HB 1597 Oklahoma House · 2026 Regular Session

Crimes and punishments; making certain acts unlawful; codification; effective date.

This Oklahoma bill amends existing criminal laws to clarify that intentionally distracting emergency responders from their official duties is unlawful. The key change replaces the term "intentionally" with "distracts the" and adds specific language stating that the act must prevent responders from performing their official duties. This provision directly affects individuals who might interfere with police, fire, or medical personnel by focusing on their ability to carry out critical tasks. The bill became law without the governor's signature on May 15, 2025, and applies to all emergency response situations within the state.
Bill status signed all 5 stages cleared
Introduction
Feb 2025
Committee Review
May 2025
House Passage
Mar 2025
Senate Passage
May 2025
Signed into Law
May 2025
Introduced Feb 3, 2025 Signed May 15, 2025
Maddy AI version diff · 5 comparisons

What changed between versions

Floor (House) Floor (Senate) · 3 edits
MINOR
The bill was amended from the House version to the Senate version, primarily involving formatting and organizational changes rather than substantive policy modifications. The core content regarding the definition of harassment against first responders and the associated penalties remains unchanged.
TECHNICAL

Page headers and formatting were updated to reflect Senate floor version with different date and committee report information.

Committee report attribution changed from 'Committee on Judiciary and Public Safety Oversight' to 'Committee on Judiciary' with a different date.

Bill title and section numbering were reorganized for Senate floor presentation.

Floor votes · Senate May 7, 2025 · House Mar 11, 2025

How they voted

406
Passed · 3 other
Total votes 49
May 7, 2025
D Democratic9
2 Yea 6 Nay 1
66% Nay
R Republican40
38 Yea 2
95% Yea
Vote distribution
All Yea All Nay Mixed No data
Full legislative history

Actions timeline

Total actions
24
Key actions
7
Committee
6
May 7, 2025
Committee
Referred for enrollment
lower
May 7, 2025
Upper · Passed
Engrossed measure signed, returned to House
upper
May 7, 2025
Upper · Passed
Measure passed: Ayes: 38 Nays: 6
upper
Apr 22, 2025
Upper · Passed
Reported Do Pass Judiciary committee; CR filed
upper
Mar 12, 2025
Introduced
First Reading
upper
Mar 12, 2025
Lower · Passed
Engrossed, signed, to Senate
lower
Mar 11, 2025
Committee
Referred for engrossment
lower
Mar 11, 2025
Lower · Passed
Third Reading, Measure passed: Ayes: 84 Nays: 5
lower
Feb 26, 2025
Lower · Passed
CR; Do Pass, amended by committee substitute Judiciary and Public Safety Oversight Committee
lower
Feb 17, 2025
Lower · Passed
Policy recommendation to the Judiciary and Public Safety Oversight committee; Do Pass, amended by committee substitute Criminal Judiciary
lower
Feb 4, 2025
Committee
Referred to Criminal Judiciary
lower
Feb 3, 2025
Introduced
First Reading
lower
2 primary · 0 co-sponsors

Sponsors