An Act
ENROLLED HOUSE
BILL NO. 3021 By: Worthen of the House
and
Weaver of the Senate
An Act relating to common carriers; ame nding 13 O.S.
2021, Sections 176.2 and 176.11, which relate to the
Security of Communications Act; expanding scope of
certain definition; updating statutory citation;
changing entity that receives written repo rts
concerning interceptions; directing the Clerk of the
Court of Criminal Appeals to maintain repor ts as
confidential records; and providing an effective
date.
SUBJECT: Common carriers
BE IT ENACTED BY THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF OKLAHOMA:
SECTION 1. AMENDATORY 13 O.S. 2021, Section 176.2, is
amended to read as follows:
Section 176.2 As used in the Security of Communications Act:
1. "Aggrieved person" means a person who was a party to any
intercepted wire, oral or electronic communication or a person
against whom the interception was directed;
2. "Aural acquisition" means obtaining knowledge of a
communication through the sense of hea ring which is contemp oraneous
with the communication;
3. "Aural transfer" means a transfer containing the human voice
at any point between and including the point of origin and the point
of reception;
ENR. H. B. NO. 3021 Page 2
4. "Communication common carrier" means, for the purposes of
the Security of Communications Act only, any telephone or telegraph
company, rural telephone cooperative, communications transmission
company or other public communicatio ns company under the laws of
this state;
5. "Communication facility" means any and all public and
private instrumentalities used or useful in the transmission of
writing, signs, signals, pictures, or sounds of all kinds and
includes mail, telephone, wire, radio, and all other means of
communication;
6. "Contents", when used with respect to any wire, o ral or
electronic communication, includes any information concerning the
substance, purport or meaning of that communication;
7. "Electronic communication " means any transfer of signs,
signals, writing, images, sounds, data, or intelligence of any
nature transmitted in whole or in part by a wire, radio,
electromagnetic, photoelectronic or photooptical photo-optical
system, but does not include:
a. any wire or oral communic ation,
b. any communication made through a tone-only paging
device, or
c. any communication from a tracking device;
8. "Electronic, mechanical or other device " means any device or
apparatus which can be used to intercept a wire, oral or electronic
communication other than:
a. any telephone or telegraph instrument, equipment or
facility or any component thereof furnished to the
subscriber or user by a communication common carrier
or other lawful supplier in the ordinary course of its
business which is being used by the subscriber o r user
in the ordinary course of its business, or being used
by a communication common carrier in the ordinary
course of business or being used by a law enforcement
officer in the ordinary course of duties, or
b. a hearing aid or similar device being used to correct
subnormal hearing to not better than normal; ENR. H. B. NO. 3021 Page 3
9. "Intercept" means the aural acquisition of the contents of
any wire, oral or electronic communication through the use of any
electronic, mechanical or other device;
10. "Judge of competent jurisd iction" means the Presiding Judge
of the Court of Criminal A ppeals or any other Judge of the Court of
Criminal Appeals designated by the Presiding Judge ;
11. "Law enforcement officer " means any person who is employed
by the United States, this state or po litical subdivision thereof
and is empowered by law to condu ct investigations of, or to make
arrests for, offenses enumerated in the Security of Communications
Act or similar federal offenses and any attorney authorized by law
to prosecute or participate i n the prosecution of such offenses;
12. "Oral communication" means any communication uttered by a
person exhibiting an expectation that such communication is not
subject to interception under circumstance justifying such
expectation;
13. "Person" means any individual, partnership, association,
joint-stock company, trust, corporation or political subdivision
including an employee or agent thereof; and
14. "Wire communication" means any aural transfer made in whole
or in part through the use of facilities for the transmission of
communications by the aid of wire, c able or other like connection
between the point of origin and the point of reception , including
the use of such connection in a switching station, furnished or
operated by any person engaged in pr oviding or operating such
facilities for the transmission of intrastate, interstate or foreign
communications or communications affecting intrastate, interstate or
foreign commerce.
SECTION 2. AMENDATORY 1 3 O.S. 2021, Section 176. 11, is
amended to read as follows:
Section 176.11 A. Within thirty (30) days after the expiration
of an order, or each extension thereof, entered under Section 7
176.7 of this act title, or the denial of an order approving an
interception, the judge of c ompetent jurisdiction shall submit in
file a sealed, written report to with the Administrative Director of
the Courts Clerk of the Court of Criminal Ap peals that includes the
following information: ENR. H. B. NO. 3021 Page 4
1. The fact that an order or ext ension was applied for;
2. The kind of order or extension applied for;
3. The fact that the order or extension was granted as applied
for, was modified, or was denied;
4. The period of interceptions authorized by the order, and the
number and duration o f any extensions of the o rder;
5. The offense specified in the order or application, or
extension of an order;
6. The identity of the law enforcement officer and the agency
making the request for the application an d the district attorney
requesting the Attorney General to make t he application; and
7. The nature of the facilities from which or the place where
communications were to be intercepted.
B. In January of each year, the Attorney General shall submit
in file a sealed, written report to with the Administrative Director
of the Courts Clerk of the Court of Criminal Appeals that includes
the following information:
1. Regarding an order or extension:
a. the fact that it was applied for ,
b. the kind applied for,
c. the fact that it was granted as appli ed for, was
modified, or was denied,
d. the period of interceptions authorized, and the num ber
and duration of any extensions of the order,
e. the offense specified,
f. the identity of the law enforcement officer and the
agency making the request for the a pplication and the
district attorney requesting the Attorney General to
make the application, and
ENR. H. B. NO. 3021 Page 5
g. the nature of the faciliti es from which or the place
where communications were to be int ercepted;
2. A general description of the interceptions made under such
order or extension, including:
a. the approximate nature and frequency of incriminati ng
communications intercepted,
b. the approximate nature and frequency of other
communications intercepted,
c. the approximate number of persons whose communications
were intercepted, and
d. the approximate nature, amount, and cost of the
manpower and other resources used in the
interceptions;
3. The number of arrests resulting from interceptions made
under such order or extension, and the offenses for which arrests
were made;
4. The number of trials resulting from such interceptions;
5. The number of mo tions to suppress made with respect to such
interceptions, and the number granted or denied;
6. The number of convictions resulting from such interceptions
and the offenses for which t he convictions were obtained and a
general assessment of the importance of the interceptions; and
7. The information required by paragraphs 2 th rough 6 of this
subsection with respect to orders or extensions obtained in a
preceding calendar year.
C. The Clerk of the Court of Criminal Appeals shall maintain
the reports submitted pursuant to this section as confidential
records which shall not be d isclosed or made public absent an order
from the Presiding Judge of the Court of Criminal Appeals.
SECTION 3. This act shall become effective November 1, 2022.
ENR. H. B. NO. 3021 Page 6
Passed the House of Representatives the 9th day of March, 2022.
Presiding Officer of the House
of Representatives
Passed the Senate the 25th day of April, 2022.
Presiding Officer of the Senate
OFFICE OF THE GOVERNOR
Received by the Office of the Governor this ____________________
day of ___________________, 20_______, at _______ o'clock _______ M.
By: _________________________________
Approved by the Governor of the St ate of Oklahoma this _____ ____
day of ___________________, 20_______, at _______ o'clock _______ M.
_________________________________
Governor of the State of Oklahoma
OFFICE OF THE SECRETARY OF STATE
Received by the Office of the Secretary of State t his __________
day of ___________________, 20_______, at _______ o'clock _______ M.
By: _________________________________