HB 4237: Criminal procedure; court costs and fees; requiring courts to offer certain hearing; cost waiver or reduction exceptions; determinations; effective date. - Oklahoma

Floor (House) → Floor (Senate) · 4 edits

MODERATE

The bill was converted from a House version to a Senate version, which involved significant reorganization of the text and the addition of a 'Committee Substitute' header. While the core definitions and the requirement for courts to hold ability-to-pay hearings remain, the Senate version introduces new specific exclusions for income and assets (such as federal need-based assistance and bankruptcy-exempt assets) and expands the list of factors courts must consider when determining a defendant's ability to pay. The formatting also changed to include specific page headers and bold-face indicators for committee amendments.

Scope change

The scope of the bill's applicability to financial relief appears slightly broader in the Senate version due to the explicit inclusion of federal need-based programs and disability benefits as non-income sources, whereas the House version did not explicitly list these exclusions in the provided text.

DEFINITION

Added specific exclusions for income and assets, including federal need-based assistance, disability benefits, and bankruptcy-exempt assets, to clarify what courts cannot count when assessing a defendant's ability to pay.

REQUIREMENT

Expanded the list of factors courts must consider during ability-to-pay hearings to explicitly include child support obligations, health conditions affecting income, and other relevant factors.

TECHNICAL

Changed the document header from 'House of Representatives' to 'Senate Floor Version' and added a 'Committee Substitute' designation, indicating the bill has been amended by the Senate committee.

Reorganized the text structure and line breaks, altering the visual layout while retaining the substantive legal content regarding court costs and financial obligations.

House Committee Substitute → Floor (House) · 3 edits

MINOR

The bill was updated from a 'Committee Substitute' draft to the official 'Floor Version' for the House of Representatives. While the substantive legal text regarding court costs and fees remains largely identical, the document now includes specific formatting headers, page numbers, and a note indicating that bold face text denotes committee amendments.

Scope change

The bill's scope and applicability remain unchanged; this is a procedural update reflecting the bill's progression through the legislative process.

TECHNICAL

Updated the document title to reflect the 'House of Representatives - Floor Version' instead of just 'Committee Substitute'.

Added a header note stating that 'BOLD FACE denotes Committee Amendments' to guide legislators on identifying changes.

Replaced the original page numbering format with a new header style including the bill number (HB4237) and page count.

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

MINOR

The bill was completely rewritten to replace the 'Proposed Policy Committee Substitute' with a 'House Committee Substitute,' indicating a significant revision of the legislation. The new version expands the criteria for determining a defendant's ability to pay court financial obligations by adding specific factors like household living expenses, dependents, and health conditions. It also introduces new exemptions, ensuring that child support income and government need-based assistance are not counted as income or assets when calculating payment ability.

Scope change

The bill's scope shifted from a policy proposal to a finalized committee substitute, and the applicability of the financial obligation rules was broadened to include a more comprehensive set of personal and financial factors for defendants.

ELIGIBILITY

The criteria for assessing a defendant's ability to pay were updated to include specific thresholds (150% of federal poverty level) and new factors such as household living expenses, number of dependents, assets, child support obligations, and health conditions.

REQUIREMENT

New requirements were added to explicitly exclude child support income and federal, state, or tribal government need-based or disability assistance from being counted as income or assets when determining payment ability.

TECHNICAL

The document title was changed from 'Proposed Policy Committee Substitute' to 'Committee Substitute,' and the tracking reference number was updated from 16351 to 16932.

Engrossed → Proposed Policy Committee Substitute 1 · 5 edits

MODERATE

The bill was completely rewritten by the Policy Committee to replace the original text entirely. The new version removes the specific definitions for various warrant types and simplifies the ability-to-pay hearing process, shifting the focus from rigid procedural rules to a broader framework that allows courts to determine payment ability at sentencing and provides clearer guidelines on what factors must be considered when assessing a defendant's financial situation.

Scope change

The bill's scope shifted from a detailed procedural manual for cost arrest warrants and specific hearing timelines to a more flexible framework that emphasizes the court's discretion in determining ability to pay at the time of sentencing.

DEFINITION

Removed detailed definitions for 'Cost arrest warrant', 'Cost cite and release warrant', and 'Willfulness hearing', replacing them with a single, streamlined definition for 'Cost arrest warrant'.

Deleted the definitions for 'Payment-in-full', 'Payment-in-installments', and 'Court financial obligation' to simplify the statute.

