{"data":{"id":"us-ok/okla.-stat.-tit.-66-66-304v2","jurisdiction":"us-ok","citation":"Okla. Stat. tit. 66, § 66-304v2","heading":"Powers and duties","body":"\n\nA. The Department of Transportation is hereby authorized and\n\nempowered:\n\n1. To acquire, construct, reconstruct, repair, replace, operate\n\nand maintain railroad rights-of-way and trackage projects at such\n\nlocations and on such routes as it shall determine to be feasible\n\nand economically sound;\n\n2. To enter into agreements with the owners of operating\n\nrailroads for the acquisition and/or use of railroad rights-of-way\n\nand trackage on such terms, conditions, rates or rentals as the\n\nDepartment may consider to be in the best interests of the state;\n\n3. To enter directly into agreements with owners of operating\n\nrailroads or persons intending to operate as common carriers by rail\n\nto sell, lease, or sell by lease-purchase agreement any state-owned\n\nrailroad property on such terms, conditions or amounts as the\n\nDepartment may consider to be in the best interests of the state and\n\nto promote the purposes of the Railroad Revitalization Act;\n\n4. Prior to the sale of any railroad asset owned by the State\n\nof Oklahoma or the Department of Transportation, a process of\n\nrequest for proposal shall be initiated by the Department of\n\nTransportation with consultation by the Office of Management and\n\nEnterprise Services. Upon the issue date of a request for proposal\n\nregarding the sale of any railroad asset owned by the State of\n\nOklahoma or the Department of Transportation, interested parties\n\nwill have no less than ninety (90) days to provide a response.\n\nFollowing the close of the ninety-day response period, the\n\nDepartment of Transportation will conduct an evaluation of all\n\nsubmitted proposals, utilizing all available resources, and the\n\nDepartment of Commerce shall conduct an economic impact and/or\n\nactivity study of all proposals. The Secretary of Transportation,\n\nSecretary of Finance, Secretary of Commerce, Secretary of\n\nAgriculture, and Secretary of Energy shall be responsible for\n\npreparing a recommendation to the Transportation Commission, based\n\non its evaluation of all submitted proposals including the results\n\nof the economic impact and/or activity study, provided the\n\nrecommendation meets all other statutory requirements needed for\n\naction by the Commission. The Secretary of Transportation,\n\nSecretary of Finance, Secretary of Commerce, Secretary of\n\nAgriculture, and Secretary of Energy will have up to ninety (90)\n\ndays, upon the closing date of the request for proposal, to present\n\nits recommendation to the Transportation Commission. The\n\nTransportation Commission will be responsible for determining if the\n\nsale of railroad assets within its jurisdiction is in the best\n\ninterests of the State of Oklahoma and for authorizing the sale of\n\nsuch assets. If a determination is rendered by the Transportation\n\nCommission that the sale of any railroad asset within its\n\njurisdiction is appropriate, notification must be made to the\n\nSpeaker of the House of Representatives and the President Pro\n\nTempore of the Senate in writing prior to the Commission meeting\n\nwhere final action will take place. All proceeds from the sale\n\nshall be deposited into the Railroad Maintenance Revolving Fund;\n\n5. To acquire and hold real or personal property in the\n\nexercise of its powers for the performance of its duties as\n\nauthorized by this act. Surplus property may be disposed of by the\n\nDepartment;\n\n6. To acquire in the name of the Department, by purchase or\n\notherwise on such terms and conditions and in such manner as it may\n\ndeem proper, or by exercise of the right of condemnation, such\n\npublic or private lands and personalty, including public parks,\n\nplaygrounds, or reservations, or parts thereof or rights therein,\n\nrights-of-way, trackage, property, rights, easements, and interests,\n\nas it may deem necessary for carrying out the provisions of the\n\nRailroad Revitalization Act;\n\n7. To make and enter into all contracts and agreements\nby exercise of the right of condemnation, such\n\npublic or private lands and personalty, including public parks,\n\nplaygrounds, or reservations, or parts thereof or rights therein,\n\nrights-of-way, trackage, property, rights, easements, and interests,\n\nas it may deem necessary for carrying out the provisions of the\n\nRailroad Revitalization Act;\n\n7. To make and enter into all contracts and agreements\n\nnecessary or incidental to the performance of its duties and the\n\nexecution of its powers under the Railroad Revitalization Act, and\n\nto employ rail planning and management consultants, consulting\n\nengineers, attorneys, accountants, construction and financial\n\nconsultants, superintendents, managers, and such other