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STATE OF OKLAHOMA
2nd Session of the 58th Legislature (2022)
HOUSE BILL 3284 By: Humphrey
AS INTRODUCED
An Act relating to prisons and reformatories;
amending 57 O.S. 2021, Section 510, which relates to
powers and duties of the Director of the Department
of Corrections; modifying age qualifications for
correctional officers; and providing an effective
date.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF OKLAHOMA:
SECTION 1. AMENDATORY 57 O.S. 2021, Section 510, is
amended to read as f ollows:
Section 510. A. The Director of the Department of Corrections
shall have the following specific powers and duties relating to the
penal institutions:
1. To appoint, subject to the approval of the State Board of
Corrections, a warden for each pen al institution;
2. To fix the duties of the wardens and to appoint and fix the
duties and compensation of such other personnel for each penal
institution as may be necessary for the proper operation thereof .
However, correctional officers hired after Nov ember 1, 1995 2022,
shall be subject to the following qualifications:
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a. the minimum age for service shall be twenty (20)
eighteen (18) years of age. The Director shall have
the authority to establish the maximum age for
correctional officers entering ser vice shall be fifty-
five (55) years of age,
b. possession of a minimum of thirty (30) semester hours
from an accredited college or university, or
possession of a high school diploma acquired from an
accredited high school or GED equivalent testing
program,
c. satisfactory completion of minimum testing or
professional evaluation through the Merit System of
Personnel Administration to determine the fitness of
the individual to serve in the position. All written
evaluations shall be submitted to the Department of
Corrections, and
d. satisfactory completion of a physical in keeping with
the conditions of the job description on an annual
basis and along the guidelines as established by the
Department of Corrections;
3. The Director shall designate as correctional peace officers,
correctional officers who are employed in job classifications of
correctional security officer, correctional security manager,
correctional chief of security and chief of security upon
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satisfactory completion of a basic course of instructi on for
correctional officers, as pro vided for in paragraph 4 of this
subsection. The peace officer authority of employees designated as
correctional peace officers shall be limited to: maintaining
custody of prisoners; preve nting attempted escapes; pursu ing,
recapturing and incarcerating e scapees and parole or probation
violators and arresting such escapees, parole or probation
violators; serving warrants; carrying firearms; preventing
contraband from entering any penal insti tutions; arresting
individuals who commit crimes at any penal inst itution; and
performing any duties specifically required for the job
descriptions. Such powers and duties of correctional peace officers
may be exercised for the purpose of maintaining cust ody, security,
and control of any prisoner being transported insid e and outside
this state as authorized by the Uniform Criminal Extradition Act and
the Interstate Corrections Compact. The Director may implement
policies that place additional limitations on the authority of
correctional peace officers. The Director sha ll issue an
identification card to each correctional peace officer that
identifies the person as a correctional peace officer and grants the
person the authority to carry a firearm and make arrests pursuant to
this paragraph. Should a correctional peace o fficer terminate
employment for any reason, fail to remain qualified as a
correctional peace officer or for reasons stated in policies of the
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Department, the correctional peace officer shall return the
identification card to the supervisor of the correctio nal peace
officer immediately;
4. To develop and implement, upon approval of the State Board
of Corrections, a basic course of instruction for correctional
officers that consists of a train ing academy that provides not less
than two hundred (200) hours of core curriculum instruction and a
firearms training program that provides not less than twenty (20)
hours of instruction. The basic course of instruction shall be
subject to the following:
a. the minimum qualifying sco re that must be shot to pass
the firearms training program shall be equal to the
minimum qualifying score required by the Council on
Law Enforcement Education and Training for peace
officers, and
b. the Director may waive any number of hours or courses
required to complete the basic course o f instruction
for any person who, in the opinion of the Director,
has received sufficient training or experience that
such hours of instruction would be unduly burdensome
or duplicative; however, completion of the firear ms
training program shall not be wai ved;
5. To develop and implement annual in -service training for
correctional officers that consists of at least forty (40) hours of
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continued corrections education and annual recertificatio n of
firearms proficiency. Th e minimum qualifying score that must be
shot to requalify for recertification of firearms proficiency shall
be equal to the minimum qualifying score required by the Council on
Law Enforcement Education and Training for the req ualification of
peace officers;
6. To require any person employed as a correctional security
