An Act
ENROLLED HOUSE
BILL NO. 2478 By: Harris and West (Tammy) of
the House
and
Gollihare of the Senate
An Act relating to custody; creating Alanda's Law;
amending 10 O.S. 2021, Section 7700-624, which
relates to temporary order for support, custody, and
visitation; providing reference; amending 43 O.S.
2021, Section 110, which relates to orders concerning
property, children, support, and expenses; providing
for when domestic abuse has been alleged; providing
temporary order time frames for the court; providing
for noncodification; and providing an effective date.
SUBJECT: Custody
BE IT ENACTED BY THE PEOPLE OF T HE STATE OF OKLAHOMA:
SECTION 1. NEW LAW A new section of law not to be
codified in the Oklahoma Statutes reads as follows:
This act shall be know n and may be cited as "Alanda's Law".
SECTION 2. AMENDATORY 10 O.S. 2021, Section 77 00-624, is
amended to read as follows:
Section 7700-624. A. In a proceeding under this Article, the
court shall issue a temporary order for support of a child if th e
order is appropriate and the individual ordered to pay support is:
1. A presumed father of the child;
2. Petitioning to have his paternity adjudicated;
ENR. H. B. NO. 2478 Page 2
3. Identified as the father through genetic testing under
Section 27 7700-505 of this act title;
4. An alleged father who has declined to submit to genetic
testing;
5. Shown by clear and convincing evidence to be the father of
the child; or
6. The mother of the child.
B. A temporary order issued pursuant to this section may
include provisions for custody a nd visitation as provided by other
law of this state Section 110 of Title 43 of the Oklahoma Statutes .
SECTION 3. AMENDATORY 43 O.S. 2021, Section 110, is
amended to read as follows:
Section 110. A. 1. Except as otherwise provided by this
subsection, upon the filing of a petition for dissoluti on of
marriage, annulment of a marriage or legal separation by the
petitioner and upon personal service of the petition and summons on
the respondent, or upon waiver and acceptance of service by the
respondent, an automatic temporar y injunction shall be in effect
against both parties pursuant to the provisions of this section:
a. restraining the parties from transferring,
encumbering, concealing, or in any way disposing of ,
without the written consent of the other party or an
order of the court, any marital property, except in
the usual course of business, for the purpose of
retaining an attorney for the case or for the
necessities of life and requiring each party to notify
the other party of any proposed extraordinary
expenditures and to account to the cour t for all
extraordinary expenditures made after the injunction
is in effect,
b. restraining the parties from:
(1) intentionally or knowingly damaging or destroying
the tangible property of the parties, or of
either of them, specifically including, but not
limited to, any electronically stored materials,
electronic communications, social network data, ENR. H. B. NO. 2478 Page 3
financial records, and any document that
represents or embodies anything of value,
(2) making any withdrawal for any purpose from any
retirement, profit-sharing, pension, death, or
other employee benefit plan or employee savings
plan or from any individual retirement account or
Keogh account,
(3) withdrawing or borrowing in any manner all or any
part of the cash surrender value of any lif e
insurance policies on either party or their
children,
(4) changing or in any manner altering the
beneficiary designation on any life insurance
policies on the life of either party or any of
their children,
(5) canceling, altering, or in any manner affect ing
any casualty, automo bile, or health insurance
policies insuring the parties ' property or
persons,
(6) opening or diverting mail addressed to the oth er
party, and
(7) signing or endorsing the other party's name on
any negotiable instrument, check, or dr aft, such
as tax refunds, insurance payments, and
dividends, or attempting to negotiate any
negotiable instruments payable to either party
without the personal signature of the other
party,
c. requiring the parties to maintain all presently
existing health, property, life and oth er insurance
which the individual is presently carrying on any
member of this famil y unit, and to cooperate as
necessary in the filing and processing of claims. Any
employer-provided health insurance currently in
existence shall remain in full force and e ffect for
all family members,
ENR. H. B. NO. 2478 Page 4
d. enjoining both parties from molesting or disturbin g
the peace of the other party or of the chil dren to the
marriage,
e. restraining both parties from disrupting or
withdrawing their children from an educational
facility and programs where the children historically
have been enrolled, or day care,
f. restraining both parties from hiding or secreting
their children from the other party,
g. restraining both parties from removing the minor
children of the parties, if any, beyond the
jurisdiction of the State of Oklahoma, acting directly
or in concert with othe rs, except for vacations of two
(2) weeks or less duration, without the prior written
consent of the other party, which shall not be
unreasonably withheld, and
h. requiring, unless otherwise agreed upon by the parties
in writing, the delivery by each party to the other
within thirty (30) days from th e earlier of either the
date of service of the summons or the filing of an
initial pleading by the respo ndent, the following
documents:
(1) the federal and state income tax returns of each
party for the past two (2) years and any
nonpublic, limited partner ship and privately held
corporate returns for any entity in which either
party has an interest, together with all
supporting documentation for the tax returns,
including but not limited to W -2 forms, 1099
forms, K-1 forms, Schedule C and Schedule E. If
a return is not completed at the time of
disclosure, the parties shall provide the
documents necessary to prepare the tax return o f
the party, to include W-2 forms, 1099 forms, K -1
forms, copies of extension reque sts and estimated
tax payments,
(2) two (2) months of the most recent pay stubs from
each employer for whom the party worked,
ENR. H. B. NO. 2478 Page 5
(3) statements for the past six (6) months for all
bank accounts held in the name of either party
individually or jointly, or in the name of
another person for the benefit of either party,
or held by either party for the benefit of the
minor child or children of the parties,
(4) documentation regarding the cost and nature of
available health insurance coverage for the
benefit of either party or the minor child or
children of the parties,
(5) documentation regarding the cost and nature of
employment or educationally related child care
expenses incurred for the benefit of the minor
child or children of the parties, and
(6) documentation regarding all debts in the name of
either party individually or jointly, showing the
most recent balance due and payment terms.
