SB 632: Business courts; creating business court divisions in certain judicial districts; providing for appointment of business court judges; specifying authority and jurisdiction of business court. Effective date. - Oklahoma

Floor (House) → Floor (Senate) · 5 edits

MODERATE

This bill was amended during its Senate floor consideration to update the population threshold for establishing business courts from 300,000 to 500,000 residents, add a new section for business court judge salaries, and modify provisions regarding bailiff compensation and jury logistics. These changes expand eligibility for business court divisions to larger counties while adjusting financial provisions for court personnel.

Scope change

The bill's applicability now extends to judicial districts with municipalities having populations exceeding 500,000 instead of 300,000, making business courts available in more populous areas.

ELIGIBILITY

Increased the population threshold for creating business court divisions from 300,000 to 500,000 residents based on the latest Federal Decennial Census.

FISCAL

Added a new provision establishing that business court judges shall receive salaries equal to United States district court judges.

Updated secretary-bailiff salary provisions to reflect fiscal year 2023 instead of fiscal year 2021.

REQUIREMENT

Added new provisions regarding payment of bailiff meal and lodging costs when juries are kept together during trials.

TECHNICAL

Reorganized and clarified the structure of business court division locations and naming conventions.

Senate Conference Committee Substitute → Floor (House) · 7 edits

MODERATE

The bill was converted from a Conference Committee Substitute to a House Floor version, incorporating substantive changes to business court provisions including salary adjustments, new secretary-bailiff positions, and modified jurisdictional thresholds.

Scope change

The bill's scope expanded to include new secretary-bailiff positions for all district and associate district judges, not just business court judges, and adjusted business court judge compensation to match U.S. district court judges rather than Supreme Court justices.

FISCAL

Business court judge salary changed from equal to Supreme Court associate justice to equal to U.S. district court judge

REQUIREMENT

New office of secretary-bailiff created for district, associate district, and business court judges with $42,000 annual salary

Business court divisions I and II now quartered at Court of Civil Appeals instead of Oklahoma City and Tulsa locations

Authority granted for judges to appoint additional court personnel with Chief Justice approval

Provisions for part-time bailiff compensation and sheriff contract options for bailiff services

Limitation on judges engaging more than one full-time secretary-bailiff except during jury trials

ELIGIBILITY

Population threshold for business court divisions increased from 300,000 to 500,000

Enrolled (final version) → Senate Conference Committee Substitute · 3 edits

MINOR

The bill text was reformatted from a standard enrolled version to a conference committee substitute version, with minor text corrections and formatting adjustments throughout. The substantive legislative content remains unchanged.

TECHNICAL

Header formatting changed from 'ENROLLED SENATE' to 'CONFERENCE COMMITTEE SUBSTITUTE' with page numbering and reference numbers added.

Minor text corrections in Section 1, including removing duplicate words like 'court specialized courts' and 'municipality county'.

Page breaks and line formatting were reorganized to match conference committee substitute markup standards.

Engrossed → Enrolled (final version) · 5 edits · May 29, 2025

MODERATE

The bill was finalized from Engrossed to Enrolled status, adding a comprehensive summary of its provisions, clarifying the business court judge salary to match an associate Supreme Court justice, updating the business court location requirements to include consultation with officials, and correcting several grammatical and formatting errors throughout the text.

Scope change

The bill's scope remains focused on creating business courts in Oklahoma, but the final version adds more detailed procedural requirements and clarifies venue rules.

REQUIREMENT

Added a detailed summary of the bill's provisions at the beginning of the enrolled version, explaining the bill's purpose and scope in plain language.

Added requirement that business court locations be determined by the Chief Justice in consultation with state officials or private parties needed to secure appropriate space.

FISCAL

Changed the business court judge salary from matching a United States district court judge to matching an associate justice of the Oklahoma Supreme Court.

TECHNICAL

Corrected numerous grammatical errors, redundant phrases, and formatting inconsistencies throughout the text.

DEFINITION

Added a subject line identifying the bill as relating to business courts in the enrolled version.

Amended And Engrossed → Engrossed · 4 edits · May 28, 2025

MODERATE

The bill was amended to add a House coauthor, restore the original title, require unanimous party consent before cases can proceed in business courts, and update a sunset date from 2026 to 2027. Additionally, the salary for secretary-bailiffs was increased to $42,000 annually.

Scope change

The bill's scope was narrowed by requiring all parties to agree before a case can be heard in a business court, and the sunset provision was extended by one year.

REQUIREMENT

Added a requirement that all parties must agree to have a case heard in a business court before the action can proceed.

TIMELINE

Extended the sunset date for the business court provisions from 2026 to 2027.

FISCAL

Increased the annual salary for secretary-bailiffs to $42,000 starting in fiscal year 2023.

TECHNICAL

Added a House coauthor and restored the original bill title.

Introduced → Amended And Engrossed · 4 edits · May 28, 2025

MODERATE

The bill was amended to add a requirement that all parties must agree before a case can proceed in a business court, to change the population threshold for creating business courts from 300,000 to 500,000, and to update the effective date from 2026 to 2027. These changes make business court access more consensual and adjust the criteria for establishing new divisions.

Scope change

The bill now requires unanimous agreement from all parties to proceed in a business court, which significantly narrows the scope of cases eligible for business court jurisdiction compared to the original version.

REQUIREMENT

Added a new requirement that all parties must agree to have their case heard in a business court before it can proceed.

ELIGIBILITY

Changed the population threshold for creating business courts from 300,000 to 500,000 residents.

TIMELINE

Updated the effective date reference from 2026 to 2027.

TECHNICAL

Removed specific language about how business court divisions should be numbered and located, replacing it with more general authorization language.

Business courts; creating business court divisions in certain judicial districts; providing for appointment of business court judges; specifying authority and jurisdiction of business court. Effective date.

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