HB 3115: Department of Corrections; modifying qualifications of the Director of the Department of Corrections; deleting removal or replacement power of the Governor; effective date. - Oklahoma

House Committee Substitute → Floor (House) · 3 edits

MINOR

The bill text was reformatted to reflect its status as the 'Floor Version' after passing the House Committee. The core policy content regarding the Director of Corrections remains unchanged, but the document now explicitly notes that bold face text denotes committee amendments, indicating where the committee modified the original bill.

TECHNICAL

The header was updated from 'Committee Substitute' to 'Floor Version' to indicate the bill has been approved by the House committee and is ready for the full House floor vote.

A note was added stating that 'BOLD FACE denotes Committee Amendments' to help legislators identify specific changes made during the committee review process.

Page footers were updated to reflect the new 'Floor Version' status and the amendment notation.

Proposed Policy Committee Substitute 1 → House Committee Substitute · 4 edits

MODERATE

The bill was amended to update the official title and page number references to reflect the House Committee's version. Substantively, the amendment clarifies that the Director of Corrections can serve more than one term and may be reappointed by the Governor with Senate consent, while maintaining the existing removal process.

Scope change

The bill's scope remains focused on the Department of Corrections, but the eligibility and tenure rules for the Director were clarified to allow for reappointment.

REQUIREMENT

The Director of Corrections can now serve multiple terms and be reappointed by the Governor with Senate consent, whereas the previous text only mentioned serving a single five-year term.

TECHNICAL

The document title was changed from 'Proposed Policy Committee Substitute' to 'Committee Substitute' to align with the House Committee's version.

The summary description of the bill was updated to explicitly mention 'reappointment' alongside 'term of service'.

The internal tracking numbers and page references were updated from 16337 to 16808 to match the new committee version.

Engrossed → Proposed Policy Committee Substitute 1 · 4 edits

MODERATE

The bill was amended by the House Policy Committee to replace the entire text with a new version that clarifies the Director of Corrections' qualifications and tenure. The most significant substantive change is the removal of the Governor's power to remove or replace the Director without cause, replacing it with a fixed five-year term where the Director can only be removed by a two-thirds legislative vote. The amendment also updates the required experience from five years to ten years for non-certified peace officers.

Scope change

The bill's scope regarding the appointment and removal of the Director of Corrections was significantly altered to provide job security and reduce executive branch influence over the corrections leadership.

REQUIREMENT

The requirement for the Director to have only five years of professional corrections work experience was increased to ten years for those not certified as peace officers.

The Director is now granted a fixed five-year term and can only be removed by a two-thirds vote of both legislative chambers.

ENFORCEMENT

The Governor's authority to remove or replace the Director of Corrections without cause was eliminated.

TIMELINE

The effective date of the act remains November 1, 2026, but the document header was updated to reflect the new committee substitute status.

Introduced → Engrossed · 3 edits · Mar 16, 2026

MINOR

HB 3115 was amended to change the qualifications for the Director of the Department of Corrections, increasing the required professional experience from five years to ten years. The bill also updated the reappointment process, allowing the Governor to reappoint the Director with Senate consent after the initial term expires, rather than requiring a new appointment from scratch. Additionally, the text was updated to reflect that the Director can be removed or replaced without cause, while retaining the existing requirement for a two-thirds legislative vote to remove the Director from office.

Scope change

The bill's scope regarding the Director's qualifications was narrowed by raising the experience requirement, and the appointment lifecycle was expanded to include a reappointment mechanism.

ELIGIBILITY

Increased the required professional corrections work experience for the Director from five years to ten years.

REQUIREMENT

Added a provision allowing the Governor to reappoint the Director with Senate consent after the initial five-year term.

TECHNICAL

Updated the bill header and footer to reflect the 'Engrossed' status and corrected line numbering.

Department of Corrections; modifying qualifications of the Director of the Department of Corrections; deleting removal or replacement power of the Governor; effective date.

What changed between versions

How they voted

Actions timeline

Sponsors