Criminal Justice

in committee · Oklahoma · Senate Feb 4, 2025

SB 163: Child custody; defining term. Effective date.

SB 163 amends Oklahoma's child custody law to clarify and strengthen requirements for joint custody arrangements. It requires parents seeking joint custody to submit detailed written plans covering living arrangements, child support, medical care, school placement, and visitation, along with signed affidavits agreeing to the plan. The bill creates a strong presumption that joint custody is inappropriate if domestic violence, child abuse, stalking, or harassment has occurred, prioritizing the child's safety. Courts must consider the victim's safety as a primary factor and can modify or terminate joint custody plans if they determine it's not in the child's best interest. The law becomes effective upon enactment.

Topics ✓ Criminal JusticeSupports Criminal JusticeBill prioritizes child safety by presuming joint custody inappropriate in cases of domestic violence, child abuse, or harassment - directly addressing criminal behavior within custody decisions.90% confidence

Sub-Topics Domestic Violence

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in committee · Oklahoma · House Feb 4, 2025

HB 1724: Abortion pills; Prevention of Maternal Harm Act of 2025; coerced abortion; imprisonment; fines; Schedule IV; mifepristone and misoprostol; effective date.

HB 1724, the "Prevention of Maternal Harm Act of 2025," criminalizes administering abortion-inducing drugs (mifepristone and misoprostol) without a pregnant person’s consent. It imposes penalties of 5-20 years in prison and fines up to $100,000 for "coerced criminal abortion by means of fraud," with harsher sentences if the pregnancy exceeds three months. The bill also redesignates mifepristone and misoprostol as Schedule IV controlled substances under Oklahoma law, treating them like other restricted medications. This directly affects healthcare providers, caregivers, or others who administer these drugs without consent, making non-consensual use a felony. The law takes effect November 1, 2025.

Topics ✗ Criminal JusticeOpposes Criminal JusticeExpands criminalization of abortion drug administration with 5-20 year prison terms and fines, increasing penalties under criminal justice framework95% confidence ✗ HealthcareOpposes HealthcareCriminalizes administration of abortion drugs without consent, restricts access to medical abortion services, and redesignates mifepristone/misoprostol as controlled substances.95% confidence

Sub-Topics Corrections Women's Health

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in committee · Oklahoma · Senate Feb 4, 2025

SB 302: State fiscal affairs; creating the Oklahoma Law Enforcement Legacy Fund; making an appropriation. Effective date. Emergency.

SB 302 creates the Oklahoma Law Enforcement Legacy Fund in the state treasury, funded by $563 million from 2023 unappropriated funds and $759 million from 2024 unappropriated funds. The bill requires the State Treasurer to invest fund monies prudently, maintain liquidity, and report quarterly on fund value. When the fund's value increases by $100 million or more in a fiscal year, the Treasurer must transfer that amount to the General Revenue Fund specifically to increase law enforcement wages. This transfer mechanism triggers automatically upon reaching each $100 million increment, with the fund's principal and investment returns accruing to the fund itself. The bill takes effect July 1, 2025.

Topics ✓ Budget & TaxesSupports Budget & TaxesRedirects $563M/$759M unappropriated funds to fund law enforcement wages via General Revenue Fund transfers, advancing public service funding.90% confidence ✓ Criminal JusticeSupports Criminal JusticeFunds law enforcement wages via Legacy Fund, directly supporting officer compensation and retention, a core criminal justice funding priority.90% confidence

Sub-Topics Appropriations Revenue Law Enforcement

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signed · Oklahoma · House May 4, 2026

HB 1739: Retirement; Oklahoma Law Enforcement Retirement System; contribution; top base salary; benefit computation; effective dates; contingent effective dates; emergency.

HB 1739 increases employer contributions to Oklahoma's law enforcement retirement system from 11% to 16.5% over five years, starting July 2025. It changes how retirement benefits are calculated for certain officers by using the highest salary for similar positions (instead of final average salary) to determine payments. The bill directly affects current and future retirees in the Oklahoma Law Enforcement Retirement System, including highway patrol officers, investigators, and other covered law enforcement roles. Benefits will be based on the greater of either the top salary for comparable positions or the member's final average salary, multiplied by 2.5% per year of service.

Topics ✓ Criminal JusticeSupports Criminal JusticeIncreases employer contributions to law enforcement retirement system, directly funding officer benefits and supporting retention within criminal justice workforce.85% confidence ✓ Labor & EmploymentSupports Labor & EmploymentIncreases employer contributions (11%→16.5%) and uses higher salary basis for retirement benefits, strengthening law enforcement retirees' financial security under employment benefits.95% confidence

Sub-Topics Law Enforcement

in committee · Oklahoma · House Feb 4, 2025

HB 2200: Crimes and punishments; increasing and deleting certain penalties; effective date.

