HB 2017: Bullying; aiding suicide; crimes and punishments; prohibiting certain communications through an online platform; schools; modifying provisions of the School Safety and Bullying Prevention Act; effective date. - Oklahoma

Floor (House) → Floor (Senate) · 4 edits

MODERATE

The bill was transitioned from the House to the Senate floor, where it was amended to explicitly include electronic communications in the definition of bullying and harassment. The Senate version clarifies that using technology to terrify, intimidate, or harass a specific person is unlawful, while also adding specific protections for constitutionally protected speech. Additionally, the Computer Crimes Act section was updated to explicitly list using computers to annoy, abuse, threaten, or harass as a prohibited act.

Scope change

The scope of the bill was expanded to explicitly cover electronic communications and social media as tools for bullying and harassment, whereas the House version focused more on general aiding suicide and school policy requirements.

DEFINITION

The definition of bullying and harassment now explicitly includes electronic communications, text, sound, and images used to terrify, intimidate, or harass a specific person.

ENFORCEMENT

The Computer Crimes Act section was amended to specifically prohibit using computers or networks to annoy, abuse, threaten, or harass another person.

REQUIREMENT

New language was added to clarify that the law does not apply to constitutionally protected speech or activities authorized by law.

TECHNICAL

The document structure was updated to reflect the Senate floor version, including new dates and bill sponsor formatting.

House Committee Substitute → HB2017 (4-29-26) (SEIFRIED) FS FA1.PDF · 4 edits

MODERATE

This bill updates the legislative session from the 2025 to the 2026 session and amends three Oklahoma statutes to strengthen penalties and clarify definitions regarding aiding suicide, electronic harassment, and computer crimes. The changes increase the severity of crimes, such as reclassifying aiding suicide from a misdemeanor to a Class B1 felony and elevating repeat offenses of electronic harassment to a Class D1 felony.

Scope change

The bill expands the scope of criminal liability by increasing penalties for aiding suicide and repeat electronic harassment offenses, and it clarifies the definition of electronic communications to include modern digital platforms like social media.

ENFORCEMENT

The penalty for aiding suicide was increased from a misdemeanor to a Class B1 felony.

Repeat offenses of making harassing electronic communications were elevated from a misdemeanor to a Class D1 felony.

DEFINITION

The definition of electronic communications was updated to explicitly include social media posts directed at specific individuals.

REQUIREMENT

The Computer Crimes Act was amended to add specific prohibitions against using computers to put others in fear of physical harm or death.

Proposed Committee Substitute (full committee) 1 → House Committee Substitute · 4 edits

MODERATE

The bill was amended to remove the 'Proposed Oversight' title and renumber sections, while adding new criminal penalties for harassment and clarifying that the harassment statute does not protect constitutionally protected speech. The text also includes formatting updates to the document header and page numbers.

Scope change

The bill's scope was expanded to explicitly include constitutionally protected speech as an exception to harassment laws, and the document title was simplified to remove the 'Oversight' designation.

ENFORCEMENT

Added a new subsection (D) establishing that a first conviction for harassment is a misdemeanor and a second conviction is a felony.

DEFINITION

Added a new subsection (F) stating that the harassment statute does not apply to constitutionally protected speech or activities authorized by law.

TECHNICAL

Removed the 'Proposed Oversight' title and renumbered sections to reflect the final committee substitute format.

Updated the document header, committee amendment text, and page reference numbers to match the final version.

Engrossed → Proposed Committee Substitute (full committee) 1 · 2 edits

MINOR

The bill text was completely replaced with a 'Proposed Oversight Committee Substitute' version, which is a procedural draft containing amendments to the original 'Engrossed' version. The substantive policy language regarding bullying, aiding suicide, and electronic harassment remains largely identical to the previous version, with only minor formatting and wording adjustments (e.g., changing 'permit' to 'permits' and 'Make' to 'Makes'). This change represents a procedural step in the legislative process rather than a modification of the law's actual rules or requirements.

TECHNICAL

The entire bill text was replaced with a committee substitute version, indicating a procedural update in the legislative workflow rather than a change to the substantive law.

Minor grammatical corrections were made in Section 1172, changing 'permits permit' to 'permits' and 'Make' to 'Makes' for consistency.

Introduced → Engrossed · 4 edits · Mar 25, 2025

MODERATE

The bill was amended to add a new provision prohibiting aiding suicide via electronic communications, while simultaneously removing a specific clause that previously defined bullying as an act of bullying under the School Safety and Bullying Prevention Act. The text also reorganized the definitions of electronic communications to be more comprehensive and updated the bill's title to reflect these new additions.

Scope change

The bill's scope expanded to include aiding suicide as a criminal offense under the Oklahoma Computer Crimes Act, while the specific reference linking the bullying statute to the School Safety and Bullying Prevention Act was removed.

SCOPE

Added a new section making it a crime to advise, encourage, abet, or assist another person in taking their own life using electronic communications.

DEFINITION

Removed a provision that explicitly defined the act of bullying under Section 1172 as an act of bullying as defined in the School Safety and Bullying Prevention Act.

Updated the definition of 'telecommunication' and 'electronic communication' to include a broader range of technologies such as management, storage, processing, and distribution of images, text, voice, video, or data.

TECHNICAL

Reorganized the bill's title and section headers to reflect the addition of the aiding suicide provision and the removal of the bullying cross-reference.

Bullying; aiding suicide; crimes and punishments; prohibiting certain communications through an online platform; schools; modifying provisions of the School Safety and Bullying Prevention Act; effective date.

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