Senate votes to preserve county court documents

State Sen. Jason Smalley

OKLAHOMA CITY – The Senate voted Monday to protect county court documents by digitizing them.

Sen. Jason Smalley, R-Stroud, is the author of Senate Bill 483, which assesses a $10 fee for filing a civil case to be deposited in the Court Clerk’s Records Management and Preservation Fund.

“All 77 Oklahoma counties are required to maintain court documents.  The history of our state can be found in those court records, and it’s important that we preserve them,” Smalley said.  “There are so many problems with storing paper records. Many have been permanently lost or damaged by fires and flooding.  Counties are also having to lease additional space to store the massive amount of records, which is extremely costly to them. Establishing a fund to pay for the digitizing and automation of these important documents is an easy way to protect them and save counties a lot of money.”

SB 483 only applies to civil filings.  Criminal cases will not contribute to the fund.

The measure now moves to the House for further consideration.