TIMELINE

Changed the deadline for appearing at the court clerk's office from thirty (30) days back to ten (10) days after being cited by law enforcement.

REQUIREMENT

Added explicit instructions for courts to make written findings regarding the factors considered when determining a defendant's ability to pay.

ELIGIBILITY

Reorganized the list of factors courts must consider (such as income, living expenses, and dependents) and removed the specific exclusion of certain assets like child support and government assistance.

Amended And Engrossed → Engrossed · 4 edits · Apr 30, 2026

MODERATE

This amendment updates the bill title and sponsor information to reflect Senate involvement, then significantly modifies the statutory language regarding court cost enforcement. The changes redefine specific warrant types, adjust the timeframe for appearing at a court clerk's office from 10 to 30 days, and introduce new criteria for determining a defendant's ability to pay based on federal poverty levels and specific benefit programs.

Scope change

The bill's scope regarding financial obligation enforcement is narrowed and clarified by adding specific definitions for different warrant types and updating the conditions under which defendants can be relieved of debt or ordered to pay.

DEFINITION

Updated the definition of 'Cost cite and release warrant' to include a 30-day window for appearing at the court clerk's office, increasing the previous 10-day requirement.

Added a new definition for 'Willfulness hearing' to clarify when a court determines a defendant has intentionally failed to pay despite having the ability to do so.

ELIGIBILITY

Modified the factors courts must consider when assessing ability to pay, specifically adding 'tribal disability benefits' and clarifying the inclusion of various federal and state assistance programs like TANF and SNAP.

REQUIREMENT

Changed the procedural requirement for defendants found unable to pay, shifting the language to ensure they are relieved of debt through an ability-to-pay hearing conducted at the time of sentencing.

Enrolled (final version) → Amended And Engrossed · 4 edits · Apr 30, 2026

MODERATE

This amendment updates the title and authorship of the bill to reflect its final passage. The substantive text of the bill remains identical to the enrolled version, preserving the same rules for court cost waivers, ability-to-pay hearings, and the definitions of financial obligations and warrants.

Scope change

No change in the scope or applicability of the bill; the legal provisions governing court costs and fees remain exactly the same.

TECHNICAL

The title page was updated to change the bill status from 'Enrolled' to 'Engrossed Senate Amendment' and corrected the list of sponsors to include only Kannady and Gollihare, removing Moore who was previously listed as a coauthor.

The descriptive subject line was updated to include specific keywords like 'guidelines and procedures for cost arrest warrants' and 'collection of court financial obligations' to better categorize the bill's content.

The original 'Enrolled House' header and the previous version of the title page were removed to replace them with the new amendment formatting.

New page headers and footers were added to identify the document as an 'Engrossed Senate Amendment' to the 'Engrossed House Bill No. 4237'.

Introduced → Enrolled (final version) · 6 edits · Mar 30, 2026

MODERATE

The bill transforms a new criminal procedure act into a specific amendment to existing Oklahoma law regarding court costs. It replaces a broad 'new law' citation with a direct amendment to 22 O.S. 2021, Section 983, and adds detailed definitions for cost warrants and hearings. The most significant change is the creation of a mandatory 'ability to pay' hearing where courts must consider income, assets, and family size to waive or reduce fines, with specific exemptions for disabled individuals and those receiving government assistance.

Scope change

The bill's scope narrowed from establishing a completely new Criminal Procedure Act to amending a single existing statute (22 O.S. 2021, Section 983) related to court costs and fees.

SCOPE

Changed the bill type from a new act creating a standalone 'Oklahoma Criminal Procedure Act' to an amendatory bill modifying an existing statute on court costs.

DEFINITION

Added specific legal definitions for 'Cost arrest warrant', 'Cost cite and release warrant', 'Cost hearing', 'Court financial obligation', 'Payment-in-full', 'Payment-in-installments', and 'Willfulness hearing'.

REQUIREMENT

Mandated that courts must offer a hearing to determine a defendant's ability to pay court financial obligations at the time of sentencing or later.

Required courts to inform defendants of total financial obligations and the right to request a cost hearing at the time of plea or sentencing.

ELIGIBILITY

Established criteria for waiving debt, including exemptions for disabled individuals, recipients of need-based government aid (like SNAP or housing vouchers), and those with income below 150% of the federal poverty level.

ENFORCEMENT

Specified that failure to appear at the court clerk's office after sentencing results in the full amount of debt becoming due within 30 days.

Criminal procedure; court costs and fees; requiring courts to offer certain hearing; cost waiver or reduction exceptions; determinations; effective date.

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