Committee approves bill to let Oklahoma residents receive state burial benefits if they die out of state

Representative Hildebrandt introduced Senate Bill 1533 and asked the chair to explain the measure. The chair said the bill changes current law so that Oklahoma residents who are veterans would still be eligible for burial by the Oklahoma Department of Veterans Affairs even if they die out of state.

"All this does is change that to where as long as he's a resident of Oklahoma, that he's still able to get buried by Oklahoma Department of Veterans Affairs," the chair said, describing the bill as clarifying eligibility based on residency rather than place of death.

The committee recorded no questions or debate. The clerk opened the roll for a vote, and the committee passed Senate Bill 1533 by a vote of 8 yea, 0 nay.

The transcript records the committee’s action but does not include bill text, implementation details, or funding information. The measure was reported passed out of committee and will proceed through the legislative process.