January 30, 2021
published by Oklahoma Watch
After a wide swath of rural and urban voters rejected State Question 805 last November, supporters of the sentencing reform ballot initiative vowed to regroup and turn their attention to the next legislative session.
“We have built a powerful bipartisan movement that will continue to fight for common-sense reforms in the months ahead,” Sarah Edwards, president of the Yes on 805 group, said in a Nov. 3 press release. “We demand the Oklahoma Legislature act on criminal justice reform this legislative session.”
State lawmakers have introduced several dozen bills that could change how law enforcement agencies, courts and corrections systems operate. The legislative session begins Monday and runs through late May.
Senate Bill 704, a similar proposal to State Question 805 with some exceptions, would prohibit courts from imposing sentence enhancements on defendants who have never been convicted of a violent felony. Other bills filed would extend voting rights to more formerly incarcerated people, create a police misconduct database and allow the corrections department to release more prisoners early.
Here are five criminal justice and corrections bills worth watching:
State Bill 704 introduced by Senator Dave Rader of Tulsa would prohibit courts from imposing sentence enhancements on certain offenders who have never been convicted of a violent felony.
House Bill 2431 introduced by Monroe Nichols of Tulsa would direct the state attorney general’s office to create and maintain a database of law enforcement officers who have been fired or resigned prior to facing disciplinary action.
House Bill 2623 introduced by Cyndi Munson of Oklahoma City would allow formerly incarcerated Oklahomans to vote as soon as they’re released from prison. It would also allow Oklahomans serving a felony probation sentence to vote.
House Bill 1903 introduced by Cynthia Roe of Lindsay would make more prisoners eligible for medical parole, particularly if the governor has declared a catastrophic health emergency.
Senate Bill 456 introduced by Bill Coleman of Ponca City would increase the number of state inmates eligible for early release under the Department of Corrections’ GPS monitoring program.
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