SB 1597 Oklahoma Senate · 2026 Regular Session

Court-appointed special advocates; removing requirement for state association to adhere to certain national standards. Effective date.

SB 1597 removes a requirement for Oklahoma's Court-Appointed Special Advocate (CASA) programs to adhere to specific national standards. It affects local CASA programs and the Oklahoma Court-Appointed Special Advocate Association by eliminating this compliance obligation. The bill maintains existing requirements for CASA volunteer training, annual documentation, criminal background checks, and child welfare records searches. Key provisions remain unchanged, including the need for volunteers to complete training and pass background checks before being assigned cases. The bill takes effect November 1, 2026.

Bill status signed all 5 stages cleared

Introduction

Feb 2026

Committee Review

May 2026

Senate Passage

Mar 2026

House Passage

May 2026

Signed into Law

May 2026

Introduced Feb 2, 2026 Signed May 13, 2026

Maddy AI version diff · 4 comparisons

What changed between versions

Floor (House) → Floor (Senate) · 3 edits

MINOR

The bill was converted from a House version to a Senate version, resulting in the removal of the House sponsor name and the addition of a Senate date. The core legislative text regarding court-appointed special advocates (CASA) remains substantively identical, though the formatting and committee report details were updated to reflect the Senate's review process.

TECHNICAL

Removed the House of Representatives header and the specific name of the House sponsors (Moore of the House) from the bill text.

Added the Senate Floor Version header, the date February 10, 2026, and the Senate Judiciary Committee report indicating the bill was passed by the Senate.

Adjusted the bill title to reflect the Senate Floor Version and updated the sponsor list to include only Senate members, removing the House sponsor.

Floor votes · Senate Mar 2, 2026 · House May 6, 2026

How they voted

43–7

Passed

Total votes 50

Mar 2, 2026

D Democratic9

2 Yea 7 Nay

77% Nay

R Republican41

41 Yea

100% Yea

Vote distribution

All Yea All Nay Mixed No data

Full legislative history

Actions timeline

Total actions

Key actions

Committee

May 13, 2026

Signed into law

Approved by Governor 05/12/2026

upper

May 6, 2026

Committee

Referred for enrollment

upper

May 6, 2026

Lower · Passed

Third Reading, Measure passed: Ayes: 83 Nays: 8

lower

Apr 14, 2026

Lower · Passed

CR; Do Pass Judiciary and Public Safety Oversight Committee

lower

Apr 6, 2026

Lower · Passed

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

lower

Mar 30, 2026

Committee

Referred to Civil Judiciary

lower

Mar 3, 2026

Introduced

First Reading

lower

Mar 3, 2026

Upper · Passed

Engrossed to House

upper

Mar 2, 2026

Committee

Referred for engrossment

upper

Mar 2, 2026

Upper · Passed

Measure passed: Ayes: 41 Nays: 7

upper

Feb 10, 2026

Upper · Passed

Reported Do Pass Judiciary committee; CR filed

upper

Feb 2, 2026

Introduced

First Reading

upper

2 primary · 0 co-sponsors