HB 3505: Garnishment procedure; noncontinuing earnings; judgement; Bar Association; form; repealer; effective date. - Oklahoma

House Committee Substitute → Floor (House) · 3 edits

MINOR

The bill text was updated from the 'House Committee Substitute' version to the 'Floor (House)' version, incorporating amendments made by the Senate. The primary changes involve formatting updates, such as adding the Senate sponsor's name and adjusting page headers, while the substantive legal definitions and procedures for wage garnishment remain consistent with the original committee version.

TECHNICAL

Added the Senate sponsor's name (Daniels) and updated the document header to reflect the 'Floor Version' status.

Reorganized page numbering and layout to align with the House Floor version, including the addition of a legend explaining that bold face text denotes committee amendments.

SCOPE

The core legal provisions regarding garnishment procedures, definitions, and employer obligations remain identical to the Committee Substitute version.

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

MINOR

The bill was amended to replace the 'Proposed Policy Committee Substitute' version with a 'House Committee Substitute,' incorporating specific changes to the bill's title, page numbering, and request numbers. The most significant substantive change is the addition of a new definition for 'Garnishment action,' which clarifies that the act applies specifically to court proceedings seeking garnishment, while the rest of the text appears to be formatting adjustments.

Scope change

The scope of the bill remains focused on garnishment procedures, but the new definition of 'Garnishment action' provides clearer boundaries for when the Uniform Wage Garnishment Act applies to court proceedings.

TECHNICAL

The bill title was updated from 'Proposed Policy Committee Substitute' to 'Committee Substitute' to reflect its current legislative status.

Page reference numbers and request numbers (e.g., Req. No. 16061 to 16820) were updated to match the new version.

DEFINITION

A new definition for 'Garnishment action' was added to clarify that the act applies to court proceedings where a garnishment is sought.

Engrossed → Proposed Policy Committee Substitute 1 · 5 edits

MODERATE

The bill was completely rewritten to replace a specific procedural amendment with a comprehensive new law known as the 'Uniform Wage Garnishment Act.' This change expands the scope from a single section on non-continuing earnings to a full statutory framework covering definitions, standardized forms, employer protections, and sanctions for non-compliance.

Scope change

The bill's scope expanded significantly from a narrow procedural update to a broad legislative act establishing a complete system for wage garnishment, including rules for continuous garnishments, employer liabilities, and debtor protections.

SCOPE

The entire original text was deleted and replaced with a new, comprehensive act titled the 'Uniform Wage Garnishment Act'.

DEFINITION

New standardized definitions were created for key terms including 'Creditor,' 'Debtor,' 'Disposable earnings,' 'Earnings,' 'Electronic,' 'Employee,' 'Employer,' 'Garnishee,' and 'Garnishment' to ensure consistent application of the law.

REQUIREMENT

The new act mandates specific standardized forms for motions, notices, and calculations, requiring these forms to be publicly accessible via the Oklahoma State Courts Network website.

ENFORCEMENT

New enforcement mechanisms were added, allowing courts to impose sanctions on garnishees who fail to comply and on creditors who act in bad faith, while also protecting employees from adverse employment actions due to garnishment.

TIMELINE

Specific timelines were established, such as requiring garnishees to respond within thirty calendar days and employers to send withheld earnings to creditors within five business days.

Introduced → Engrossed · 5 edits · Mar 25, 2026

MODERATE

The bill was significantly reorganized from a standalone act into an amendment of existing law. It removed the creation of a new 'Oklahoma Civil Procedure Reform Act' and instead focuses on amending 12 O.S. 2021, Section 1173 to standardize garnishment forms and clarify procedures for noncontinuing earnings.

Scope change

The bill's scope shifted from establishing entirely new legislation to modifying an existing statute, specifically targeting the procedural rules for wage garnishment.

SCOPE

Deleted the text creating a new 'Oklahoma Civil Procedure Reform Act of 2026' and the specific effective date of November 1, 2026.

REQUIREMENT

Added specific requirements that the Oklahoma Bar Association must prescribe standardized forms for summonses and garnishment notices, and that the Administrative Office of the Courts must provide public links to these forms on the OSCN website.

Introduced detailed instructions for the standardized garnishment form, including specific fields for debtor addresses, owed amounts, and alternative methods for sending withheld funds.

DEFINITION

Clarified the definition of 'earnings' to explicitly exclude reimbursements for travel expenses for state employees.

TIMELINE

Established specific timelines for the garnishee to file an answer (within 21 days) and to begin withholding earnings (on the first payday at least 30 days after filing the answer).

Garnishment procedure; noncontinuing earnings; judgement; Bar Association; form; repealer; effective date.

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