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STATE OF OKLAHOMA
1st Session of the 59th Legislature (2023)
HOUSE BILL 2726 By: Menz
AS INTRODUCED
An Act relating to civil procedure; requiring court
to appoint an attorney for indigent tenant s in
forcible entry and detainer actions; providing that
the Oklahoma Indigent Defense Syste m is responsible
for implementation; providing state shall pay for
indigent representation; providing for priority of
assigning representation ; defining indigent;
providing for codification; and providing an
effective date.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF OKLAHOMA:
SECTION 1. NEW LAW A new section of law to be codified
in the Oklahoma Statutes as Section 1148.17 of Title 12, unless
there is created a duplication in numbering, reads as follow s:
A. Courts shall appoint an attorney for an indigent tenant in
forcible entry and detainer actions. The Oklahoma Indigent Defense
System shall be responsible for the implementation of this section
and the state shall pay the c osts of legal services provided by an
attorney appointed pursuant to this section. In implementing this
section, the Oklahoma Indigent Defense System shall assign priority
to providing legal representation to indigent tenants in those
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counties in which th e most evictions occur and to indigent tenants
who are disproportionately at risk of eviction.
B. For purposes of this section, "indigent" means any person
who, at any stage of a court proceeding, is:
1. Receiving one of the following types of public ass istance:
temporary assistance for needy families, aged, blind, or disabled
assistance benefits, SoonerCare, pregnant women assistance benefits,
poverty-related veterans' benefits, food stamps or food stamp
benefits transferred electronically, refugee resettlement benefits,
Medicaid, or supplemental security income; or
2. Receiving an annual income, after taxes, of two-hundred
percent (200%) or less of the current federally established poverty
level.
SECTION 2. This act shall become effecti ve November 1, 2023.
59-1-6862 JL 01/16/23