SB 1255: Pardons and paroles; requiring medical director of the Department of Corrections to make certain request. Effective date. - Oklahoma

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

MODERATE

The bill was revised to transition from the House version to the Senate floor version, incorporating specific committee amendments. The most significant substantive change involves the definition of 'medically frail,' which was updated to specify that an individual must be unable to perform two or more activities of daily living on their own. Other changes include minor formatting adjustments, updated committee reporting dates, and slight rewording of procedural language regarding medical parole requests.

Scope change

The scope of the bill remains focused on medical parole eligibility for inmates in Oklahoma, with no change to the overall applicability of the law.

DEFINITION

The definition of 'medically frail' was clarified to explicitly require an individual to be unable to perform two or more activities of daily living independently.

REQUIREMENT

Procedural language regarding how medical directors request parole reviews was slightly reworded for clarity.

TIMELINE

Committee report dates were updated to reflect the Senate floor version timeline (February 24, 2026) instead of the House version.

TECHNICAL

Minor formatting and layout changes were made to align with Senate floor version standards.

SB1255 (3-23-26) (JECH) FA1.PDF → Floor (House) · 7 edits

MODERATE

This bill updates Oklahoma's medical parole laws to give the medical director of the Department of Corrections the authority to request special docket placement for inmates with specific medical needs. It clarifies that inmates who are dying, medically frail, or vulnerable during a declared health emergency bypass the standard two-stage hearing process. The legislation also provides a detailed list of qualifying medical conditions, such as dementia, HIV/AIDS, and cancer, and ensures victims are notified as required by state law.

Scope change

The bill expands the scope of medical parole eligibility by explicitly including inmates with specific chronic conditions and those facing a catastrophic health emergency, while exempting inmates serving life sentences without parole.

ELIGIBILITY

Added authority for the medical director to request expedited docket placement for inmates with medical conditions.

Established that inmates who are dying, near death, medically frail, or medically vulnerable during a health emergency are exempt from the standard two-stage hearing process.

DEFINITION

Defined 'medically frail' as inability to perform two or more daily activities and 'medically vulnerable' as conditions increasing the risk of life-threatening illness during a declared health emergency.

Provided a specific list of qualifying medical conditions including dementia, HIV/AIDS, cancer, cardiovascular disease, and others requiring specialty care.

REQUIREMENT

Added a requirement that medical parole consideration must be concurred upon by at least three members of the Pardon and Parole Board.

TIMELINE

Set the effective date of the act to November 1, 2026.

TECHNICAL

Corrected the title of the bill to accurately reflect its content regarding pardons and paroles.

Enrolled (final version) → SB1255 (3-23-26) (JECH) FA1.PDF · 4 edits

MODERATE

The bill text was removed and replaced with a procedural notation indicating a floor amendment was filed to restore the original language and amend the title. This change effectively nullifies the proposed medical parole provisions and reverts the bill to its pre-amendment state.

Scope change

The bill's scope was reverted to its original version; the new medical parole eligibility criteria and definitions were removed.

ELIGIBILITY

All provisions granting the medical director authority to place inmates on the parole docket for medical reasons were removed.

DEFINITION

Definitions for 'medically frail', 'medically vulnerable', and specific medical conditions eligible for parole were removed.

REQUIREMENT

Requirements for victim notification and the three-member board concurrence for medical parole were removed.

TECHNICAL

The document format changed from the full legislative text to a procedural amendment record.

Engrossed → Enrolled (final version) · 3 edits · Apr 29, 2026

MINOR

The bill was finalized as an enrolled act, adding official signatures from the Senate, House, and Governor. Substantively, the definitions for 'medically frail' and 'medically vulnerable' remain unchanged, but a new definition for 'dying or near death' was added to specify a six-month life expectancy. Additionally, a new subsection was inserted to require victim notification for medical parole cases.

Scope change

The bill's scope was expanded to explicitly include inmates with a life expectancy of six months or less as eligible for expedited medical parole review.

DEFINITION

Added a specific definition for 'dying or near death' as having a medical condition with an estimated life expectancy of six months or less.

REQUIREMENT

Added a new requirement that victim notification must be provided for medical parole cases, citing state law and the Oklahoma Constitution.

TECHNICAL

Changed the document status from 'Engrossed' (pending final approval) to 'Enrolled' (final version), adding signature lines for the Governor and Secretary of State.

Introduced → Engrossed · 3 edits · Mar 26, 2026

MINOR

SB 1255 was updated from its introduced version to its engrossed version, primarily by adding a new subsection (G) that mandates victim notification for medical parole cases. The bill also includes standard procedural updates, such as adding co-sponsor names and changing the header from 'Introduced' to 'Engrossed' to reflect its passage through the legislature.

Scope change

The bill's scope was expanded to explicitly require victim notification procedures for inmates granted medical parole, ensuring victims are informed about the release process as mandated by state law and the Oklahoma Constitution.

REQUIREMENT

Added a new requirement (Subsection G) that the Department of Corrections must notify victims of medical parole releases in accordance with Section 332.2 and the Oklahoma Constitution.

TECHNICAL

Updated the document header to reflect that the bill has been passed by the Senate and House, changing the status from 'Introduced' to 'Engrossed' and adding co-sponsor information.

Removed internal tracking numbers, page headers, and timestamps associated with the bill tracking system, replacing them with official legislative formatting.

Pardons and paroles; requiring medical director of the Department of Corrections to make certain request. Effective date.

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