Criminal Justice

signed · Oklahoma · Senate May 12, 2025

SB 861: Crimes and punishments; gang-related offenses; modifying reference to certain offense. Effective date.

SB 861 amends Oklahoma law to clarify that individuals committing gang-related offenses - such as those listed in Section 856 of Title 21 - as a condition of gang membership or while associated with a gang face a mandatory 5-year prison term added to any other penalties. It updates statutory references to align with existing definitions of "criminal street gang" and "gang-related offense" from Section 856. The bill, effective November 1, 2025, directly affects criminal street gang members who commit specified offenses, reinforcing penalties for gang-associated criminal activity. It makes no new policy changes but corrects outdated references in current law.

Topics ✗ Criminal JusticeOpposes Criminal JusticeAdds mandatory 5-year prison term for gang-related offenses as condition of gang membership, increasing sentencing severity.95% confidence | Rep's Stance ✓ Voted Yes ✗ Opposes Criminal Justice

signed · Oklahoma · Senate May 5, 2025

SB 369: Assault and battery; modifying scope of certain unlawful act. Effective date.

SB 369 expands the definition of aggravated assault and battery against law enforcement officers in Oklahoma. It specifically includes attempts to gain control of an officer's firearm or strangulation as qualifying offenses. The law applies to police officers, sheriffs, deputies, highway patrol officers, corrections personnel, and state/federal peace officers enforcing state laws while on duty. This change makes those specific acts punishable as a felony with penalties including up to life in prison or a $5,000 fine. The bill was approved by the governor on May 3, 2025, and is now in effect.

Topics ✗ Criminal JusticeOpposes Criminal JusticeExpands criminalization of offenses against officers, increasing penalties to felony level with life sentences, aligning with 'oppose' indicators.95% confidence | Rep's Stance ✓ Voted Yes ✗ Opposes Criminal Justice

passed · Oklahoma · House May 5, 2025

HB 1591: Crimes and punishments; adding specific crimes to list of offenses; effective date.

HB 1591 requires individuals convicted of 25 specific serious crimes in Oklahoma to serve at least 85% of their prison sentence before becoming eligible for parole. This applies to offenses like first-degree murder, child sex trafficking, domestic violence with weapons, human trafficking, and certain violent assaults. The bill prohibits earned credits or other sentence reductions that would allow offenders to serve less than 85% of their sentence. It becomes effective November 1, 2025, and directly affects those sentenced for the listed crimes under Oklahoma law.

Topics ✗ Criminal JusticeOpposes Criminal JusticeRequires 85% prison term for serious crimes, prohibits sentence reductions, increasing mandatory incarceration without reform elements.95% confidence | Rep's Stance ✓ Voted Yes ✗ Opposes Criminal Justice

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passed · Oklahoma · House Apr 28, 2025

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.

HB 2017 updates Oklahoma's anti-bullying and online harassment laws to better protect students. It adds "aiding suicide" as a criminal offense (Section 1) and expands definitions of electronic harassment to include threatening online communications directed at specific individuals (Section 2), with misdemeanor penalties for first offenses and felony for repeat violations. The bill also modifies school safety policies under the School Safety and Bullying Prevention Act (Section 3), requiring schools to update anti-bullying policies annually, report incidents to parents within 24 hours, and prohibit retaliation against staff who report incidents. These changes directly affect students, schools, and online platforms by strengthening legal consequences for targeted online harassment and improving school response protocols.

Topics ✓ Criminal JusticeSupports Criminal JusticeAdds criminal penalties for aiding suicide and online harassment, strengthening criminal justice enforcement in school safety context.95% confidence ✓ EducationSupports EducationBill strengthens school safety policies under Bullying Prevention Act, adding protections against online harassment and aiding suicide to protect students, directly advancing educational environment safety.95% confidence | Rep's Stance ✗ Voted No ✗ Opposes Criminal Justice

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passed · Oklahoma · House Apr 17, 2025

HB 1861: Crimes and punishments; providing statutory reference for prostitution-related offense; effective date.

HB 1861 amends Oklahoma's prostitution-related offense penalties in Section 1031 of the statutes. It creates a new felony charge for engaging in prostitution while knowingly infected with HIV (Section B), increases penalties for child prostitution (Section C), and escalates violations near schools/churches to felony status with fines up to $7,500 and up to 5 years in prison (Section D). The bill directly affects individuals committing these specific prostitution-related offenses under the defined circumstances. It takes effect November 1, 2025.

Topics ✗ Criminal JusticeOpposes Criminal JusticeBill expands criminalization by creating new felonies for HIV-positive prostitution, increases penalties for child prostitution, and escalates near-school/church violations to felony status with harsher sentences.95% confidence | Rep's Stance ✓ Voted Yes ✗ Opposes Criminal Justice

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passed · Oklahoma · House Apr 16, 2025

HB 2422: Sex offenders; establishing conditions for parole eligibility for certain sex offenders; codification; effective date.

HB 2422 modifies Oklahoma's parole rules for certain sex offenders convicted of crimes involving minors under 13. It requires a mental health evaluation to determine if hormonal treatment (medroxyprogesterone acetate) could reduce reoffending risk, making voluntary hormonal treatment a condition for parole eligibility. Parolees must continue this treatment while incarcerated, and failure to comply - along with new offenses - revokes parole eligibility. The bill applies only to offenders convicted on or after its effective date and amends existing parole statutes (57 O.S. §§ 332.21, 512) to implement these requirements.

Topics ✓ Criminal JusticeSupports Criminal JusticeRequires hormonal treatment to reduce recidivism risk, aligning with rehabilitation-focused criminal justice reform.90% confidence | Rep's Stance ✗ Voted No ✗ Opposes Criminal Justice

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passed · Oklahoma · House Apr 1, 2025

HB 1968: Pardon and Parole Board; authorizing the Pardon and Parole Board to employ alternate members; establishing compensation; effective date.

HB 1968 authorizes Oklahoma's Pardon and Parole Board to appoint five alternate members with specific qualifications, including former prosecutors, public defenders, judges, mental health professionals, and corrections officers. The bill requires all board members and alternates to complete annual training on topics like offender rehabilitation and effective intervention methods. It establishes salaries of $85,000 per year for regular members and $42,500 for alternates, with pay tied to meeting attendance requirements. Additionally, the bill prohibits board members from representing inmates in legal matters to prevent conflicts of interest and mandates disclosure of potential conflicts.

Topics ✓ Criminal JusticeSupports Criminal JusticeMandates rehabilitation-focused training for parole board members, aligning with criminal justice reform goals through staff qualifications and intervention methods.95% confidence | Rep's Stance ✗ Voted No ✗ Opposes Criminal Justice

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passed · Oklahoma · House Apr 1, 2025

HB 1593: Criminal procedures; authorizing peace officers to dispute reports of misconduct; codification; effective date.

HB 1593 prevents prosecutors from disqualifying peace officers as witnesses based on unproven misconduct allegations. It allows officers who are placed on a "Do Not Call" list for alleged misconduct to dispute the claim by filing a petition with the Attorney General. An administrative law judge will hold a hearing to review the allegations, and if the misconduct claim isn't proven by a preponderance of evidence, the officer must be reinstated as credible. Courts must then consider the judge's findings when evaluating the officer's testimony. This bill directly affects peace officers and changes how misconduct allegations impact their ability to testify in criminal cases.

Topics ✗ Criminal JusticeOpposes Criminal JusticeBill weakens accountability by requiring proof to disqualify officers for misconduct, reducing oversight of law enforcement conduct.92% confidence | Rep's Stance ✓ Voted Yes ✗ Opposes Criminal Justice

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