SB 949 Oklahoma Senate · 2026 Regular Session

Office of Client Advocacy; modifying and clarifying provisions related to investigations; transferring certain duties; authorizing inspection of certain records. Emergency.

SB 949 expands the authority of Oklahoma's Office of Client Advocacy to inspect certain juvenile court and Department of Human Services records without a court order, directly affecting child welfare investigations. It modifies statutes (10A O.S. 2021, 43A O.S. 2021, 56 O.S. 2021) to clarify who may access records, transfer specific duties to the Office, and require it to promptly report investigative findings to the Department of Human Services. Key provisions include authorizing the Office to review records related to child abuse/neglect cases and establishing new requirements for record inspections. The bill applies to the Office of Client Advocacy, child welfare agencies, courts, and tribes under the Oklahoma Indian Child Welfare Act. It became law on May 13, 2025, without the governor's signature.
Bill status signed all 5 stages cleared
Introduction
Feb 2025
Committee Review
May 2025
Senate Passage
Mar 2025
House Passage
May 2025
Signed into Law
May 2025
Introduced Feb 3, 2025 Signed May 13, 2025
Maddy AI version diff · 5 comparisons

What changed between versions

Floor (House) Floor (Senate) · 2 edits
MINOR
The bill was transitioned from the House version to the Senate floor version, with minor formatting adjustments and the addition of new categories of individuals authorized to access juvenile court and Department of Human Services records. The Senate version adds employees of corrections or law enforcement agencies performing duties related to presentence investigations or supervision of parents of deprived children to the list of authorized record accessors.
Scope change
The bill's scope was expanded to include additional categories of individuals authorized to access certain child-related records, specifically adding law enforcement and corrections employees involved in presentence investigations or parental supervision.
ELIGIBILITY

Added employees of state or federal corrections or law enforcement agencies to the list of individuals authorized to access juvenile court and DHS records when performing presentence investigations or supervising parents of deprived children.

TECHNICAL

Minor formatting changes including updated header information, page footers, and line spacing adjustments between House and Senate versions.

Floor votes · Senate Mar 11, 2025 · House May 5, 2025

How they voted

440
Passed · 5 other
Total votes 49
Mar 11, 2025
D Democratic9
8 Yea 1
88% Yea
R Republican40
36 Yea 4
90% Yea
Vote distribution
All Yea All Nay Mixed No data
Full legislative history

Actions timeline

Total actions
23
Key actions
6
Committee
6
May 5, 2025
Committee
Referred for enrollment
upper
May 5, 2025
Lower · Passed
Third Reading, Measure and Emergency passed: Ayes: 81 Nays: 8
lower
Apr 17, 2025
Lower · Passed
CR; Do Pass Judiciary and Public Safety Oversight Committee
lower
Apr 10, 2025
Lower · Passed
Policy recommendation to the Judiciary and Public Safety Oversight committee; Do Pass Civil Judiciary
lower
Apr 1, 2025
Committee
Referred to Civil Judiciary
lower
Mar 12, 2025
Introduced
First Reading
lower
Mar 12, 2025
Upper · Passed
Engrossed to House
upper
Mar 11, 2025
Committee
Referred for engrossment
upper
Mar 11, 2025
Upper · Passed
Measure and Emergency passed: Ayes: 44 Nays: 0
upper
Mar 3, 2025
Upper · Passed
Reported Do Pass, amended by committee substitute Health and Human Services committee; CR filed
upper
Feb 3, 2025
Introduced
First Reading
upper
2 primary · 0 co-sponsors

Sponsors