employees and\n\nagents as may be necessary in its judgment, and to fix their\n\ncompensation; provided, that all such expenses shall be payable\n\nsolely from funds made available under and pursuant to the\n\nprovisions of the Railroad Revitalization Act or from revenues;\n\nprovided, further, no attorney employed by the Department, nor any\n\nmember of any law firm of which the member may be connected, shall\n\never be paid any fee or compensation for any special or\n\nextraordinary services;\n\n8. To receive, accept and expend funds from the state, any\n\nfederal agency, or from private sources, for rail planning and for\n\nadministration of railroad assistance projects, and for or in aid of\n\nthe acquisition, construction, reconstruction, replacement, repair,\n\nmaintenance and operation of railroad rights-of-way and trackage and\n\nfor rail service continuation payments to railroad companies for\n\noperating losses sustained by reasons of continuing service on a\n\nline which may otherwise be abandoned or which may experience a\n\nreduced level of service not in the public interest, where such\n\ncontinuation of service is carried out under a written agreement\n\nwith the Department establishing the terms and conditions for such\n\npayments, and to receive and accept funds, aid or contributions from\n\nany source of either money, property, labor or other things of\n\nvalue, to be held, used and applied only for the purposes for which\n\nsuch funds, aid or contributions may be made;\n\n9. To adopt such rules and to do any and all things necessary\n\nto comply with rules, regulations or requirements of the United\n\nStates Department of Transportation, any successor thereof, the\n\nSurface Transportation Board or any federal agency administering any\n\nlaw enacted by the Congress of the United States or having funds\n\navailable for the purpose of the Department that are not\n\ninconsistent with or contrary to the prohibitions and restrictions\n\nof Oklahoma law or public interest;\n\n10. To expend, not to exceed twenty percent (20%) of the funds\n\navailable in the Railroad Maintenance Revolving Fund during any one\nr any federal agency administering any\n\nlaw enacted by the Congress of the United States or having funds\n\navailable for the purpose of the Department that are not\n\ninconsistent with or contrary to the prohibitions and restrictions\n\nof Oklahoma law or public interest;\n\n10. To expend, not to exceed twenty percent (20%) of the funds\n\navailable in the Railroad Maintenance Revolving Fund during any one\n\n(1) year, at locations approved by the Oklahoma Corporation\n\nCommission, such Railroad Maintenance Revolving Fund monies as may\n\nbe budgeted by the Department of Transportation for the purposes of\n\ninstalling signal lights, gate arms, or other active warning devices\n\nwhere any public road, street, or highway crosses a railroad right-\n\nof-way; provided, however, nothing in this act shall negate, change,\n\nor otherwise modify any existing statutory or common law duty of a\n\nrailroad company;\n\n11. To expend income and funds from the Railroad Maintenance\n\nRevolving Fund in the exercise of any or all of the foregoing\n\npowers; and\n\n12. To do all things necessary or convenient to carry out the\n\npowers expressly granted in this act.\n\nB. It shall be unlawful for any member, officer or employee of\n\nthe Department to transact with the Department, either directly or\n\nindirectly, any business for profit of such member, officer or\n\nemployee; and any person, firm or corporation knowingly\n\nparticipating therein shall be equally liable for violation of this\n\nprovision.\n\nThe term \"business for profit\" shall include, but not be limited\n\nto, the acceptance or payment of any fee, commission, gift, or\n\nconsideration to such member, officer or employee.\n\nViolation of this provision shall constitute a Class D1 felony\n\noffense and upon conviction shall be punishable by incarceration as\n\nprovided for in subsections B through F of Section 20N of Title 21\n\nof the Oklahoma Statutes, or by a fine of not less than Five Hundred\n\nDollars ($500.00) and not more than Five Thousand Dollars\n\n($5,000.00), or by both such imprisonment and fine.\n\nC. All meetings of the Department shall be open public\n\nmeetings, and all records shall be public records, except when\n\nconsidering personnel.","path":["OK Code","Title 66"],"source_url":"https://www.oklegislature.gov/OK_Statutes/CompleteTitles/os66.pdf","current_through":"2026-08-14","vintage":"open-us-law v2026.08, retrieved 2026-09-14","retrieved_at":"2026-09-14T18:32:36Z","sha256":"b9861a173e453c0ed44bce6b9ff7f2355b4b04634ac9ec736d85d88f09c73412","source_id":"us-ok","stale":false,"prev":"us-ok/okla.-stat.-tit.-66-66-304v1","next":"us-ok/okla.-stat.-tit.-66-66-306"},"notice":"GroundRules: Original legal text. Not legal advice."}