2. If either party is not in possession of a document required
pursuant to subparagraph h of paragraph 1 of this subsecti on or has
not been able to obtain the document in a timely fashion, the party
shall state in verified writing, under the penalty of perjury, the
specific document which is not av ailable, the reasons the document
is not available, and what efforts have been made to obtain the
document. As more information becomes available, there is a
continuing duty to supplement the disclosures.
3. Nothing in this subsec tion shall prohibit a pa rty from
conducting further discovery pursuant to the Oklahoma Discovery
Code.
4. a. The provisions of the automatic temporary injunction
shall be printed as an attachm ent to the summons and
the petition and entitled "Automatic Temporary
Injunction Notice".
b. The automatic temporary injunction notice shall
contain a provision which will allow the parties to
waive the automatic t emporary injunction. In
addition, the provision must state that unless both
parties have agreed and hav e signed their names in the
space provided, that the automatic temporary ENR. H. B. NO. 2478 Page 6
injunction will be effecti ve. Along with the waiver
provision, the notice shal l contain a check box and
space available for the signatures of the parties.
5. The automatic temporary injunction shall become an order of
the court upon fulfillment of the requirements of paragraph 1 of
this subsection unless and until:
a. the automatic temporary injunction is waived by the
parties. Both parties must indicate on the automatic
temporary injunction notice in the space provided that
the parties have both agreed to waive the automatic
temporary injunction. Each party must sign his or her
own name on the notice in the space provide d, or
b. a party, no later than three (3) days after service o n
the party, files an ob jection to the injunction and
requests a hearing. Provided, the automat ic temporary
injunction shall remain in effect until the hearing
and a judge orders the injunction removed.
6. The automatic temporary injunction shall be diss olved upon
the granting of the dissolution of marriage, final order of legal
separation or other final order.
7. Nothing in this subsection shall precl ude either party from
applying to the cour t for further temporary orders, pursuant to this
section, an expanded automatic tempor ary injunction, or modification
or revocation thereto.
8. a. With regard to an automatic temporary injunction, when
a petition for dissolution of marriage, annulment of a
marriage, or a legal separation is filed and served, a
peace officer shall use every reasonable means to
enforce the injunction which enjoins both partie s from
molesting or disturbing the peace of the other party
or the children of the marriage against a petitioner
or respondent, whenever:
(1) there is exhibited by a respondent or by the
petitioner to the peace officer a copy of the
petition or summons, w ith an attached Temporary
Injunction Notice, duly filed and issued pursuant
to this section, together with a certified copy
of the affidavit of service of process o r a ENR. H. B. NO. 2478 Page 7
certified copy of th e waiver and acceptance of
service, and
(2) the peace officer has c ause to believe that a
violation of the automatic temporary i njunction
has occurred.
b. A peace officer shall not be held civilly or
criminally liable for his or her action pursuant to
this paragraph if his or her action is in good faith
and without malice.
B. After a petition has been filed in an action for dissol ution
of marriage or legal separation eith er party may request the court
to issue:
1. A temporary order :
a. regarding child custody, support or visitation,
b. regarding spousal maintenance,
c. regarding payment of debt,
d. regarding possession of property ,
e. regarding attorney fees, and
f. providing other injunctive relief proper in the
circumstances.