HB 2200 increases penalties for stealing or interfering with mail in Oklahoma. It makes unauthorized possession, destruction, or taking of mail (from mailboxes, delivery vehicles, or premises) punishable as a misdemeanor (up to 2 years in jail or $5,000 fine) or, for three or more offenses within 60 days, a felony (2-5 years in prison or $5,000 fine). The bill requires convicted individuals to pay restitution to victims as specified in Oklahoma law. This directly affects people who steal or tamper with mail, including postal items, packages, or delivery vehicles.

Topics ✗ Criminal JusticeOpposes Criminal JusticeIncreases penalties for mail theft, expanding criminalization and imposing harsher sentencing (misdemeanor/felony) without reform elements.95% confidence

Sub-Topics Corrections Drug Policy Victims' Rights

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signed · Oklahoma · House May 27, 2025

HB 2235: Wrongful convictions; increasing liability amount for claims of wrongful incarceration; codification.

HB 2235 creates a new automatic process for sealing eligible arrest records in Oklahoma, directly affecting individuals with clean-slate eligible arrests (e.g., dismissed cases or non-convictions). It requires the Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation to monthly identify eligible records, notify law enforcement and prosecutors, and automatically seal records after 45 days if no objections are raised (e.g., for unpaid restitution or ongoing criminal activity). The bill mandates annual reports to the legislature on non-sealed cases and prohibits employers/educators from requiring disclosure of sealed records. This focuses on expungement procedures, not compensation for wrongful convictions, as clarified by the codified process in the bill text.

Topics ✓ Criminal JusticeSupports Criminal JusticeAutomates sealing of non-conviction records, reducing barriers to employment/housing and aligning with criminal justice reform goals to protect civil rights.90% confidence

Sub-Topics Corrections Law Enforcement Victims' Rights

signed · Oklahoma · House May 15, 2025

HB 1993: Crimes and punishments; clarifying scope of certain unlawful act; effective date.

HB 1993 clarifies and strengthens penalties for drivers who elude law enforcement officers in Oklahoma. It defines specific misdemeanor penalties for willfully increasing speed, extinguishing lights, or otherwise attempting to evade officers, with higher fines for repeat offenses. The bill escalates penalties to felony charges if the eluding endangers others or causes "great bodily injury" (serious injury creating substantial risk of death or permanent disfigurement), imposing prison terms of 1-5 years and fines up to $5,000. This law, effective November 1, 2025, directly affects drivers who attempt to flee police vehicles.

Topics ✗ Criminal JusticeOpposes Criminal JusticeStrengthens penalties for eluding police, escalates to felony for endangering others - increases sentencing severity and expands criminalization of evasion.95% confidence

Sub-Topics Corrections Law Enforcement Policing

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

Sub-Topics Corrections Firearms Law Enforcement

signed · Oklahoma · House May 27, 2025

HB 1003: Crimes and punishments; modifying age limitations for certain prohibited acts.

HB 1003 modifies Oklahoma's rape statutes by raising age thresholds for certain offenses. It increases the age of protection from 16 to 18 years in key situations (e.g., when a victim is under 18, in school, or in foster care), and clarifies that school employees engaging in sexual conduct with students under 20 must be 18 or older. The bill also updates age difference rules for consent-based cases, requiring perpetrators to be at least 18 and four years older than the victim (who must be 16 or older). These changes directly affect minors in educational or foster care settings and their adult perpetrators. The law took effect May 27, 2025, without gubernatorial action.

Topics ✓ Criminal JusticeSupports Criminal JusticeRaises age protections for victims in rape statutes, strengthening legal safeguards against exploitation of minors under 18.95% confidence

in committee · Oklahoma · Senate Feb 4, 2025

SB 1093: Judicial training; requiring specified amount of annual training for certain judges. Effective date.

SB 1093 requires judges who handle domestic violence cases in Oklahoma to complete eight hours of annual judicial training. The training covers domestic violence dynamics, trauma impacts on victims and children, identifying aggressors, batterer tactics, victim protection orders, victim rights, and evidence-based practices for substance abuse and mental health treatment. This applies specifically to judges presiding over domestic violence cases and is subject to available funding. The bill becomes effective November 1, 2025.

Topics ✓ Criminal JusticeSupports Criminal JusticeMandates specialized judicial training on domestic violence dynamics, victim protection, and evidence-based practices, aligning with criminal justice reform goals to improve case handling and victim outcomes.95% confidence

Sub-Topics Domestic Violence

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