Community health workers; creating the Oklahoma Community Health Workers Act; definitions; establishment of certificate; voluntary certification; powers; rules; fees; effective date.

Changed document title from 'Proposed Policy Committee Substitute' to 'Committee Substitute', reflecting the bill's progression through the legislative committee process.

Updated request number from 12494 to 13185 and date from 02/14/25 to 03/05/25, indicating administrative tracking changes.

Minor formatting adjustments to line numbers and spacing throughout the document.

The bill title was changed from 'Proposed Oversight Committee Substitute' to 'Proposed Policy Committee Substitute', indicating a change in the legislative committee handling the bill.

The amendment sponsor name was updated from Ellyn Hefner to Cynthia Roe.

The bill's request number was changed from 12989 to 12494, which is an administrative tracking number update.

A new page 5 was added to the document, likely containing additional procedural or administrative information.

Added language affirming that private employers retain discretion in hiring community health workers, preventing the certification from being mandated for employment.

Changed 'Core competencies' definition from 'means' to 'are defined as' for grammatical consistency with the rest of the bill.

Corrected a typo in Section 5, changing 'community health workers' to 'community health care workers' when describing faith-based organization partnerships.

Updated the bill title from 'PROPOSED OVERSIGHT COMMITTEE SUBSTITUTE' to match the standard format used in the committee substitute document.

Added specific authorization for certified community health workers to perform functions including outreach, community education, coaching, mentoring, social support, and advocacy, including efforts within faith-based settings.

Added new provisions requiring the State Commissioner of Health to establish partnerships with faith-based organizations for community health worker training, certification, and service delivery.

Modified the definition of 'community health worker' to emphasize being a frontline health worker with a shared understanding of and trusted membership in the community being served.

Updated the Commissioner's rule-making authority to include granting, renewing, denying, suspending, and revoking certificates to uphold health standards and safety.

Added new sponsors to the bill (Harris, Ranson, and Gillespie) and updated the bill status from 'Introduced' to 'Engrossed'.