HB 3344: Foster care; requirements; foster parents; penalties; false or fraudulent; application or information; codification; effective date. - Oklahoma

House Committee Substitute → Floor (House) · 3 edits

MINOR

The bill text was updated to reflect the Floor version of the legislation, incorporating amendments made by the House. The most significant policy change is the addition of 'Archer of the House' and 'Bullard of the Senate' as co-authors to the bill, indicating bipartisan support and a formal amendment process. The core requirements for foster parents, such as age limits and income thresholds, remain unchanged in this version.

Scope change

The bill's scope and applicability remain unchanged; this is a procedural update to the document header and authorship.

TECHNICAL

Added co-authors 'Archer of the House' and 'Bullard of the Senate' to the bill header, reflecting House amendments.

Updated the document title from 'House Committee Substitute' to 'Floor (House)' version to indicate it has passed the committee stage.

Removed internal committee tracking numbers and page footers that were specific to the committee draft.

Proposed Committee Substitute (full committee) 2 → House Committee Substitute · 1 edit

MINOR

The bill text was completely rewritten to update the bill number from 3344 to 3344 (Committee Substitute) and renumbered sections. The substantive policy content regarding foster parent eligibility requirements remains identical to the previous version, with no changes to age limits, residency rules, or other criteria.

TECHNICAL

The entire bill text was replaced with a renumbered version that updates the title to reflect it is a 'Committee Substitute' rather than a 'Proposed Committee Substitute', and updates the tracking number from 16412 to 16766.

Proposed Committee Substitute (full committee) 1 → Proposed Committee Substitute (full committee) 2 · 5 edits

MODERATE

The bill was renumbered from Section 16130 to 16412 and the effective date was updated to November 1, 2026. The most significant substantive change is the removal of a requirement for prospective foster parents to provide two letters of recommendation from community members, streamlining the application process. Other changes are primarily technical, including formatting adjustments and minor text corrections within the competency requirements.

Scope change

The bill's scope remains focused on establishing requirements for foster parent certification, but the specific criteria for background checks were slightly altered by removing the age threshold language.

REQUIREMENT

Removed the requirement for prospective foster parents to submit two letters of recommendation from respected community members, simplifying the application process.

Reformatted the background check requirement to remove the specific age threshold language, changing it from 'thirteen (13) years of age and older' to simply 'thirteen (13) years of age and older' in a different context or removing the specific age limit entirely depending on interpretation, though the text provided shows a removal of the age qualifier in the background check line.

TECHNICAL

Updated the bill section number from 60-2-16130 to 60-2-16412 to reflect the new legislative numbering.

Corrected minor formatting inconsistencies and spacing errors throughout the document.

TIMELINE

Changed the effective date of the act from November 1, 2026, to November 1, 2026, with a corresponding update to the committee amendment date.

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

MINOR

The bill was replaced entirely by a new version that retains the original requirements for foster parents, including age limits, income thresholds, and background checks. The primary changes are technical, updating the document to reflect a 'Proposed Committee Substitute' status and changing the effective date from November 1, 2026, to February 10, 2026.

Scope change

The scope of the law remains unchanged; the substantive requirements for foster parents are identical to the previous version.

TIMELINE

The effective date of the law was changed from November 1, 2026, to February 10, 2026.

TECHNICAL

The document header was updated to indicate this is a 'Proposed Committee Substitute' rather than the 'Engrossed' version.

Introduced → Engrossed · 3 edits · Mar 9, 2026

MINOR

The bill was amended to lower the minimum age requirement for kinship foster parents from 21 to 18 years old. Additionally, the penalty for submitting false or fraudulent applications was reduced from a felony to a misdemeanor, and the fine amount was adjusted accordingly. Several formatting and structural changes were made to align the text with standard legislative formatting conventions.

Scope change

The bill's applicability was expanded to include kinship foster parents under a lower age threshold, while the severity of penalties for fraud was decreased.

ELIGIBILITY

The minimum age for kinship foster parents was lowered from 21 to 18 years old, making it easier for relatives to become licensed foster parents.

ENFORCEMENT

The penalty for providing false or fraudulent information in a foster parent application was reduced from a felony to a misdemeanor, with the fine range adjusted from $1,000-$5,000 to $500-$1,000.

TECHNICAL

The bill text was restructured to include a formal title block, renumbered sections, and updated page headers to reflect its status as an engrossed bill.

Foster care; requirements; foster parents; penalties; false or fraudulent; application or information; codification; effective date.

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