Homeless shelters would lose public funding if they don’t comply with regulations set by the state, according to a measure proposed ahead of the 2026 legislative session. 

Rep. Kevin West, R-Moore, introduced House Bill 3131 to create state oversight of homeless shelters, an idea he and Sen. Lisa Standridge, R-Norman, have toyed with since June when the lawmakers proposed an interim study on the topic. 

The measure would require the State Department of Health to oversee homeless service providers across the state through a new statewide Continuum of Care program. Continuums of Care are typically regional organizations located throughout a state that coordinate homeless response strategies in their area. The Health Department would be tasked with creating and enforcing standards for safety, health, financial transparency and other operational guidelines for the shelters and agencies. 

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Providers that get public money could lose funding or be decertified from participating in the statewide Continuum of Care if they don’t comply with state rules.   

“The reality is that we do have (homeless shelters), and they need to be done in the most transparent and public-safety minded way that can be done,” West told The Frontier. “And that’s what I’m trying to address with this legislation.”

The bill would task county commissioners with local oversight of shelters while the Health Department would handle state-level monitoring. Both county commissioners and service providers would be required to create annual reports for the Health Department, which the agency would review for compliance. The Health Department would publish an annual report summarizing the findings.

Rachel Freeman, president and CEO of the Oklahoma City and Norman City Care shelters, urged lawmakers during the October interim study to find solutions for housing people, instead of adding shelter regulations that could hinder providers’ ability to help the homeless population. But that didn’t happen. 

“As it currently reads, HB 3131 appears to add significant bureaucratic layers of oversight and reporting but does nothing to meaningfully improve service delivery or housing outcomes,” Freeman said. 

Homeless service providers are already subject to federal and local rules and must adhere to various health and safety requirements,The Frontier previously reported. This includes obtaining proper permits, passing health inspections and complying with other standards for safety, sanitation and privacy. Inspectors check shelters for compliance with health and safety rules before they can receive some funds from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. 

West told The Frontier in late July he wanted to build upon existing regulations and create an improved reporting system for Oklahomans to submit any concerns regarding homeless shelters. 

HB 3131 would require the Health Department or county commissioners to establish a process for receiving and investigating complaints. 

“Duplicative administrative processes will pull time, staff capacity and resources away from direct care and housing navigation, without addressing the core drivers of homelessness or accelerating exits to stable and dignified housing,” Freeman said.

Meghan Mueller, CEO of the Oklahoma City-based shelter the Homeless Alliance, said many shelters already submit financial audits to the federal housing department and other funders and comply with various health and safety standards. 

“I am not against shelter standards, right? I think anyone who’s in this work wants the services that we offer to be as dignified and as humane as possible,” Mueller said. “I just think that the additional layer of oversight — I’m not sure what that adds to our system.” 

In addition, the measure would require providers that get public funds to designate a public safety and health liaison responsible for communicating with local law enforcement and emergency services. But the bill in its current form wouldn’t provide any funding for providers to support these positions or to meet additional compliance standards.

“That’s the big question mark,” Mueller said. “Who’s paying for it?”

The Homeless Alliance doesn’t have the financial capacity to add an entirely new position, Mueller said, and would have to rearrange existing funds or eliminate other roles in order to create one. Additional regulations and reporting requirements without additional investments from the state would place an added burden on providers, which are already operating with tight budgets, Mueller added. This would be particularly burdensome for rural communities where funding and resources are fewer, she said. 

West views safety liaisons as non-negotiable, but is not in favor of using state money to fund the positions. Liaisons would report shelter conditions and populations served to the state and county commissioners at the start of the year and at any point if something changes, rather than day-to-day tasks, West said. It could be a hybrid role, or a single liaison reporting for multiple shelters, he added. 

“What it actually looks like, I’m willing to have that conversation,” West said. “But I’m not willing to have the conversation that it’s not needed.”

Besides the liaison positions, if there are any costs associated with shelter oversight — which West does not anticipate —  he said he’d be open to discussing the use of state funds to cover the costs. 

Standridge believes nonprofits and churches could provide funding instead and existing service provider employees could take on the liaison role. It’s a “great bill,” she added, and argued it would benefit communities across the state. Standridge said she is interested in being the Senate sponsor of the measure. 

The measure “basically lets the left hand know what the right hand is doing so that we can all work in concert to make sure that people get the help they need, and that the services that these entities are providing are magnified and not duplicated,” Standridge said. 

“I don’t think that’s too much to ask.”