HB1382 HFLR Page 1 BOLD FACE denotes Committee Ame ndments. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES - FLOOR VERSION STATE OF OKLAHOMA 2nd Session of the 59th Legislature (2024) COMMITTEE SUBSTITUTE FOR HOUSE BILL NO. 1382 By: Talley of the House and Hall of the Senate COMMITTEE SUBSTITUTE An Act relating to children; amending 10 O.S. 2021, Sections 1116.2 and 1116.6, which relate to postadjudication review boards; removing requirement that review board shall be subject to the Oklahoma Open Meeting Act; requiring certain information be included in certain report; amending 25 O.S. 2021, Section 304, as amended by Section 1 , Chapter 123, O.S.L. 2022 (25 O.S. Supp. 2023, Section 304), which relates to the Oklahoma Open Meeting Act ; providing exception; and providing an effective date . BE IT ENACTED BY THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF OKLA HOMA: SECTION 1. AMENDATORY 10 O.S. 2021, Section 1116.2, is amended to read as follows: Section 1116.2 A. There is hereby established a postadjudication review board in each judicial dist rict in the state. Members and alternate members of the postadjudicati on review HB1382 HFLR Page 2 BOLD FACE denotes Committee Ame ndments. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 boards shall be residents of or employed wit hin the judicial district in which the board serves and shall be appointed by the Director of the Oklahoma Commission on Children a nd Youth after consultation with judges in the judicial district having juvenile docket responsibility, provided that in the event of a conflict of interest or for any reason when circumstances or the appearances of justice dictate, the Director of the Okl ahoma Commission on Children and Youth may transfer the appointment dec ision to the entire Oklahoma Commission on Children an d Youth whose decision shall be final and further, provided, that any aggrieved aspirant may appeal the decision denying appointment by the Director of the Oklahoma Commission on Children and Youth with in five (5) days to the Oklahoma Commission on Children and Youth whose decision shall be final. The Oklahoma Commission on Children and Youth may establish additional postadjudication review boards as needed for each county within a judicial district. B. A postadjudication review board for each judicial dis trict shall consist of at least five (5) members. Alternate review board members may be appointed to serve in the absence of a regularly appointed board member members. Alternate board members shall be appointed in the same manner as regularly appointed board me mbers. On and after September 1, 1991, currently serving board members shall serve until appointments are made by the Commiss ion on Children and Youth. The Commission on Children and Youth sh all HB1382 HFLR Page 3 BOLD FACE denotes Committee Ame ndments. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 complete initial appointments to the review boards no later than June 30, 1992. C. Board members shall be appointed for a term of three (3) years. Members shall serve after the expira tion of their terms until their respective successors shall have be en appointed. Vacancies shall be filled for the duration of un expired terms. The review board members shall be appointed according to the following guidelines: 1. One member shall be a p erson who has training or experience in issues concerning child wel fare, or a person who has demonstrated an interest in children through voluntary community service or professional activities; 2. Whenever possible, at least one member of the board shall be an individual who has served as a foster parent, provided that n o person on the review board shall participate as a board membe r in any review hearing in which the person is a party; and 3. No more than one person employed by any child welfare agency or juvenile court may be appointed to a board at the same time, provided such person shall not participate in any review hearing in which the person is professionally involved. D. Each postadjudication review board shall annually elect a chair and shall notify the Commission on Children and Youth as to the name and address of the chair. A list of the members of each local board and its officers shall be filed with the Presiding Judge HB1382 HFLR Page 4 BOLD FACE denotes Committee Ame ndments. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 of the judicial district and each judge within the district having juvenile docket responsibility. E. There shall be a rebuttable presumpti on that a person participating in a judicial proceeding as a po stadjudication review board member or a postadjudication review advisory board or postadjudication review board coordinator is acting in good faith. When acting in good faith, a participant sh all be immune from any civil liability that might otherwise be incurred or imposed. Each postadjudication review board shall meet as often as is necessary at a place it designates to carry out the duties of the board established by Section 1116.3 of this title. The review board shall meet at least twice annually. Each review board shall be subject to the provisions of the Oklahoma Open Meeting Act, except that the actual case reviews shal l be held in executive session ; provided, however, that upon Upon the request of the board, members or prospective members of other exi sting review boards, students or researchers may attend and observe but not participate in board hearings subject to rest rictions and conditions imposed by the board. Members and employee s of the State Postadjudication Review Advisory Board who are exerci sing their oversight responsibilities pursuant to Section 1116.6 of this title may attend and observe but not participate in board hearings. All parties shall maintain confidentiality, and the names of the children in placement shall not be published. Te mporary ad hoc review boards may be created in HB1382 HFLR Page 5 BOLD FACE denotes Committee Ame ndments. