House committee reports slate of bills including higher eviction filing fee, 340B protections and business courts

A House committee meeting (date not specified) advanced a broad package of bills on matters ranging from eviction filing fees to court procedure. Committee members voted to report each bill "do pass." The measures discussed include a proposed increase in eviction filing fees, protections for hospitals participating in the federal 340B drug-pricing program, a prohibition on reporting certain medical debt to credit bureaus, the creation of business courts, and several procedural reforms for civil and criminal litigation.

The committee heard brief presentations and took recorded or announced voice votes on each measure. Representative Miller (presenter) introduced House Bill 2258, described as a preservation measure for electronic legal materials. Representative Bennett introduced House Bill 1709, saying it "simply prohibits Oklahoma medical facilities from reporting medical debt accrued from emergency services or procedures to someone's credit score." Representative Stinson introduced House Bill 2048, saying the 340B drug-pricing program allows certain hospitals to acquire prescription drugs at a discounted rate and that without the program "some of these would be in dire jeopardy of failure." Representative Pogue Miller presented a proposal to increase the flat filing fee for forcible entry and detainer (eviction) filings, noting that "50 percent of cases are voluntarily dismissed by the plaintiff" and saying the current fee of $58 has not changed since February 2003 and would be raised to $100 under the bill.

Other notable bills advanced: - House Bill 2161 ("Museum Day" request bill) — provides a path to legal ownership of property abandoned at museums; sponsor said it addresses a growing inventory problem and involves coordination with the press association for notification procedures. - House Bill 1129 (amendment adopted) — an amendment removing "actions for forcible entry and detainer" from a statutory line was adopted by unanimous consent before the bill was presented as amended. - House Bill 1851 (Fair Auto Renewal Act) — described by Representative Schreiber as a consumer-protection measure to require clearer disclosure for annual subscription renewals. - House Bill 2081 — authorizes courts to order abduction-prevention measures in child-custody proceedings when the court finds evidence establishing a credible risk of abduction. - House Bill 2131 — described as an Attorney General's Office request bill to clean up the grand jury statute. - House Bill 2036 — a measure addressing eminent domain and evidentiary matters in jury trials, with a noted effort to reconcile similar legislation from another legislator. - House Bill 1562 — establishes pilot business courts, tentatively one each in Oklahoma and Tulsa counties, to streamline complex business cases; the sponsor said appointments and terms are still being negotiated. - House Bill 1563 — authorizes defense counsel to issue subpoenas akin to civil subpoenas for third-party records in criminal cases while excluding victims' records. - House Bill 1564 (Expedited Action Act) — creates an expedited district-court track for cases with amounts in controversy under $250,000 to shorten discovery and trial timelines; committee members discussed the relationship to the $10,000 small-claims limit.

Votes and outcomes: For the items the transcript records as voted on, the chair declared each motion carried and each bill "will be reported do pass." Where vote tallies were announced on the record, the committee recorder announced counts (commonly recorded as eight in favor, zero opposed); the transcript repeatedly shows the chair declaring the motion passed after the count was read. No final floor passage or enactment was recorded in this meeting; the committee reported the bills to the next step.

The meeting record shows short presentations and limited debate for most items; a few bills included brief clarifying questions from committee members (for example, whether business-court judges would be reappointed every two years and how the expedited track would interact with existing small-claims thresholds). The meeting adjourned after the final bill was reported.

Ending: The committee declared that the reported bills "will be reported do pass" and adjourned (time not specified).