Agriculture; requiring certain gate closures; providing exceptions; prescribing penalties for violations. Effective date.
SB2163, titled “Kenny’s Law,” creates a new state law governing gates used to contain livestock. The bill defines “gate,” “livestock,” and “maintenance,” and requires gates that are part of an enclosure or barrier designed to contain livestock to remain closed at all times, subject to limited exceptions. Those exceptions include brief ingress or egress, maintenance, moving livestock between areas, and access by the livestock owner or certain public utilities and government entities for a functional reason.
The bill also makes it a violation to knowingly or maliciously leave such a gate open, damage a gate in a way that compromises livestock containment, or allow livestock to escape. Violations are classified as misdemeanors and carry escalating penalties: for first and second convictions, a fine up to $1,000, up to 180 days in county jail, or both; for third and subsequent convictions, a fine up to $2,500, up to one year in county jail, or both. In addition, violators are liable for damages caused by the violation. The State Board of Agriculture is directed to adopt rules to implement the act, and the law would take effect November 1, 2026.
SB2163 would add a new section to Title 2 of the Oklahoma Statutes and create a specific criminal and civil liability framework for gate-related conduct affecting livestock containment. It would impose a statewide duty on persons handling or maintaining livestock enclosures to keep gates closed except in enumerated circumstances, and it would authorize misdemeanor prosecution, fines, jail time, and damages for violations. The measure also requires administrative rulemaking by the State Board of Agriculture to carry out the law.
The available record shows no committee transcript or recorded votes, so there is no documented debate or formal vote history to indicate broad support or opposition. Based on the bill text and caption, the measure appears to be framed as a livestock-safety and property-protection bill, suggesting a policy goal of preventing escapes and damage rather than creating a broader regulatory program.
The main points of potential contention are the bill’s criminal penalties and the breadth of its gate-closure requirement. Property owners, livestock operators, utilities, municipalities, and state or federal agencies may be concerned about how the “closed at all times” rule applies in practice, especially where access is needed for maintenance or operations. Another possible issue is the bill’s use of “knowingly or maliciously,” which may raise questions about proof, enforcement, and whether accidental or negligent conduct is sufficiently distinguished from intentional misconduct.