HB 3043 Oklahoma House · 2026 Regular Session

Soldiers and sailors; Department of Veterans Affairs; seasonal employees; codification; effective date.

HB 3043 creates a new category of "seasonal employees" for Oklahoma's Department of Veterans Affairs, defined as unclassified staff working under 1,699 hours annually. These employees will not receive benefits like paid leave, health insurance, retirement, or paid holidays. The bill requires the Department to report annual usage of these positions, including worker counts and total wages, in its budget requests. The law takes effect November 1, 2026.
Bill status signed all 5 stages cleared
Introduction
Feb 2026
Committee Review
Apr 2026
House Passage
Feb 2026
Senate Passage
Apr 2026
Signed into Law
May 2026
Introduced Feb 2, 2026 Signed May 5, 2026
Maddy AI version diff · 6 comparisons

What changed between versions

Floor (House) Floor (Senate) · 3 edits
MINOR
The bill text was updated from the House version to the Senate version, reflecting procedural changes as the bill moved between chambers. The core policy regarding seasonal hiring and benefit exemptions for the Oklahoma Department of Veterans Affairs remains substantively unchanged, though the committee oversight body changed from Health and Human Services to Veterans and Military Affairs.
Scope change
The scope of the bill's policy remains the same; only the legislative chamber version and the responsible oversight committee were updated.
TECHNICAL

The header was updated to reflect the 'Senate Floor Version' and the date was set to April 9, 2026.

The 'Committee Substitute' designation was removed, as this version represents the bill after it has been considered by the Senate floor.

REQUIREMENT

The committee report section was changed from the Committee on Health and Human Services Oversight to the Committee on Veterans and Military Affairs, indicating the bill is now being reviewed by the appropriate subject-matter experts.

Floor votes · Senate Apr 29, 2026 · House Feb 18, 2026

How they voted

386
Passed · 6 other
Total votes 50
Apr 29, 2026
D Democratic9
2 Yea 6 Nay 1
66% Nay
R Republican41
36 Yea 5
87% Yea
Vote distribution
All Yea All Nay Mixed No data
Full legislative history

Actions timeline

Total actions
23
Key actions
8
Committee
6
May 5, 2026
Signed into law
Approved by Governor 05/05/2026
lower
Apr 29, 2026
Committee
Referred for enrollment
lower
Apr 29, 2026
Upper · Passed
Engrossed measure signed, returned to House
upper
Apr 29, 2026
Upper · Passed
Measure passed: Ayes: 37 Nays: 6
upper
Apr 9, 2026
Upper · Passed
Reported Do Pass Veterans and Military Affairs committee; CR filed
upper
Feb 19, 2026
Introduced
First Reading
upper
Feb 19, 2026
Lower · Passed
Engrossed, signed, to Senate
lower
Feb 18, 2026
Committee
Referred for engrossment
lower
Feb 18, 2026
Lower · Passed
Third Reading, Measure passed: Ayes: 97 Nays: 0
lower
Feb 16, 2026
Lower · Passed
CR; Do Pass, amended by committee substitute Health and Human Services Oversight Committee
lower
Feb 9, 2026
Lower · Passed
Policy recommendation to the Health and Human Services Oversight committee; Do Pass, amended by committee substitute Veteran and Military Affairs
lower
Feb 3, 2026
Committee
Referred to Veteran and Military Affairs
lower
Feb 2, 2026
Introduced
First Reading
lower
2 primary · 0 co-sponsors

Sponsors