All applications for tempora ry orders shall set forth the
factual basis for the appli cation and shall be verified by the party
seeking relief. The applicat ion and a notice of hearing shall be
served on the other party in any manner provided for in the Rules o f
Civil Procedure.
The court shall not issue a temp orary order until at least five
(5) days' notice of hearing is given to the other party.
After notice and hearing, a court may issue a temporary order
granting the relief as provided by this paragraph; and/or
2. A temporary order. If domestic abuse is not alleged, when
setting a hearing to enter temporary orders, the court shall conduct ENR. H. B. NO. 2478 Page 8
a substantive hearing and issue a rulin g on custody, visitation,
child support, and other ancillary matters, includ ing property. The
court shall schedule the hearing to take place within thirty (30)
days from the date that the application for te mporary orders is
presented to the court for scheduling by the moving party, unless
the parties agree in writing to waive this requirement, and said
agreement is memorialized by an order of the court. The moving
party shall provide at least five (5) days' notice of hearing to the
nonmoving party;
3. A temporary order. In an application for a temporary order,
any party alleging acts of dome stic abuse, as defined by Section 109
of this title, against the other party, or the minor child or
children at issue and either of the following are present:
a. the moving party has been granted a tempo rary or
permanent order of protection against the other party
for domestic abuse committed against the moving party
or the minor child or children at issue, or
b. the party against whom domestic violence has been
alleged has been charged in any criminal pr oceeding,
within the past five (5) years, with an act of
domestic abuse wherein the moving party or a child of
the party alleging domestic abuse is the victim,
the court shall set a hearing upon application within ten (10) days
of filing, with the moving party providing five (5) days' notice of
hearing to the nonmoving party unless waived by both parties, and
memorialized by an order of the court. The court shall conduct a
substantive hearing and issue a ruling on custody, visitation, chil d
support, and other ancillary matters, incl uding property. The
requesting party shall attach a certified copy of the emergency
protective order, probable cause affidavit, or charging information,
if available, to the temporary orders application ;
4. A temporary restrain ing order. If the cour t finds on the
basis of a verified application and testimon y of witnesses that
irreparable harm will result to the moving party, or a child of a
party if no order is issued before the adverse party or attorney for
the adverse party can be heard in oppositi on, the court may issue a
temporary restraining order which shall become immediately effective
and enforceable without requiring notice and opportunity to be heard
to the other party. Provided, for the purposes of this section, no
minor child or children temporarily residing in a licensed, ENR. H. B. NO. 2478 Page 9
certified domestic viol ence shelter in the state shall be removed by
an ex parte order. If a temporary restraining order is issued
pursuant to this paragraph, the motion for a temporary order shal l
be set within ten (10 ) days, but such hearing shall not be heard
unless five (5) days' notice of heari ng is given to the other party.
C. Any temporary orders and the automatic temporary injunction,
or specific terms thereof, may be vacated or modified prior to or in
conjunction with a final d ecree on a showing by either party of
facts necessary for vacati on or modification. Temporary orders and
the automatic temporary injunction terminate when the final judgment
on all issues, except attorney fees and costs, is rendered or when
the action is dismissed. The court may reserve jurisdiction to rule
on an application for a contempt citation for a violation of a
temporary order or the automatic temporary injunction which is filed
any time prior to the time the temporary order or injunction
terminates.
D. Upon granting a decree of dissolution of marriage, annul ment
of a marriage, or legal separation, the court may require ei ther
party to pay such reasonable expenses of the other as may be just
and proper under the circumstances.
E. The court may in its discretion make additional orders
relative to the expenses of any such subsequent actions, including
but not limited to writs of habeas corpus, brought by the parties or
their attorneys, for the enforcement or modification of any
interlocutory or fin al orders in the dissolution of marriage action
made for the benefit of either party or their respective attorneys.
SECTION 4. This act shall become effective November 1, 2024.
ENR. H. B. NO. 2478 Page 10
Passed the House of Representatives the 13th day of March, 2024.
Presiding Officer of the House
of Representatives
Passed the Senate the 24th day of April, 2024.
Presiding Officer of the Senate
OFFICE OF THE GOVERNOR
Received by the Office of the Governor this ____________________
day of ___________________, 20_______, at _______ o'clock _______ M.
By: _________________________________
Approved by the Governor of the State of Oklahoma this _____ ____
day of ___________________, 20_______, at _______ o'clock _______ M.
_________________________________
Governor of the State of Oklahoma
OFFICE OF THE SECRETARY OF STAT E
Received by the Office of the Secretary of State this __________
day of ___________________, 20_______, at _______ o'clock _______ M.
By: _________________________________