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HB3698 HFLR Page 1
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HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES - FLOOR VERSION
STATE OF OKLAHOMA
2nd Session of the 60th Legislature (2026)
COMMITTEE SUBSTITUTE
FOR
HOUSE BILL NO. 3698 By: Pogemiller and Waldron of
the House
and
Kirt of the Senate
COMMITTEE SUBSTITUTE
An Act relating to unstable housing; creating the
Student Eviction Assistance Pilot Program Revolving
Fund; directing the State Department of Education to
use the fund to provide legal representation to
certain parties in forcible entry and detainer
actions; providing requirements to qualify for
representation; directing the State Board of
Education to determine service area for the legal
services providing the representation; providing for
administrative fee; providing requirements to qualify
for funding; defining term; requiring contracted
organizations to determine the eligibility of
individuals seeking legal services; requiring certain
report; providing for certain recordkeeping;
requiring an annual audit; providing for costs
related to audit; requiring audit by the State
Auditor and Inspector or independent auditing firm;
providing for expiration of pilot program; providing
for codification; and providing an effective date.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF OKLAHOMA:
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SECTION 1. NEW LAW A new section of law to be codified
in the Oklahoma Statutes as Section 10-110 of Title 70, unless there
is created a duplication in numbering, reads as follows:
A. To help school districts address chronic absenteeism linked
to unstable housing, the "Student Eviction Assistance Pilot Program
Revolving Fund" is hereby created in the State Treasury for the
State Department of Education. The fund shall be a continuing fund,
not subject to fiscal year limitations, and shall consist of all
monies appropriated to or otherwise received by the State Department
of Education to provide legal services from funds appropriated to
the fund, federal funds, gifts, donations, and grants. All monies
accruing to the credit of said fund are hereby appropriated and may
be budgeted and expended by the State Department of Education for
the purpose of contracting for legal services to provide
representation for indigent tenants with children enrolled in a
public or private school in the State of Oklahoma pursuant to the
provisions of this section. Expenditures from said fund shall be
made upon warrants issued by the State Treasurer against claims
filed as prescribed by law with the Director of the Office of
Management and Enterprise Services for approval and payment.
B. To the extent funds are available, the State Department of
Education shall allocate funds from the Student Eviction Assistance
Pilot Program Revolving Fund to provide legal representation to
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indigent persons with students enrolled in a public or private
school in pre-kindergarten through grade twelve:
1. In cities in this state that have a population of six
hundred thousand (600,000) or more, as determined by the last
Federal Decennial Census; and
2. In cities in this state that have a population of between
fifty thousand (50,000) and seventy-five thousand (75,000), as
determined by the last Federal Decennial Census, and are more than
sixty (60) miles from a city with a population of more than four
hundred thousand (400,000), as determined by the last Federal
Decennial Census,
for representation in forcible entry and detainer cases (commonly
referred to as eviction cases) filed pursuant to the Oklahoma
Residential Landlord and Tenant Act, Sections 1148.1 through 1148.16
of Title 12 of the Oklahoma Statutes. To qualify for
representation, the person must be referred to the legal services
organization by the school district where the student is enrolled.
C. The State Board of Education shall be responsible for
determining the service area for the legal services organization and
for allocating the funds pursuant to contracts with eligible
regional or statewide organizations which ordinarily render legal
services to indigent persons. The State Department of Education may
charge an administrative fee for administering the contracts. The
funds shall be allocated for the benefit of indigent persons with
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students enrolled in a public or private school in pre-kindergarten
through grade twelve in all seventy-seven (77) counties of the state
on a formula to be determined by the State Board of Education,
utilizing an allocation formula that distributes funds according to
the number of residents whose incomes are less than the official
United States federal poverty guidelines, based on United States
census data, as a percentage of the total number of these residents
in this state and on the percentage of students within the school
district reported to be chronically absent in the previous school
year.
D. As used in this section, "eligible organization" means an
entity that:
1. Is organized as a not-for-profit corporation that is tax
exempt pursuant to the provisions of Section 501(c)(3) of the United
States Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended; and
2. Is incorporated pursuant to any applicable laws of this
state.
E. As a condition of the contract, the organization shall be
required to determine the eligibility of any person seeking legal
services pursuant to this section.
F. The State Department of Education shall prepare annually and
distribute to the Governor, the President Pro Tempore of the
Oklahoma State Senate and the Speaker of the Oklahoma House of
Representatives a report detailing expenditures of funds.
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G. Each organization that contracts to provide legal services
pursuant to subsection B of this section shall maintain books and
records in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles.
The books and records shall account for the receipt and expenditure
of all funds paid pursuant to contract. Books and records shall be
maintained for a period of five (5) years from the close of the
fiscal year of the contract period. The State Auditor and Inspector
may audit each organization annually. The necessary expense of each
audit, including, but not limited to, the cost of typing, printing,
and binding, shall be paid from funds of the organization. In lieu
of the audit by the State Auditor and Inspector, the organization
may submit an audit prepared by an independent auditing firm for
compliance with federal auditing requirements. A copy of the audit
prepared by or submitted to the State Auditor and Inspector shall be
submitted to the Attorney General.
H. This pilot program shall terminate three (3) years after the
effective date of this act.
SECTION 2. This act shall become effective November 1, 2026.
COMMITTEE REPORT BY: COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS AND BUDGET, dated
03/05/2026 - DO PASS, As Amended and Coauthored.