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 counties in which there is no active review board. The Director of the Oklahoma Commission on Children and Youth may appoint active or alternate members of existing review boards to serve as members of local boards that are unable to meet quorum requirements and to temporarily constitute members of a new board where no current board exists. A member appointed to temporary service shall be ful ly qualified as provided by law, and such service shall terminate wh en the basis for the appointment is remedied or upon the order of the Director. F. As a condition of membership thereto, members and alternates of the postadjudication review boards shall attend the next available orientation program after appointment to the board. Failure to attend an orientation program, at the discretion of the Commission on Children and Youth, may resu lt in the removal of the board member. Members of postadjudication review boards shall attend the annual meeting or training programs or both such meeting and training programs as are authorized and directed by the Commission on Children and Youth. G. Members of postadjudication review boards shall serve without compensation, but shall be reimbursed for travel and training expenses from monies appropriated by the Legislature for such purposes, as provided by the State Travel Reimbursement Act. The Commission on Children and Youth shall provide members of HB1382 HFLR Page 6 BOLD FACE denotes Committee Ame ndments. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 postadjudication review boards with necessary operating supplies and postage fees or members shall be reimbursed for these expenses. H. The Commission on Children and Youth shall be responsible for developing procedures for the removal of a member from a postadjudication review board. Th e grounds for the removal of a postadjudication review board member shall include but not be limited to: 1. Failure to attend board meetings as required by the Commission on Children and Youth; 2. Engaging in illegal conduct involvin g moral turpitude; 3. Engaging in conduct involving dishonesty, fra ud, deceit, or misrepresentation; or 4. Wrongful disclosure of information as provided by Section 1116.4 of this title. I. Necessary staff assistance required by the postadjudication review boards may be pro vided by the bailiff or bailiffs, or other person designated by the court, of the judges with juvenile docket responsibility in the judicial district. Upon the request o f the presiding judge, the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court may authorize additional staff to be paid from local court funds to assist the review board. The Administrative Director of the Courts may include such additional funding requests in the annual budget for the courts as HB1382 HFLR Page 7 BOLD FACE denotes Committee Ame ndments. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 are necessary to provide staff and admin istrative support for the review boards. SECTION 2. AMENDATORY 10 O.S. 2021, Section 1116.6, is amended to read as follows: Section 1116.6 A. There is hereby creat ed a State Postadjudication Review Advisory Board which shall meet at least twice each calendar year. The Advisory Board shall have the duty of overseeing the implementation of the state postadjudication review program in coordination with the Oklahoma Co mmission on Children and Youth. B. The Advisory Board shall consist of twenty-one (21) members appointed by the Governor as follows: 1. Eight of the members shall be members o f the various review boards throughout the state; 2. Five of the members shall be judges of the district court; 3. Five of the members shall repre sent the general public and may be foster parents; 4. One of the members appointed after the effective date of this act shall be a foster parent representing foster parents who have a current contract with the Department of Human Services to provide foster care services; 5. One of the members appointed after the effective date of this act shall be a foster par ent representing child -placing HB1382 HFLR Page 8 BOLD FACE denotes Committee Ame ndments. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 agencies which have current contracts with the D epartment to provide foster care services; and 6. One of the members appointed after the effective date of this act shall be a foster parent nominated by any local or statewide foster parent association. The members shall serve at the pleasure of the Gove rnor. The administrative heads of the divisions which have foster ca re responsibilities within the Department of Human Services and the Office of Juvenile Affairs or their desi gnees shall serve as ex officio members of the Board. C. The Director of the O klahoma Commission on Children and Youth shall be the clerk of the Ad visory Board. The Advisory Board shall have the duty to: 1. Assist in the training of the members of the re view boards; 2. Serve, in coordination with the Oklahoma Commission on Children and Youth, as a clearinghouse for reports and information concerning the foster care review program and the review boards as they relate to foster care; 3. Make recommendatio ns to the courts, the Oklahoma Commission on Children and Youth, the Governor, the Legislature, the Department of Human Services, the Office of Juve nile Affairs, and other state agencies providing services to children regarding proposed statutory revisions, and amendments to court rules and procedures, and review HB1382 HFLR Page 9 BOLD FACE denotes Committee Ame ndments. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 and make recommendat ions on permanency planning, foster care and child welfare service de livery policies, guidelines, and procedures; 4. Work with both public and private agencies concerned with foster care and adoption exchanges to inform the public of the need for temporary and permanent homes and other services needed by deprived children; and 5. Specifically: a. identify, analyze, and recommend solutions to any issue concerning child welfare a nd foster care services within the child welfare delivery system, b. participate in the statewide planning and promotion of foster parent involvemen t in local planning for child welfare services, and c. develop recommendations concerning foster care training to improve the quality of foster care services. D. The State Postadjudicati on Review Advisory Board may designate multidisciplinary committees o n the local level to act as advocates for foster parents in order to assist in the resolution of specific complaints concerning foster care and to help facilitate the relationship between the Department of Human Services, the Office of Juvenile Affairs, ch ild-placing agencies, and the foster parents. HB1382 HFLR Page 10 BOLD FACE denotes Committee Ame ndments. