Oklahoma legislation · 2026 Regular Session
Oklahoma SB1597: Court-appointed special advocates; removing requirement for state association to adhere to certain national standards. Effective date.
Status: Signed into law, May 13, 2026
What the bill says
An Act relating to the Oklahoma Children's Code; amending 10A O.S. 2021, Section 1-8-102, as amended by Section 1, Chapter 310, O.S.L. 2022 (10A O.S. Supp. 2025, Section 1-8-102), which relates to courtappointed special advocates; removing requirement for state association to adhere to certain national standards; updating statutory language; and providing an effective date. SUBJECT: Court-appointed special advocates.
From the enrolled text, May 7, 2026:
An Act relating to the Oklahoma Children's Code; amending 10A O.S. 2021, Section 1-8-102, as amended by Section 1, Chapter 310, O.S.L. 2022 (10A O.S. Supp. 2025, Section 1-8-102), which relates to courtappointed special advocates; removing requirement for state association to adhere to certain national standards; updating statutory language; and providing an effective date. SUBJECT: Court-appointed special advocates SECTION 1. AMENDATORY 10A O.S. 2021, Section 1-8-102, as amended by Section 1, Chapter 310, O.S.L. 2022 (10A O.S. Supp. 2025, Section 1-8-102), is amended to read as follows: Section 1-8-102. A. Any court-appointed special advocate (CASA) available for appointment pursuant to the Oklahoma Children's Code or the Oklahoma Juvenile Code shall complete education and training courses in accordance with national and Oklahoma CASA standards. B. No court-appointed special advocate shall be assigned a case before: 1. Completing a training program in compliance with nationally documented Court-Appointed Special Advocate court-appointed special advocate standards. Documentation of training shall be submitted annually by local court-appointed special advocate programs to the Oklahoma Court-Appointed Special Advocate Association; and 2. Being approved by the local court-appointed special advocate program, which will shall include appropriate criminal background checks as provided in subsection C of this section. C. 1. Notwithstanding any other provision of law, each local court-appointed special advocate program shall require for any person making application to …
Sponsors
- Roland Pederson (R, SD-019)
- Casey Murdock (R)
- Bill Coleman (R, SD-010)
- Shane Jett (R)
- Todd Gollihare (R, SD-012) · primary sponsor
Latest actions
- : Approved by Governor 05/12/2026
- : Sent to Governor
- : Enrolled, to House
- : Referred for enrollment
- : Signed, returned to Senate
- : Third Reading, Measure passed: Ayes: 83 Nays: 8
- : General Order
- : CR; Do Pass Judiciary and Public Safety Oversight Committee
- : Policy recommendation to the Judiciary and Public Safety Oversight committee; Do Pass Civil Judiciary
- : Referred to Civil Judiciary
Votes
- Third Reading (May 6, 2026): 83 yea, 8 nay, passed
- Floor Vote (April 14, 2026): 14 yea, 0 nay, passed
- Floor Vote (April 2, 2026): 10 yea, 0 nay, passed
- Third Reading (March 2, 2026): 41 yea, 7 nay, passed
- Senate Judiciary Committee (February 10, 2026): 7 yea, 1 nay, passed
Subjects: Children
Common questions
- What is SB1597?
- SB1597 is a bill in the Oklahoma Legislature (2026 Regular Session): Court-appointed special advocates; removing requirement for state association to adhere to certain national standards. Effective date.
- What does SB1597 do?
- In its own words: An Act relating to the Oklahoma Children's Code; amending 10A O.S. 2021, Section 1-8-102, as amended by Section 1, Chapter 310, O.S.L. 2022 (10A O.S. Supp. 2025, Section 1-8-102), which relates to courtappointed special advocates; removing requirement for state association to adhere to certain national standards; updating statutory language; and providing an effective date. SUBJECT: Court-appointed special advocates.
- What is the status of SB1597?
- Signed into law as of May 13, 2026. Latest action: Approved by Governor 05/12/2026 (May 13, 2026).
- Who sponsored SB1597?
- Todd Gollihare (R, SD-012), with 4 co-sponsors.
- Where is the official record for SB1597?
- On the Oklahoma Legislature website: https://www.oklegislature.gov/BillInfo.aspx?Bill=SB1597&Session=2600
Source: official Oklahoma record. Tracked by Delilah, AI for legislation across all 50 states and Congress.