uniform Building Code and local building codes must allow a church that is classified as an A-3 occupancy to use its space for overnight visitors for religious retreats, ministry programs, lock-ins, emergency or catastrophic events, and to shelter transient or displaced persons during hardship or inclement weather. It also declares that this use is a protected religious and ministry activity and that it does not change the building’s occupancy classification.
The bill removes the current limitation on the duration of these overnight stays, replacing it with a definition of “temporary” as no more than 75 days in a calendar year, unless the Governor has declared a state of emergency or exigent circumstances exist. It also prohibits municipalities, political subdivisions, and other government entities from enforcing codes or regulations in a way that would infringe on the church’s ability to provide these accommodations. The bill further clarifies that churches may not charge for the accommodations in a way that turns the use into a commercial bed-and-breakfast, hotel, or motel operation.
SB 1761 retains fire-safety conditions for churches offering overnight accommodations. A church must have either a monitored automatic sprinkler system in the overnight area or a hard-wired stand-alone fire and smoke alarm plus a direct exit to a public way, exit court, or yard. The bill also updates statutory definitions of “church” and “religious organization,” including entities qualifying under federal tax law, and it updates a federal Internal Revenue Code reference.
The bill’s impact on state law is to expand and clarify the statutory protection for churches that host overnight guests, limiting the ability of state and local code officials to treat that use as a code violation or occupancy change. It would affect churches, local building officials, municipalities, and other political subdivisions by narrowing enforcement authority and by expressly protecting certain religiously motivated overnight uses of church facilities.
The available legislative history shows no recorded committee transcript or vote data, so there is no documented public debate in the provided materials. Based on the bill text, the measure appears to be framed as a religious-freedom and emergency-shelter bill, with likely support from faith-based organizations and potential concern from local code-enforcement and fire-safety officials about reduced regulatory discretion and the expanded duration of overnight use.
SB 1761 would amend 74 O.S. 2021, Section 317.2, to broaden and clarify churches’ authority to host temporary overnight visitors under the Oklahoma Uniform Building Code and local building codes. It would bar state and local entities from treating authorized overnight ministry use as a change in occupancy or from enforcing codes in a way that burdens the church’s religious exercise, while preserving specified fire-safety requirements. The bill also updates definitions of “church,” “religious organization,” and “temporary,” and it would take effect November 1, 2026.
No committee transcripts or vote records were provided, so there is no documented floor or committee sentiment in the materials. The bill’s language strongly reflects a pro-religious-freedom and pro-church-use policy approach, suggesting likely support from sponsors and faith-based advocates. At the same time, the inclusion of fire-safety conditions and the prohibition on commercial lodging use indicate an attempt to address safety and zoning concerns.
The main points of contention are likely to be the bill’s restriction on municipal and other government enforcement authority, the removal of the prior duration limit in favor of a 75-day annual cap, and the possibility that churches could host transient or displaced persons without being treated as a hotel, motel, or bed-and-breakfast. Local governments, building officials, and fire-safety regulators may object to reduced discretion or enforcement flexibility, while supporters would likely emphasize constitutional religious-freedom protections and the ability of churches to provide ministry and emergency shelter.