Req. No. 8798 Page 1 1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
STATE OF OKLAHOMA
2nd Session of the 58th Legislature (2022)
HOUSE BILL 3511 By: Munson
AS INTRODUCED
An Act relating to wrongful incarcerations; amending
22 O.S. 2021, Section 19, which r elates to procedures
for filing petitions for exp ungement; providing for
expedited hearings under certain ci rcumstances;
amending 51 O.S. Section 154, which relates to The
Governmental Tort Claims Act; modifying scope of
certain definition; increasing liability amount for
claims of wrongful incarceration ; providing for
supplemental compensation under certain
circumstances; authorizing standard annu ity payments;
providing guidelines and limitations for standard
annuity payments; allowing claimants to obtain group
health benefit plan coverage through the Department
of Corrections; providing limitations; requiring
payment of monthly contribution for coverage;
modifying effective dates for certain claims;
directing the Department of Corrections to provide
certain notice to wrongfully imprisoned persons;
providing for the waiver of resident and nonresident
tuition, room and board, and mandatory fees for
wrongfully incarcerated persons and their children;
providing limitation for credit hours; defining t erm;
providing for codification; and providing an
effective date.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF OKLAHOMA:
SECTION 1. AMENDATORY 22 O.S. 2021, Section 19, is
amended to read as follows:
Req. No. 8798 Page 2 1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
Section 19. A. Any person qualified under Section 18 of this
title may petition the district court of the district in which the
arrest information pertaining to the person is located for the
sealing of all or an y part of the record, except basic
identification information.
B. Upon the filing of a petition or entering of a court order ,
the court shall set a date for a hearing and shall provide thirty
(30) days of notice of the hearing to the prosecuting agency, t he
arresting agency, the Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation, and
any other person or agency whom the court has reason to believe may
have relevant informat ion related to the sealing of such record.
C. Upon a finding that the harm to privacy of the per son in
interest or dangers of unwarranted adverse consequences outweigh the
public interest in retaining the records, the cou rt may order such
records, or any part thereof except basic identification
information, to be sealed. If the court finds that neit her sealing
of the records nor maintaining of the records unsealed by the agency
would serve the ends of justice, the court m ay enter an appropriate
order limiting access to such records.
Any order entered under this subsection shall specify those
agencies to which such order shall apply. Any order entered
pursuant to this subsection may be appealed by the petitioner, the
prosecuting agency, the arresting agenc y, or the Oklahoma State
Bureau of Investigation to the Oklahoma Supreme Court in accordance
Req. No. 8798 Page 3 1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
with the rules of the Oklahoma Supreme Court. In all such appeals,
the Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation is a necessary par ty and
must be given notice of the appellate proceedings.
D. Upon the entry of an order to seal the records, or any part
thereof, the subject official actions shall be deemed never to have
occurred, and the person in interest and all criminal justice
agencies may properly reply, upon any inquiry in the matter, that no
such action ever occurred and that no such record exists with
respect to such person.
E. Inspection of the records included in the order may
thereafter be permitted by the court only upon pe tition by the
person in interest w ho is the subject of such records, the Attorney
General, or by the prosecuting agency and only to those persons and
for such purposes named in such petition.
F. Employers, educational institutions, state and local
government agencies, officials, and emplo yees shall not, in any
application or interview or otherwise, require an applicant to
disclose any information contained in sealed records. An applicant
need not, in answer to any question concerning arrest and criminal
records, provide information that h as been sealed, including any
reference to or information concerning such sealed information and
may state that no such action has ever occurred. Such an
application may not be denied solely because of the refusal of the
Req. No. 8798 Page 4 1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
applicant to disclose arrest and c riminal records information that
has been sealed.
G. All arrest and criminal records information existing prior
to the effective date of this section, except basic identification
information, is also subject to sealing in accordance with
subsection C of this section.
H. Nothing in this section shall be construed to authorize the
physical destruction of any criminal justice records.