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 E. The Oklahoma Commission on Children and Youth, with the assistance of the State Postadjudication Review Advisory Board, shall be responsible for developing and administering training procedures and rules fo r the administration of the state postadjudication review board system. F. The State Postadjudication Revie w Advisory Board shall submit a report of the activities of the review boards, including the findings and recommendations of such review boards, to the Oklahoma Commission on Children and Youth on or before May 1 of each year. The report shall include, but not be limited to, the following: 1. The location of each review board; 2. The names of the members of each board; 3. The number of cases review ed by each board; and 4. The recommendation categories made by each board. G. The Oklahoma Commission o n Children and Youth shall incorporate, as appropriate, the findings and recommen dations of the review boards in the annual report required by Section 601.9 of this title. SECTION 3. AMENDATORY 25 O.S. 2021, Section 304, as amended by Section 1, Chapter 123, O.S.L. 2022 (25 O.S. Supp. 2023, Section 304), is amended to read as follows: Section 304. As used in the Oklahoma Open Meeting Act: HB1382 HFLR Page 11 BOLD FACE denotes Committee Ame ndments. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 1. "Public body" means the governing bod ies of all municipalities located w ithin this state, boards of coun ty commissioners of the countie s in this state, boards of pub lic and higher education in this state and all boards, bureaus, commissions, agencies, trusteeships, authorities, councils, comm ittees, public trusts or any entity created by a public trust including any committee or subcommi ttee composed of any of the me mbers of a public trust or other legal entity receiving funds from the Rural Economic Action Plan Fund as authorized by Section 2 007 of Title 62 of the Oklahoma Statutes, task forces or study gro ups in this state supported in whole or in part by public fun ds or entrusted with the expending of public funds, or administering public property, and shall include all committees or subcomm ittees of any public body. Public body shall not include the stat e judiciary, the Council on Judicial Complaints when conducti ng, discussing, or deliberating any matter relating to a complaint received or filed with th e Council, the Legislature, or admini strative staffs of public bodies including, but not limited to, f aculty meetings and athletic st aff meetings of institutions o f higher education when those staffs are not meeting with the public body, or entry -year assistance committees. Furthermore, publ ic body shall not include the multidisciplinary teams provided fo r in Section 1-9-102 of Title 10A of the Oklahoma Statutes , in Section 2 of this act 10-115 of Title 43A of the Oklahoma Statutes , and in subsection C of Section 1-502.2 HB1382 HFLR Page 12 BOLD FACE denotes Committee Ame ndments. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 of Title 63 of the Ok lahoma Statutes or any school board meeting for the sole purpose of considerin g recommendations of a multidisciplinary team and decid ing the placement of any child who is the subject of the recommendations. Furthermore , public body shall not include meeti ngs conducted by stewards designated by the Oklahoma Horse Racing Commission p ursuant to Section 203.4 of Titl e 3A of the Oklahoma St atutes when the stewards are officiati ng at races or otherwise enforcing rules of the Commission. Furthermore, public body shall not include the board of directors of a Fed erally Qualified Health Cent er or the postadjudication review boards provided for in Sections 1116.2 and 1116.3 of Title 10 of the Oklahoma Statutes; 2. "Meeting" means the conduct of business of a public body by a majority of its members being personally together or, as authorized by Section 307.1 of this title, together pursuant to a videoconference. Meeting shall not include informal gatherings of a majority of the members of the public body when no bus iness of the public body is discu ssed; 3. "Regularly scheduled meeting" means a meeting at which the regular business of the public body is conducted; 4. "Special meeting" means any meeting of a public body other than a regularly scheduled meeting or eme rgency meeting; 5. "Emergency meeting" means any meeting called for the purpose of dealing with an emergency. For purposes of the O klahoma Open HB1382 HFLR Page 13 BOLD FACE denotes Committee Ame ndments. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 Meeting Act, an emerge ncy is defined as a situatio n involving injury to persons or injury and damage to publi c or personal property or immediate financial loss when the time requirements for pub lic notice of a special meeting would make such p rocedure impractical and increase the likelihood of injury or d amage or immediate financial loss; 6. "Continued or reconvened meeting" means a meeting whic h is assembled for the purpose of finishing busines s appearing on an agenda of a previous meeting. For the purposes of the Oklahoma Op en Meeting Act, only matters on the agenda of the p revious meeting at which the announcement of the continuance is made m ay be discussed at a continued or reconvened meetin g; 7. "Videoconference" means a conference among members of a public body remote fr om one another who are linke d by interactive telecommunication devices or technology and/or technology permitting both visual and auditory communication between and among m embers of the public body and/or between and amon g members of the public body and members of the public. During any videoconference, b oth the visual and auditory communications functions shall attempt to be utilized; and 8. "Teleconference" means a conference among members of a public body remote from one another who are linked by telecommunication devices and/or technology permitting a uditory communication between and among members of the public body and /or HB1382 HFLR Page 14 BOLD FACE denotes Committee Ame ndments. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 between and among members of the public body an d members of the public. SECTION 4. This act shall become effective November 1, 2024. COMMITTEE REPORT BY: COMMITTEE ON CHILDREN, YOUTH AND FAMILY SERVICES, dated 02/14/2024 - DO PASS, As Amended and Coauthored.