HB 3835 Oklahoma House · 2026 Regular Session

Human trafficking; authorizing expungements for criminal offenses committed by human trafficking victims; effective date.

HB 3835 allows courts in Oklahoma to seal (expunge) criminal records for individuals convicted of offenses committed as a direct result of being a victim of human trafficking. It specifically targets prostitution-related or other crimes tied to trafficking, requiring courts to consider trafficking victim status using Oklahoma's definition or federal standards. Key provisions include waiving court fees, closing hearings to the public, applying a "preponderance of evidence" standard (not beyond reasonable doubt), and permitting petitions at any time regardless of when the offense occurred. This bill directly affects trafficking victims with criminal records who were coerced into unlawful acts by traffickers.

Issues: ✓ Criminal Justice

Bill status passed 3 of 5 stages cleared

Introduction

Feb 2026

Committee Review

Mar 2026

House Passage

Mar 2026

Senate Passage

Governor

Introduced Feb 2, 2026 Last action Apr 21, 2026

Maddy AI version diff · 4 comparisons

What changed between versions

House Committee Substitute → Floor (House) · 3 edits

MINOR

The bill was transitioned from a House Committee Substitute draft to the official Floor Version for debate. The substantive policy text regarding human trafficking expungements remains identical, but the formatting was adjusted to remove redundant headers and page markers, while adding a specific note that bold face text denotes committee amendments.

Scope change

No change in the bill's scope or applicability; the legal provisions for expunging records for human trafficking victims remain the same.

TECHNICAL

The header was updated to clearly label the document as the 'Floor Version' of the bill, replacing the previous 'Committee Substitute' title page layout.

Redundant page numbers and footer text (e.g., 'Req. No. 17068') were removed to standardize the document format for the legislative floor.

A note was added to the footer explaining that bold face text indicates amendments made by the committee.

Floor votes · House Mar 23, 2026

How they voted

95–0

Passed · 5 other

Total votes 100

Mar 23, 2026

D Democratic18

18 Yea

100% Yea

R Republican82

77 Yea 5

93% Yea

Vote distribution

All Yea All Nay Mixed No data

Full legislative history

Actions timeline

Total actions

Key actions

Committee

Mar 24, 2026

Introduced

First Reading

upper

Mar 24, 2026

Lower · Passed

Engrossed, signed, to Senate

lower

Mar 23, 2026

Committee

Referred for engrossment

lower

Mar 23, 2026

Lower · Passed

Third Reading, Measure passed: Ayes: 94 Nays: 0

lower

Mar 5, 2026

Lower · Passed

CR; Do Pass, amended by committee substitute Judiciary and Public Safety Oversight Committee

lower

Feb 17, 2026

Lower · Passed

Policy recommendation to the Judiciary and Public Safety Oversight committee; Do Pass Criminal Judiciary

lower

Feb 3, 2026

Committee

Referred to Criminal Judiciary

lower

Feb 2, 2026

Introduced

First Reading

lower

2 primary · 0 co-sponsors