I. For the purposes of this section, sealed materials which are
recorded in the same docum ent as unsealed material may be re corded
in a separate document, and sealed, then obliterated in the original
document.
J. For the purposes of this section, district court index
reference of sealed material shall be destroyed, removed or
obliterated.
K. Any record ordered to be sealed pu rsuant to this section, if
not unsealed within ten (10) years of the expungement order, may be
obliterated or destroyed at the end of the ten-year period.
L. Subsequent to records being sealed as provided herein, the
prosecuting agency, the arresting agen cy, the Oklahoma State Bureau
of Investigation, or other interested person or agency may petition
the court for an order unsealing said records. Upon filing of a
petition the court shall set a date for hearing, which hear ing may
be closed at the discretio n of the court, and shall provide thirty
Req. No. 8798 Page 5 1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
(30) days of notice to all interested parties. If, upon hearing,
the court determines there has been a change of conditions or that
there is a compelling reason to unseal the recor ds, the court may
order all or a portion of the records unsealed.
M. Nothing herein shall prohibit the introduction of evidence
regarding actions sealed pursuant to the provisions of this section
at any hearing or trial for purposes of impeaching the cred ibility
of a witness or as evidenc e of character testimony pursuant to
Section 2608 of Title 12 of the Oklahoma Statutes.
N. If a person qualifies for an expungement under the
provisions of paragraph 3 of subsection A of Section 18 of this
title and said petition for expungement is grante d by the court, the
court shall order the reimbursement of all filing fees and court
costs incurred by the petitioner as a result of filing the
expungement request.
O. If a person qualifies for an expu ngement under the
provisions of paragraph 3 or 4 of subsection A of Section 18 o f this
title, the person may request an expedited hearing upon filing a
petition for expungement. The court may grant the request to
expedite the hearing and shall provide a notice of ten (10) days for
said hearing to the prosecuting agency, the arresting agency, the
Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation, and any other person or
agency whom the court has reason to believe may have relevant
information related to the sealing of such record. Any order
Req. No. 8798 Page 6 1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
entered pursuant to the provisions of this subsection shall be
subject to the provisions of subsections C through M of this
section.
SECTION 2. AMENDATORY 51 O.S. 2021, Section 154, is
amended to read as follows:
Section 154. A. The total liability of the s tate and its
political subdivisions on claims within t he scope of The
Governmental Tort Claims Act, arising ou t of an accident or
occurrence happening after October 1, 1985, Section 151 et seq. of
this title, shall not exc eed:
1. Twenty-five Thousand Dollars ($25,000.00) for any claim or
to any claimant who has more than one claim for loss of property
arising out of a single act, accident, or occurrence;
2. Except as otherwise provided in this paragraph, One Hundred
Twenty-five Thousand Dollars ($125,000. 00) to any claimant for a
claim for any other loss ari sing out of a single act, accident, or
occurrence. The limit of liability for the state or any city or
county with a population of three hundred thousand (300,000) or more
according to the latest Federal Decennial Census, or a political
subdivision as defined in subparagraph s of paragraph 11 of Section
152 of this title, shall not exceed One Hundred Seventy -five
Thousand Dollars ($175,000.00). Except however, the limi ts of the
liability for the Univer sity Hospitals and State Mental Health
Hospitals operated by the Department of Mental Health and Substance
Req. No. 8798 Page 7 1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
Abuse Services for claims arising from medical negligence shall be
Two Hundred Thousand Dollars ($200,000.00). For claims arising from
medical negligence by any licensed physician, osteopathic physician
or certified nurse-midwife rendering prenatal, delivery or infant
care services from September 1, 1991, through June 30, 1996,
pursuant to a contract authorized by sub section B of Section 1 -106
of Title 63 of the Oklahoma Statutes and in conformity with t he
requirements of Section 1 -233 of Title 63 of the Okla homa Statutes,
the limits of the liability shall be Two Hundred Thousand Dollars
($200,000.00); or
3. One Million Dollars ($1,000,000.00) for any number of claims
arising out of a single occurrence o r accident.