officer, correctional security manager, correctional chief of
security and chief of security to remain qualified as a correctional
peace officer. Any correctiona l peace officer who is unable to
remain qualified as a correctiona l peace officer may be offered an
available position within the Department in the same or lesser pay
grade for which the employee is eligible, or the employee may be
terminated;
7. To authorize other employees of the De partment to carry
firearms anywhere in the state to use for self -defense pursuant to
and consistent with policies developed by the Department upon
satisfactory completion of the firearms training program provided
for in paragraph 4 of this subsection. The Director shall issue an
identification card to each authorized employee that grants the
employee the authority to carry a firearm pursuant to the provisions
of this paragraph. Should an authorized employee terminate
employment for any reason, fail to rem ain qualified to carry a
firearm, or for reasons stated in the policies of the Department,
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the authorized employee shall immediately return the identification
card to the supervisor of the employee and shall no longer be
authorized to carry firearms under the authority of this paragraph;
8. To maintain such industries, factories, plants, shops,
farms, and other enterprises and operations, hereinafter referred to
as prison industries, at each penal institution as the State Boar d
of Corrections deems necessa ry or appropriate to employ the
prisoners or teach skills, or to sustain the penal institution; and
as provided for by policies established by the State Board of
Corrections, to allow compensation for the work of the prisoners ,
and to provide for apportion ment of inmate wages, the amounts th us
allowed to be kept in accounts by the Board for the prisoners and
given to the inmates upon discharge from the penal institution, or
upon an order paid to their families or dependents or used for the
personal needs of the prisoners. Any industry that e mploys
prisoners shall be deemed a "State Prison Industry " if the prisoners
are paid from state funds including the proceeds of goods sold as
authorized by Section 123f of Title 74 of the Ok lahoma Statutes.
Any industry in which wages of prisoners are pai d by a
nongovernmental person, group, or corporation, except those
industries employing prisoners in work -release centers under the
authority of the Department of Corrections shall be deemed a
"Private Prison Industry ";
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9. To assign residences at each pen al institution to penal
institutional personnel and their families;
10. To provide for the education, training, vocational
education, rehabilitation, and recreation of prisoners;
11. To regulate the operation of cantee ns for prisoners;
12. To prescribe rules for the conduct, management, and
operation of each penal institution, including rules for the
demeanor of prisoners, the punishment of recalcitrant prisoners, the
treatment of incorrig ible prisoners, and the dispos al of property or
contraband seized from inmates or offenders under the supervision of
the Department;
13. To transfer prisoners from one penal institution to
another;
14. To establish procedures that ensure inmates are educ ated
and provided with the opp ortunity to execute advance directiv es for
health care in compliance with Section 3101.2 of Title 63 of the
Oklahoma Statutes. The procedures shall ensure that any inmate
executing an advance directive for health care is comp etent and
executes the directi ve with informed consent;
15. To maintain courses of training and instruction for
employees of the Department;
16. To maintain a program of research and statistics;
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17. To provide for the periodic audit, at least once annua lly,
of all funds and accounts of each penal institution and the f unds of
each prisoner;
18. To provide, subject to rules established by the State Board
of Corrections, for the utilization of inmate labor for any agency
of the state, city, town, or subdiv ision of this state, upon the
duly authorized request for such lab or by the agency. The inmate
labor shall not be used to reduce employees or replace regular
maintenance or operations of the agency. The inmate labor shall be
used solely for public or sta te purposes. No inmate labor shall be
used for private use or pur pose. Insofar as it is practicable, all
inmate labor shall be of such a nature and designed to assist and
aid in the rehabilitation of inmates performing the labor;
19. To provide clerical services for, and keep and pr eserve the
files and records of, the Pardon and Parole Board; make
investigations and inquiries as to prisoners at the penal
institutions who are to be, or who might be, considered for parole
or other clemency; assist prisoner s who are to be, or who might be,
considered for parole or dischar ge in obtaining suitable employment
in the event of parole or discharge; report to the Pardon and Parole
Board, for recommendation to the Governor, violations of terms and
conditions of paroles; upon request of the Gover nor, make
investigations and inquiri es as to persons who are to be, or who
might be, considered for reprieves or leaves of absence; report to
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the Pardon and Parole Board, for recommendation to the Governor,
whether a parolee is entitled to a pardon, when t he terms and
conditions of the parol e have been completed; make presentence
investigations for, and make reports thereof to, trial judges in
