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28	28	STATE OF OKLAHOMA
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30	30	1st Session of the 58th Legislature (2021)
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32	32	HOUSE BILL 2420 By: Nichols
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38	38	AS INTRODUCED
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40	40	An Act relating to law enforcement; amending 74 O.S.
41	41	2011, Section 18b, as last amended by Section 1,
42	42	Chapter 444, O.S.L. 2019 (74 O.S. Supp. 2020, Section
43	43	18b), which relates to duties of the Attorney
44	44	General; expanding duties of the Attorney General;
45	45	directing the Attorney General to conduct certain
46	46	investigations; requiring submission of written
47	47	report; specifying contents of report; authorizing
48	48	the Attorney General to initiate and prosecute
49	49	criminal actions against certain persons; directing
50	50	the Attorney General to publish certain report on the
51	51	website of the Attorney General; creating a Police
52	52	Practices Unit within the Office of the At torney
53	53	General; stating duties of the Unit; providing for
54	54	codification; and providing an effective date .
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60	60	BE IT ENACTED BY THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF OKLAHOMA:
61	61	SECTION 1. AMENDATORY 74 O.S. 2011, Section 18b, as last
62	62	amended by Section 1, Chapter 444, O.S.L. 2019 (74 O.S. Supp. 2020,
63	63	Section 18b), is amended to read as follows:
64	64	Section 18b. A. The duties of the Attorney General as the
65	65	chief law officer of the state shall be:
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92	92	1. To appear for the state and prosecute an d defend all actions
93	93	and proceedings, civil or criminal, in the Supreme Court and Court
94	94	of Criminal Appeals in which the state is interested as a party;
95	95	2. To appear for the state and prosecute and defend all actions
96	96	and proceedings in any of the federal courts in which the state is
97	97	interested as a party;
98	98	3. To initiate or appear in any action in which the interests
99	99	of the state or the people of the state are at issue, or to appear
100	100	at the request of the Governor, the Legislature, or either branch
101	101	thereof, and prosecute and defend in any court or before any
102	102	commission, board or officers any cause or proceeding, civil or
103	103	criminal, in which the state may be a party or interested; and when
104	104	so appearing in any such cause or proceeding, the Attorney General
105	105	may, if the Attorney General deems it advisable and to the best
106	106	interest of the state, take and assume control of the prosecution or
107	107	defense of the state 's interest therein;
108	108	4. To consult with and advise district attorneys, when
109	109	requested by them, in all matt ers pertaining to the duties of their
110	110	offices, when the district attorneys shall furnish the Attorney
111	111	General with a written opinion supported by citation of authorities
112	112	upon the matter submitted;
113	113	5. To give an opinion in writing upon all questions of law
114	114	submitted to the Attorney General by the Legislature or either
115	115	branch thereof, or by any state officer, board, commission or
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142	142	department, provided, that the Attorney General shall not furnish
143	143	opinions to any but district attorneys, the Legislature or eithe r
144	144	branch thereof, or any other state official, board, commission or
145	145	department, and to them only upon matters in which they are
146	146	officially interested;
147	147	6. At the request of the Governor, State Auditor and Inspector,
148	148	State Treasurer, or either branch of the Legislature, to prosecute
149	149	any official bond or any contract in which the state is interested,
150	150	upon a breach thereof, and to prosecute or defend for the state all
151	151	actions, civil or criminal, relating to any matter connected with
152	152	either of their Departments ;
153	153	7. Whenever requested by any state officer, board or
154	154	commission, to prepare proper drafts for contracts, forms and other
155	155	writing which may be wanted for the use of the state;
156	156	8. To prepare drafts of bills and resolutions for individual
157	157	members of the Legislature upon their written request stating the
158	158	gist of the bill or resolution desired;
159	159	9. To enforce the proper application of monies appropriated by
160	160	the Legislature and to prosecute breaches of trust in the
161	161	administration of such funds;
162	162	10. To institute actions to recover state monies illegally
163	163	expended, to recover state property and to prevent the illegal use
164	164	of any state property, upon the request of the Governor or the
165	165	Legislature;
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192	192	11. To pay into the State Treasury, immediately upon its
193	193	receipt, all monies received by the Attorney General belonging to
194	194	the state;
195	195	12. To settle, compromise and dispose of an action in which the
196	196	Attorney General represents the interests of the state, so long as
197	197	the consideration negotiated for such settlement, compro mise or
198	198	disposition is payable to the state or one of its agencies which is
199	199	a named party of the action and any monies, any property or other
200	200	item of value is paid first to the State Treasury;
201	201	13. To keep and file copies of all opinions, contracts, forms
202	202	and letters of the office, and to keep an index of all opinions,
203	203	contracts and forms according to subject and section of the law
204	204	construed or applied;
205	205	14. To keep a register or docket of all actions, demands and
206	206	investigations prosecuted, defended or cond ucted by the Attorney
207	207	General in behalf of the state. The register or docket shall give
208	208	the style of the case or investigation, where pending, court number,
209	209	office number, the gist of the matter, result and the names of the
210	210	assistants who handled the matt er;