B. 1. Beginning on May 28, 2003 July 1, 2022, claims shall be
allowed for wrongful criminal felony conviction resulting in
imprisonment if the claimant ha s received a full pardon on the ba sis
of a written finding by the Governor of actual innocence f or the
crime for which the claimant was sentence d or has been granted
judicial relief absolving the claimant of guilt on the basis of
actual innocence of the cr ime for which the claimant was sen tenced.
The Governor or the court shall specifically state, i n the pardon or
order, the evidence or basis on which the finding of actual
innocence is based.
Req. No. 8798 Page 8 1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
2. As used in paragraph 1 of this subsection, for a claimant to
recover based on "actual innocence", the individual must meet the
following criteria:
a. the individual was charged, by indictment or
information, with the commission of a public offense
classified as a felony,
b. the individual did not plead guilty to th e offense
charged, or to any lesse r included offense, but was
convicted of the offense,
c. the individual was sentenced to incarceration for a
term of imprisonment as a result of the conviction,
d. c. the individual was imprisoned solely on the basis of
the conviction for the offense, and
e. d. (1) in the case of a pardon, a determination was made
by either the Pardon and Parole Board or the
Governor that the offense for which the
individual was convicted, sentenced and
imprisoned, including any lesser offe nses, was
not committed by the ind ividual, or
(2) in the case of judicial relief, a court of
competent jurisdiction found by clear and
convincing evidence that the offense for which
the individual was convicted, sentenced and
imprisoned, including any less er included
Req. No. 8798 Page 9 1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
offenses, was not comm itted by the individual and
issued an order vacating, dismissing or reversing
the conviction and sentence and pr oviding that no
further proceedings can be or will be held
against the individual on any facts and
circumstances alleged in the proceedings whic h
had resulted in the conviction.
3. A claimant shall not be en titled to compensation for any
part of a sentence in prison during which the claimant was also
serving a concurrent sentence for a crime not covered by this
subsection.
4. The total liability of the state and its political
subdivisions on any claim within the scope of The Governmental Tort
Claims Act arising out of wrongful criminal felony conviction
resulting in imprisonment shall not exceed One Hundred Seven ty-five
Thousand Dollars ($175,000 .00) be in an amount equal to Fifty
Thousand Dollars ($50,000.00 ) multiplied by the number of years
served in prison, expressed as a fraction to reflect parti al years.
5. In addition to the award of damages provided for in
paragraph 4 of this subsectio n, a claimant who served his or her
time on death row shall be entitled to receive supplemental
compensation in the amount of Fifty Thousand Dollars ($50,000.00)
multiplied by the number of years the person served on death row,
expressed as a fraction to refl ect partial years.
Req. No. 8798 Page 10 1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
6. In addition to the award of damages provided for in
paragraph 4 of this subsection, a claimant who was released on
parole or released under con ditions of probation shall be entitled
to receive supplemental compensation in the amount of Twenty-five
Thousand Dollars ($25,000.00) multiplied by th e number of years the
person was on parole or under probation, expressed as a fraction to
reflect partial years .
7. A claimant entitled to compensation under the provisions of
this subsection shall be entitled to standard annuity payment s.
Standard annuity payments shall be based on a present value sum
equal to the amount to which the claimant is entitled under
paragraphs 4, 5, or 6 of this subsection. Standard annuity payments
shall be payable in equal monthly installments for the life of the
claimant. Annuity payments shall be based on a five perce nt (5%)
per annum interest rate and other actuarial factors within the
discretion of the Director of the Office o f Management and
Enterprise Services. Annuity payments under the prov isions of this
paragraph shall not be accelerated, deferred, increased , or
decreased. A claimant entitled to annuity payments under the
provisions of this paragraph shall not sell, mort gage or otherwise
encumber, or anticipate the payments, wholly or partly, by
assignment or otherwise.