criminal cases consistent with other laws of the state; supervise
persons on felony probation or parole; and develo p and operate,
subject to the polici es and guidelines of the Board, work -release
centers, community treatment facilities or prerelease programs at
appropriate sites throughout this state;
20. To establish an employee tuition assistance program and
promulgate rules in accordance with the Adm inistrative Procedures
Act for the operation of the program. The rules shall include, but
not be limited to, program purposes, eligibility requirements, use
of tuition assistance, service c ommitment to the Department,
reimbursement of tuition assistance f unds for failure to complete
course work or service commitment, amounts of tuition assistance and
limitations, and record keeping;
21. To establish an employee recruitment and referral ince ntive
program and promulgate r ules in accordance with the Administ rative
Procedures Act for the operation of the program. The rules shall
include, but not be limited to, program purposes, pay incentives for
employees, eligibility requirements, payment con ditions and amounts,
payment methods, and record keeping;
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22. To provide reintegration referral services to any person
discharged from the state custody who has volunteered to receive
reintegration referral services. The Director may assign staff to
refer persons discharged from stat e custody to services. The
Director shall promulgate rules for the referral process. All
reintegration referral services shall be subject to the availability
of funds;
23. To conduct continual planning and research and peri odically
evaluate the effectiv eness of the various correctional pr ograms
instituted by the Department; manage the designing, building, and
maintaining of all the capital improvements of the Department;
establish and maintain current and efficient business, bookkeeping,
and accounting practices and procedures for the oper ations of all
penal institutions and facilities, and for the Department 's fiscal
affairs; conduct initial orientation and continuing in -service
training for the Department employees; provide public information
services; inspect and examine the condition an d management of state
penal and correctional institutions; investigate complaints
concerning the management of prisons or alleged mistreatment of
inmates thereof; and hear and investigate co mplaints as to
misfeasance or nonfeasance of employees of the Depa rtment;
24. To authorize any division of the Department to sell
advertising in any Department -approved publication, media production
or other informational material produced by the Departme nt;
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provided, that such advert ising shall be approved by the Direc tor or
designee prior to acceptance for publication. The sale of
advertising and negotiation of rates for the advertising shall not
be subject to The Oklahoma Central Purchasing Act or the
Administrative Procedures Act. The Department shall promulgate
rules establishing criteria for accepting or using advertisements as
authorized in this paragraph;
25. To issue subpoenas to assist or further investigations into
allegations of crimes commit ted in public or private priso ns within
the State of Oklahoma. Su bpoenas issued by the Director shall be
enforced by the District Court in Oklahoma County, Oklahoma;
26. To authorize award of the badge of an employee who dies
while employed by the Depart ment to the spouse or next of kin of the
deceased employee;
27. To establish, in conjunction with the Information Services
Division of the Office of Management and Enterprise Services, an
emergency alert notification system for the public, capable of
distributing notifications of faci lity emergencies or prisoner
escapes for all facilities and each facility of the Department of
Corrections;
28. To declare an emergency when, due to shortage of staff,
correctional officers at a facility are required to work more than
two double shifts in a seven-day period. As used in th is paragraph,
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"double shift" means two eight-hour shifts in a twenty -four-hour
period; and
29. To enter into contracts with media or film production
companies to allow the Department to auth orize a media or film
production company to shoot commercial film s at penal institutions
and other property under the control of the Department. Any funds
received pursuant to said contracts shall be deposited into the
Department of Corrections Revolving Fund.
B. When an employee of the Department of Corrections has b een
charged with a violation of the rules of the Department or with a
felony pursuant to the provisions of a state or federal statute, the
Director may, in the Director 's discretion, suspend the charged
employee, in accordance with the Oklahoma Personnel A ct and/or the
Merit System of Personnel Administration Rules, pending the hearing
and final determination of the charges. Notice of suspension shall
be given by the Director, in accordance w ith the provisions of the
Oklahoma Personnel Act. If after compl etion of the investigation of
the charges, it is determined that such charges are without merit or
are not sustained before the Oklahoma Merit Protection Commission or
in a court of law, the employee shall be reinstated a nd shall be
entitled to receive all lost pay and benefits.
This subsection shall in no way deprive an employee of the right
of appeal according to the Oklahoma Personnel Act.
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SECTION 2. This act shall become effective November 1, 2022.
58-2-9457 GRS 01/19/22