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SENATE FLOOR VERSION
April 12, 2022
ENGROSSED HOUSE
BILL NO. 4079 By: Wallace of the House
and
Weaver of the Senate
An Act relating to fees; amending 28 O.S. 2021,
Section 86, which relates to jurors ' fees; increasing
jurors' fees for attendance; and providing an
effective date.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF OKLAHOMA:
SECTION 1. AMENDATORY 28 O.S. 2021, Section 86, is
amended to read as follows:
Section 86. A. Jurors shall be paid the following fees out of
the local court fund:
1. For each day's attendance before any court of record, Twenty
Dollars ($20.00) Seventy-five Dollars ($75.00); and
2. For mileage going to and returning from jury service each
day, pursuant to the provisi ons of the State Travel Reimbursement
Act.
B. The Court Fund Board of the district court may contract for
or provide reimbursement for parking for district c ourt jurors to be
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paid from the Court Fund. Parking so provided to jurors sh all be in
lieu of any reimbursement to jurors for parking fees.
C. The provisions of this section shall not apply to any person
who is summoned for jury duty and who is excused f rom serving
pursuant to the provisions of subsection A of Section 28 of Title 38
of the Oklahoma Statutes, beginning on the day the person is excused
from service.
D. The Supreme Court shall promulgate rules to establish a
Lengthy Trial Fund that shall be used to provide full or partial
wage replacement or wage supplementation to jurors who serve as
petit jurors for more than ten (10) days.
1. The court rules shall provide for the selection and
appointment of an Administrator for the fund; procedures for the
administration of the fund, including payments of salaries of the
Administrator and other nece ssary personnel; procedures for the
accounting, auditing and investment of money in the Lengthy Trial
Fund; and a report by the Supreme Court on the administr ation of the
Lengthy Trial Fund included in its annual report on the judicial
branch, setting fort h the money collected for and disbursed from the
fund.
2. The clerk of the court shall collect from each attorney who
files a civil case, unless otherwise ex empted under the provisions
of this section, a fee of Ten Dollars ($10.00) pe r case to be paid
into the Lengthy Trial Fund. A lawyer will be deemed to have filed
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a case at the time the first pleading or other filing on which an
individual lawyer's name appears is submitted to the court for
filing and opens a new case. All such fe es shall be forwarded to
the Administrator of the Lengthy Trial Fund for deposit.
3. The Administrator shall use the fees deposited in the
Lengthy Trial Fund to pay full or parti al wage replacement or
supplementation to jurors whose employers pay less tha n full regular
wages when the period of jury service lasts more than ten (10) days.
4. The court may pay replacement or supplemental wages of up to
Two Hundred Dollars ($200.00) per day per juror beginning on the
eleventh day of jury service. In addition , for any jurors who
qualify for payment by serving on a jury for more than ten (10)
days, the court may, upon finding that such service posed a
significant financial hardship to a juror, even in light of payments
made with respect to jury service after th e tenth day, award
replacement or supplemental wages of up to Fifty Dollars ($50.00)
per day from the fourth to the tenth day of jury service.
5. Any juror who is serving or has served on a jury that
qualifies for payment from the Lengthy Trial Fund, prov ided the
service commenced on or after January 1, 2005, may submit a request
for payment from the Lengthy Trial Fund on a form provided by the
Administrator. Payment shall be lim ited to the difference between
the state-paid jury fee and the actual amount of wages a juror
earns, up to the maximum level payable, minus any amount the juror
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actually receives from the employer during the same time period.
The form shall disclose the j uror's regular wages, the amount the
employer will pay during the term of jur y service starting on the
eleventh day and thereafter, the amount of replacement or
supplemental wages requested, and any other information the
Administrator deems necessary for p roper payment. The juror shall
be required to submit verification from the e mployer as to the wag e
information provided to the Administrator, including but not limited
to the employee's most recent earnings statement or similar
document, prior to initiati on of payment from the fund. If an
individual is self-employed or receives c ompensation other tha n
wages, the individual may provide a sworn affidavit attesting to his
or her approximate gross weekly income, together with such other
information as the Adm inistrator may require, in order to verify
weekly income.
6. The following attorneys and causes o f action are exempt from
payment of the Lengthy Trial Fund fee:
a. government attorneys entering appearances in the
course of their official duties,
b. pro se litigants,
c. cases in small claims court or the state equivalent
thereof, or
d. claims seeking Social Security disability
determinations, individual veterans' compensation or
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disability determinations, recoupment actions for
government backed educational loans or mortgages,
child custody and support cases, actions brought in
forma pauperis, and any o ther filings designated by
rule that involve minimal use of court resources and
that customarily are not afforded the opportunity for
a trial by jury.
7. Until June 30, 2021, the Office of Management and Enterprise
Services shall, at the request of the Ad ministrative Director of the
Courts, transfer any monies from the Lengthy Trial Fund to the
Supreme Court Administrative Revolving Fund or the Interagency
Reimbursement Fund as necessary to perform the duties imposed upon
the Supreme Court, Court of Civil Appeals and district courts by
law.
SECTION 2. This act shall become effective November 1, 2022.
COMMITTEE REPORT BY: COMMITTEE ON JUDICIARY
April 12, 2022 - DO PASS