Bill > HB3505

This bill modifies Oklahoma's garnishment procedures for both noncontinuing and continuing earnings garnishments, which are legal processes where a creditor can seize a debtor's wages to satisfy a debt. Key changes include standardizing the "form to commence garnishment" which must be prescribed by the Oklahoma Bar Association and made accessible on the Oklahoma State Courts Network (OSCN) website, and extending the time a garnishee (the third party, usually an employer, holding the debtor's earnings) has to file their answer from seven days to twenty-one calendar days after receiving the garnishment documents. The bill also clarifies that a garnishee must begin withholding earnings no later than thirty calendar days after filing their answer, and introduces new sections that establish when a garnishee is liable for sanctions for non-compliance, with penalties of $20 per day for failing to provide an answer or begin withholding earnings within the specified timelines, though courts can excuse these payments for good cause. Additionally, a new provision allows employers to combine payments for multiple employees to the same creditor into a single payment, and an existing repealed section is removed.