HB 1082: Marriage and family; child custody agreements; terminating agreements; effective date. - Oklahoma

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

MODERATE

The bill was revised from the House to the Senate floor, updating the effective date to April 14, 2026, and expanding the scope to include additional statutes regarding guardianship and custody presumptions. The Senate version clarifies that joint legal custody, physical custody, and shared parenting time are presumed to be in the child's best interest, unless rebutted by clear and convincing evidence of abuse or domestic violence. It also adds specific requirements for the court to issue written findings and appoint a guardian ad litem in certain circumstances.

Scope change

The bill's scope was expanded to include amendments to Sections 110.1, 112, 112.2, and 112.5 of the Oklahoma Statutes, covering guardianship and custody presumptions, in addition to the original focus on child custody under Section 109.

TIMELINE

The effective date was updated to April 14, 2026, in the Senate version.

SCOPE

The bill now amends additional statutes (Sections 110.1, 112, 112.2, and 112.5) to address guardianship and custody presumptions beyond the original Section 109.

REQUIREMENT

The Senate version explicitly requires courts to issue written findings and appoint a guardian ad litem in specific circumstances.

The burden of proof for rebutting the presumption of joint custody was clarified to require 'clear and convincing evidence' of abuse or domestic violence.

DEFINITION

The definition of 'joint custody' was refined to specifically include joint legal custody, joint physical custody, and shared parenting time.

Senate Committee Substitute for House Bill → Floor (House) · 4 edits

MODERATE

The bill was revised to reflect the House Floor version, changing the legislative session details and removing the Senate's original co-sponsors. Substantively, the custody provisions were modified to replace the term 'shared parenting time' with 'equally shared parenting time' and to expand the definition of domestic violence to include 'coercive control.' Additionally, the threshold for evidence required to rebut presumptions regarding child abuse and domestic violence was lowered from 'clear and convincing evidence' to 'preponderance of the evidence.'

Scope change

The bill's scope remains focused on child custody and guardianship, but the specific criteria for determining custody and the definitions of abuse have been expanded.

REQUIREMENT

The presumption of joint custody now requires 'equally shared parenting time' instead of just 'shared parenting time.'

DEFINITION

The definition of 'domestic violence' was expanded to explicitly include 'coercive control.'

ELIGIBILITY

The standard of proof required to rebut presumptions against a perpetrator of abuse was lowered from 'clear and convincing evidence' to 'preponderance of the evidence,' making it easier to establish sole custody in such cases.

TECHNICAL

Senate co-sponsors (Woolley, Frix, Prieto, Stewart, McIntosh, and Bullard) were removed from the sponsor list, and the document header was updated to reflect the House Floor version.

House Committee Substitute → Senate Committee Substitute for House Bill · 5 edits

MODERATE

The bill was amended to expand its scope from solely child custody to include guardianship and additional statutes (110.1, 112, 112.2, and 112.5). The text was updated to be gender-neutral and clarified the presumption of joint custody. A significant change involves the evidentiary standard for abuse-related custody presumptions, which was raised from a 'preponderance of the evidence' to 'clear and convincing evidence' to make it harder to displace a joint custody arrangement based on allegations of abuse.

Scope change

The bill's scope was expanded to cover guardianship in addition to child custody, and it now explicitly amends a broader range of existing statutes related to custody and parenting plans.

SCOPE

Expanded the bill's title and scope to include guardianship and additional statutes (110.1, 112, 112.2, 112.5) beyond just child custody.

REQUIREMENT

Updated the presumption of joint custody language to be gender-neutral, removing references to 'either parent' in favor of neutral terms.

Raised the evidentiary standard for rebutting the presumption of joint custody in abuse cases from 'preponderance of the evidence' to 'clear and convincing evidence', making it more difficult to remove a parent based on abuse allegations.

DEFINITION

Added 'child well-being' to the list of areas an arbitrator must be knowledgeable in when resolving custody disputes.

TECHNICAL

Updated the legislative session information from the 1st Session of 2025 to the 2nd Session of 2026 and corrected the bill number reference to 'Engrossed'.

Proposed Policy Committee Substitute 1 → House Committee Substitute · 3 edits

MINOR

The bill was completely rewritten to update its title and restructure the custody provisions. The most significant change is the addition of new definitions for 'harassment' and 'stalking' to clarify what behaviors constitute abuse in custody cases. The text also reorganized the layout and page numbering to conform to the official House Committee Substitute format.

Scope change

The bill's scope remains focused on child custody and family law, but the specific definitions of abuse and harassment have been expanded to include more detailed examples of harmful behavior.

DEFINITION

Added specific definitions for 'harassment' and 'stalking' to clarify what actions count as abuse in custody disputes.

TECHNICAL

Completely restructured the document title, section headers, and page numbering to match the official House Committee Substitute format.

Reordered the text flow and line numbers throughout the document to align with the new committee version.

Engrossed → Proposed Policy Committee Substitute 1 · 3 edits

MINOR

The bill was completely rewritten from scratch by the Policy Committee, replacing the original text with a new version that retains the core purpose of establishing child custody guidelines but restructures the legal language and formatting. This change alters the specific statutory text and organization of the law, though the fundamental policy goals regarding custody arrangements and safety presumptions appear to remain consistent.

Scope change

The scope of the bill remains focused on amending 43 O.S. 2021, Section 109 regarding child custody, but the internal structure and specific phrasing of the amendments have been significantly altered.

TECHNICAL

The entire text of the bill was deleted and replaced with a new version, changing the specific statutory language, formatting, and line numbering while maintaining the general subject matter.

DEFINITION

The definitions for 'child abuse', 'domestic violence', 'harassment', and 'stalking' were restructured and reworded, though they largely retain the same substantive meaning as the original text.

REQUIREMENT

The procedural requirements for filing custody plans, modifying custody agreements, and the process for terminating joint custody decrees were rewritten with different phrasing and organization.

Introduced → Engrossed · 4 edits · Mar 24, 2025

MODERATE

This bill updates the formatting and structure of an existing child custody law to improve clarity and consistency. It corrects grammatical errors, reorganizes sections for better readability, and standardizes the definitions of abuse, domestic violence, and stalking to align with other state statutes.

Scope change

The scope of the law remains the same; it continues to govern child custody and guardianship in Oklahoma, but the presentation of the rules has been refined.

TECHNICAL

Corrected grammatical errors and awkward phrasing throughout the text, such as removing redundant words like 'pursuant Pursuant' and 'what appears to be is'.

Added a header indicating the bill is 'Engrossed' and updated the page numbering and formatting to match standard legislative style.

DEFINITION

Standardized the definitions of 'child abuse', 'domestic violence', 'harassment', and 'stalking' to match specific existing statutes in the Oklahoma Children's Code and Sex Offenders Registration Act.

REQUIREMENT

Reorganized the factors courts must consider when awarding custody and the procedures for modifying custody plans to ensure a logical flow.

Marriage and family; child custody agreements; terminating agreements; effective date.

What changed between versions

How they voted

Actions timeline

Sponsors