Oklahoma House Bill HB2058

Oklahoma 2026 Regular Session

• Introduced: 2/3/25
• Refer: 2/4/25

Caption

Protective orders and fees; clarifying those authorized to seek relief under the Protection from Domestic Abuse Act; effective date.

Summary

HB2058 makes two main changes to Oklahoma law. First, it amends the Protection from Domestic Abuse Act to clarify who may seek a protective order, expressly listing victims of domestic abuse, stalking, harassment, rape, and certain other crimes, as well as adult household members acting for minors or incompetent family members, minors age 16 or 17, and any adult victim of a crime who needs protection from further victimization. It also preserves existing procedures for filing in district court, emergency temporary orders, and ex parte relief, while continuing to allow courts to address related protective-order issues alongside divorce or separate maintenance cases in limited circumstances. Second, the bill amends the criminal court costs statute to add a sheriff’s fee for serving or attempting to serve stalking warning letters, and it updates the fee schedule language to include stalking warning letters among the items covered by the sheriff’s service fee. The bill also retains the existing structure of court costs and fee distributions to various state and county funds, including court funds, sheriff’s service accounts, victim services, child abuse accounts, and trauma care funds. The effective date is November 1, 2025.

Impact

HB2058 would broaden and clarify standing to request protective orders under Oklahoma’s domestic abuse framework, which could make it easier for certain victims and household members to access court protection without ambiguity about eligibility. It also modifies Title 28 court-cost provisions by authorizing a sheriff’s fee for service of stalking warning letters and tying those letters to the existing sheriff-service fee structure, affecting how sheriffs and court clerks collect and distribute fees in criminal matters. The bill does not create a new protective-order remedy, but it refines who may use existing remedies and adjusts related fee administration.

Sentiment

Based on the bill text and available legislative context, the measure appears to be framed as a clarifying and administrative update rather than a controversial policy shift. There are no recorded committee transcripts or votes in the provided materials, and the bill had only a preliminary procedural status noted as second reading and referral to Rules. The overall tone of the legislation suggests support for victim access to protective orders and for formalizing fee collection related to stalking warning letters.

Contention

The most likely points of contention are the scope of who may seek relief under the Protection from Domestic Abuse Act and the addition of another sheriff-related fee in criminal cases. Expanding eligibility to broader categories of victims, including certain non-family victims and adult victims of crimes needing protection from further victimization, could raise questions about how far the protective-order process should extend beyond traditional domestic relationships. Separately, any new or expanded fee authority may draw scrutiny from those concerned about court costs, law-enforcement fee collection, or the burden on defendants and court administration, though no specific opposition is documented in the provided record.