211	211	15. To keep a complete office file of all cases and
212	212	investigations handled by the Attorney General on behalf of the
213	213	state;
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240	240	16. To report to the Legislature or either branch thereof
241	241	whenever requested upon any business relating to the duties of the
242	242	Attorney General's office;
243	243	17. To institute civil actions against members of any state
244	244	board or commission for failure of such members to perform their
245	245	duties as prescribed by the statutes and the Constitution and to
246	246	prosecute members of any state board or commission for violation of
247	247	the criminal laws of this state where such violations have occurred
248	248	in connection with the performance of such members ' official duties;
249	249	18. To respond to any request for an opinion of the Attorney
250	250	General's office, submitted b y a member of the Legislature,
251	251	regardless of subject matter, by written opinion determinative of
252	252	the law regarding such subject matter;
253	253	19. To convene multicounty grand juries in such manner and for
254	254	such purposes as provided by law; provided, such grand j uries are
255	255	composed of citizens from each of the counties on a pro rata basis
256	256	by county;
257	257	20. To investigate any report by the State Auditor and
258	258	Inspector filed with the Attorney General pursuant to Section 223 of
259	259	this title and prosecute all actions, civil or criminal, relating to
260	260	such reports or any irregularities or derelictions in the management
261	261	of public funds or property which are violations of the laws of this
262	262	state;
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289	289	21. To represent and protect the collective interests of all
290	290	utility consumers of th is state in rate-related proceedings before
291	291	the Corporation Commission or in any other state or federal judicial
292	292	or administrative proceeding;
293	293	22. To represent and protect the collective interests of
294	294	insurance consumers of this state in rate -related proceedings before
295	295	the Insurance Commissioner or in any other state or federal judicial
296	296	or administrative proceeding; and
297	297	23. To investigate and prosecute any criminal action relating
298	298	to insurance fraud, if in the opinion of the Attorney General a
299	299	criminal prosecution is warranted, or to refer such matters to the
300	300	appropriate district attorney ; and
301	301	24. To investigate and prosecute any criminal action relating
302	302	to incidents involving a shooting by a peace officer that results in
303	303	the death of an unarmed citizen , if in the opinion of the Attorney
304	304	General a criminal prosecution is warranted .
305	305	B. Nothing in this section shall be construed as requiring the
306	306	Attorney General to appear and defend or prosecute in any court any
307	307	cause or proceeding for or on behalf of the Ok lahoma Tax Commission,
308	308	the Board of Managers of the State Insurance Fund, or the
309	309	Commissioners of the Land Office.
310	310	C. In all appeals from the Corporation Commission to the
311	311	Supreme Court of Oklahoma in which the state is a party, the
312	312	Attorney General shall have the right to designate counsel of the
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339	339	Corporation Commission as the Attorney General 's legally appointed
340	340	representative in such appeals, and it shall be the duty of the
341	341	Corporation Commission counsel to act when so designated and to
342	342	consult and advise with the Attorney General regarding such appeals
343	343	prior to taking action therein.
344	344	SECTION 2. NEW LAW A new section of law to be codified
345	345	in the Oklahoma Statutes as Section 20m of Title 74, unless there is
346	346	created a duplication in numbering, reads as follows:
347	347	A. The Attorney General s hall investigate each incident
348	348	involving a shooting by a peace officer that results in the death of
349	349	an unarmed citizen. The Attorney General shall be authorized to do
350	350	all of the following:
351	351	1. Investigate and gather facts in an incident involving a
352	352	shooting by a peace officer that results in the death of an unarmed
353	353	citizen;
354	354	2. For every investigation conducted, prepare and submit a
355	355	written report. The written report shall include, at a minimu m, the
356	356	following information:
357	357	a. a statement of the facts,
358	358	b. a detailed analysis and conclusion for each
359	359	investigatory issue, and
360	360	c. recommendations to modify the policies and practices
361	361	of the law enforcement agency, as applicable ; and
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388	388	3. If criminal charges aga inst the peace officer involved in
389	389	the incident are found to be warranted, initiate and prosecute a
390	390	criminal action against the peace officer.
391	391	B. The Attorney General shall post and maintain on the website
392	392	of the Attorney General each writ ten report prepared by the Attorney
393	393	General pursuant to subsection A of this section, appropriately
394	394	redacting any information in the report that is required to be kept
395	395	confidential according to the provisions of the Oklahoma Open
396	396	Records Act.
397	397	C. Upon the effective date o f this act, there is hereby created
398	398	within the Office of the Attorney General a Police Practices Unit.
399	399	The duty of the Unit shall be to review the use of deadly force
400	400	policies of law enforcement agencies in this state.
401	401	D. Upon the request of any law enforcement agency in this
402	402	state, the Police Practices Unit shall review the policies of the
403	403	agency relating to the use of deadly force. The Unit shall be
404	404	authorized to make specific and customized recommendatio ns to the
405	405	law enforcement agency that requests a review based on policies
406	406	identified as recommended best practices.
407	407	SECTION 3. This act shall become effective November 1, 2021.
408	408
409	409	58-1-6578 GRS 01/12/21

Oklahoma 2022 Regular Session

Oklahoma House Bill HB2420 Compare Versions