Judicial officers; requiring Supreme Court to establish the Judicial Performance Evaluation Council; establishing procedures for judicial performance evaluation program. Effective date.

SB 118 creates a Judicial Performance Evaluation Council (JPEC) and an Office of Judicial Performance Evaluation (OJPE) within Oklahoma's Supreme Court to formally assess the performance of intermediate appellate and district court judges. The bill requires judges to undergo annual evaluations using surveys, self-assessments, and confidential reviews, with results compiled into reports for the Supreme Court. Judges who fail two consecutive evaluations or skip required improvement programs lose confidentiality, making their deficiencies public on the Supreme Court website. The Supreme Court must also publish an annual report detailing evaluation results, response rates, and actions taken to address performance issues, starting December 2026. This bill directly affects all Oklahoma judges serving in intermediate appellate and district courts.