ENGROSSED SENATE
BILL NO. 1649	By:	Fields of the Senate

			and

		Wright of the House

An Act relating to property; requiring due process relating to infringement upon private property rights; prohibiting restrictive covenants relating to standby electric generators; defining term; prohibiting owners associations from adopting or enforcing certain restrictions relating to property owners owning, operating, installing or maintaining permanently installed standby electric generators; authorizing owners associations to adopt certain standards; requiring approval of standby electric generators meeting requirements; requiring owners association to bear burden of proof in certain action; providing for codification; and providing an effective date.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF OKLAHOMA:
SECTION 1.     NEW LAW     A new section of law to be codified in the Oklahoma Statutes as Section 100 of Title 60, unless there is created a duplication in numbering, reads as follows:
A.  As used in this section “political subdivision” means any state, county, city, town, municipality, district, public local entity, public-private partnership or any other public entity of the state, a county or a municipality.
B.  Neither the state nor any political subdivision thereof shall adopt or implement policy recommendations that deliberately or inadvertently infringe upon or restrict private property rights without affording due process as required by the Constitution of the United States and the Oklahoma Constitution.
SECTION 2.     NEW LAW     A new section of law to be codified in the Oklahoma Statutes as Section 858 of Title 60, unless there is created a duplication in numbering, reads as follows:
A.  As used in this section "standby electric generator" means a device that converts mechanical energy to electrical energy and:
1.  Is powered by natural gas, liquefied petroleum gas, diesel fuel, bio-diesel fuel or hydrogen;
2.  Is fully enclosed in an integral manufacturer supplied sound attenuating enclosure;
3.  Is connected to the main electrical panel of a residence by a manual or automatic transfer switch; and
4.  Is rated for a generating capacity of not less than seven kilowatts.
B.  Except as otherwise provided by subsection C of this section, an owners association may not adopt or enforce a dedicatory instrument provision that prohibits, restricts, or has the effect of prohibiting or restricting a residential property owner from owning, operating, installing or maintaining a permanently installed standby electric generator.
C.  An owners association may adopt any of the following standards for the purpose of regulating the operation and installation of standby electric generators.  Permitted standards may:
1.  Require a standby electric generator to be installed and maintained in compliance with the manufacturer's specifications;
2.  Require a standby electric generator be installed and maintained in compliance with applicable governmental health, safety, electrical codes and building codes;
3.  Require all electrical, plumbing and fuel line connections be installed only by licensed contractors;
4.  Require all electrical and fuel line connections be installed underground;
5.  Require nonintegral standby electric generator fuel tanks be installed and maintained to comply with applicable municipal zoning ordinances, health, safety, electrical and building codes;
6.  Require the standby electric generator, its electrical lines and its fuel lines, be maintained in good condition and that any deteriorated or unsafe components be repaired, replaced or removed;
7.  Require a property owner to screen a standby electric generator, if the standby electric generator is visible from the street faced by the dwelling;
8.  Set reasonable times, consistent with manufacturers' recommendations, for the periodic testing of a standby electric generator;
9.  Prohibit the use of the standby electric generator to generate all or substantially all of the electrical power to a residence except when utility generated electrical power is not available or is intermittent due to causes other than the property owner's nonpayment for utility services;
10.  Reasonably regulate the location of the standby electric generator; and
11.  Prohibit a property owner from locating a standby electric generator on property:
a.	owned or maintained by the owners association, or
b.	owned in common by the owner association members.
D.  The foregoing standards, if adopted, must be reasonably applied and enforced.
E.  A standard that regulates the location of a standby electrical generator is void and unenforceable, if it increases the cost of installing the standby electric generator by more than ten percent (10%) or increases the cost of installing and connecting the electrical and fuel lines for the standby electric generator by more than twenty percent (20%).
F.  If the dedicatory instruments of an owners association require that the installation of a standby electric generator be approved by a board or committee prior to installation, a proposed installation of a standby electric generator that meets the standards set forth in this section, must be approved by the board or committee.
G.  An owners association, or other complaining party, bears the burden of proof in any administrative or judicial action to prove a proposed or installed standby electric generator does not meet the adopted standards.
SECTION 3.  This act shall become effective November 1, 2014.
Passed the Senate the 4th day of March, 2014.

	
	Presiding Officer of the Senate

Passed the House of Representatives the ____ day of __________, 2014.

	
	Presiding Officer of the House
	of Representatives