HB 2771: Courts; special judges; increasing number in specific counties; effective date; emergency. - Oklahoma

House Committee Substitute → Floor (House) · 3 edits

MINOR

The bill was converted from a House Committee Substitute to the Floor Version, resulting in significant formatting and layout changes rather than substantive policy updates. The core text regarding the number of special judges, their appointment criteria, and effective dates remains identical to the previous version.

Scope change

No change in scope or applicability; the bill continues to govern the appointment of special judges in Oklahoma based on county population.

TECHNICAL

The header and title page were restructured to reflect the 'Floor Version' status, moving the bill title and sponsor information to a different layout.

Page footers and tracking numbers were updated to reflect the new floor version format, including the addition of bold face indicators for committee amendments.

Redundant spacing and formatting lines were removed to streamline the document structure.

Proposed Committee Substitute (full committee) 2 → House Committee Substitute · 3 edits

MINOR

The bill was reformatted from a committee amendment proposal into a final House Committee Substitute version. The substantive policy content regarding the appointment of special judges, population thresholds, and effective dates remains unchanged, though the text was reorganized and the header information was updated to reflect the final committee version.

Scope change

The scope of the bill remains focused on increasing the number of special judges in specific Oklahoma counties based on 1960 census population data.

TECHNICAL

The document structure was changed from a 'Proposed Committee Substitute' amendment format to a standard 'Committee Substitute' bill format, removing the amendment motion language and renumbering the text.

Header information was updated to reflect the final House Committee Substitute version dated 5/18/2025, replacing the previous amendment submission details.

Page numbering and formatting were adjusted to conform to the official legislative document standards for the House Committee Substitute.

Proposed Committee Substitute (full committee) 1 → Proposed Committee Substitute (full committee) 2 · 3 edits

MINOR

The bill was significantly expanded to include amendments for District Court Judicial Districts 7, 26, and 92.8a, in addition to the original changes regarding special judges. This broadens the bill's scope from solely managing special judge appointments to also increasing the number of authorized district judges in specific judicial districts.

Scope change

The bill now covers special judge appointments and increases in authorized district judges for Districts 7, 26, and 92.8a, whereas it previously only addressed special judges.

SCOPE

The bill's title and text were expanded to include amendments for District Court Judicial District 7 (increasing from 15 to 16 judges), District Court Judicial District 26 (increasing from 2 to 3 judges), and Section 92.8a (adding a judge at large).

TIMELINE

The effective date for the special judge increase in the Oklahoma-Canadian Counties Judicial Administrative District was changed from July 1, 2025, to July 1, 2024.

REQUIREMENT

The number of special judges authorized for the Oklahoma-Canadian Counties Judicial Administrative District was reduced from three to two.

Enrolled (final version) → Proposed Committee Substitute (full committee) 1 · 1 edit

MINOR

The bill was amended to replace the entire text with a committee substitute version, primarily fixing a formatting error in the list of special judge appointments where the word 'one' was accidentally repeated. The substantive policy regarding the number of judges, effective dates, and county allocations remains unchanged.

Scope change

No change in the bill's scope or applicability; the amendment corrects a clerical error in the text.

TECHNICAL

Corrected a typo in Section 1, subsection b, changing 'three (3) special judge judges' to 'three (3) one (1) special judge' to fix a redundant word.

Engrossed → Enrolled (final version) · 3 edits · May 29, 2025

MINOR

The bill was finalized from its 'Engrossed' version to the 'Enrolled' version, which is the final text signed into law. The substantive legal content regarding the appointment of special judges, population thresholds, and effective dates remained unchanged. The primary differences are the addition of the Governor's signature block, the removal of blank signature lines for the Senate, and minor formatting adjustments to the header and page numbering.

TECHNICAL

Added the Governor's signature block and approval date lines, which are required for a bill to become law.

Removed blank signature lines and placeholders for the Senate Presiding Officer, indicating the bill has been fully processed.

Adjusted page numbering and header formatting to reflect the final enrolled version.

Introduced → Engrossed · 4 edits · May 22, 2025

MODERATE

The bill was amended to change its subject matter from public finance to the appointment of special judges in the Oklahoma court system. The text was completely rewritten to establish specific rules for how many special judges can be appointed in various judicial districts based on population and to set new effective dates for these appointments.

Scope change

The bill's scope changed entirely from creating a Budget and Finance Act to regulating the number and appointment of special judges in specific judicial administrative districts.

SCOPE

The bill's title and purpose were changed from public finance/budgeting to the appointment of special judges in the court system.

All provisions related to the Budget and Finance Act of 2025 were removed from the legislation.

REQUIREMENT

New specific requirements were added to appoint additional special judges in several districts (Northwest-Panhandle, Oklahoma-Canadian, Tulsa-Pawnee, Northeastern, North-Central, East-Central, and Southeastern) with specific start dates ranging from 1999 to 2025.

TIMELINE

The effective date for the new special judge appointments was set to July 1, 2025, replacing a previous effective date of November 1, 2025.

Courts; special judges; increasing number in specific counties; effective date; emergency.

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