8. A claimant entitled to compensation u nder the provisions of
this subsection shall be eligible to obtain group health benefit
Req. No. 8798 Page 11 1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
plan coverage through the Department of Corrections as if t he person
were an employee of the Department. The provisions of this
paragraph shall not entitle the spouse or other dependent or family
member to group health benefit pla n coverage. Coverage may be
obtained under the pr ovisions of this paragraph for a period of time
equal to the total period the claimant served for the crime for
which the claimant was wrongfully incarcerated, including any period
during which the claimant was released on parole or released under
conditions of probation. A claimant who elects to obtain coverage
under the provisions of this paragraph shall pay a monthly
contribution equal to the total amount of the monthly contributions
for that coverage for an employee of the Depar tment.
9. The provisions of this subsection shall apply t o convictions
occurring on or before May 28, 2003, as well as convictions
occurring and after May 28, 2003 July 1, 2022. If a court of
competent jurisdiction finds that retroactive application of this
subsection is uncons titutional, the prospective applic ation of this
subsection shall remain valid.
C. No award for damages in an action or any claim against the
state or a political subdivision shall include punitive or exemplary
damages.
D. When the amount awarded to or se ttled upon multiple
claimants exceeds the limitations of this secti on, any party may
apply to the district court which has jurisdiction of th e cause to
Req. No. 8798 Page 12 1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
apportion to each claimant the claimant 's proper share of the total
amount as limited herein. The share apportioned to each claimant
shall be in the proportion that the r atio of the award or settl ement
made to him bears to the aggregate awards and settlements for all
claims against the state or its political subdivisions arising out
of the occurrence. When the amount of the aggregate losse s
presented by a single claimant exceeds the limits of para graph 1 or
2 of subsection A of this section, ea ch person suffering a loss
shall be entitled to that person 's proportionate share.
E. The total liability of resid ent physicians and interns while
participating in a graduate medica l education program of the
University of Oklahoma College of Medicine, its affiliated
institutions and the Oklahoma College of Osteopathic Medicine and
Surgery shall not exceed One Hundred Thousand Dollars ($100,000.00).
F. The state or a political subdiv ision may petition the cou rt
that all parties and actions arising out of a single accident or
occurrence shall be joined as provided by law, and upon order of the
court the proceedings upon good cause shown shall be continu ed for a
reasonable time or until such joinder has been com pleted. The state
or political subdivision shal l be allowed to interplead in any
action which may impose on it any duty or liability pursuant to The
Governmental Tort Claims Act.
G. The liability of the state or political subdiv ision under
The Governmental Tort Claims Act shall be several from that of any
Req. No. 8798 Page 13 1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
other person or entity, and the state or political subdivision shall
only be liable for that percentage of tot al damages that corresponds
to its percentage of total negligence. Nothing in this section
shall be construed as increasing the liability li mits imposed on the
state or political subdivision under The Governmental Tort Claims
Act.
SECTION 3. NEW LAW A new section o f law to be codified
in the Oklahoma Statutes as Section 360.2 of Title 57, unless there
is created a duplication in numbering, reads as follows:
A. The Department of Corrections shall provide to each
wrongfully imprisoned person information, both orally and in
writing, that includes :
1. Guidance on how to obtain compensation pursuant to
subsection B of Section 154 of Title 51 of the Oklahoma Statutes;
and
2. A list of and contact information for nonprofit a dvocacy
groups, identified by the Department, t hat assist wrongfully
imprisoned persons in filing claims f or compensation under The
Governmental Tort Cla ims Act.
B. The Department shall provide the information :
1. At the time of the release of the w rongfully imprisoned
person from a penal institution ; or
2. As soon as practicable after the Department has reason to
believe that the person is entitled to compensation.
Req. No. 8798 Page 14 1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
SECTION 4. NEW LAW A new section of law to be codified
in the Oklahoma Statute s as Section 3218.7-2 of Title 70, unless
there is created a duplication in numbering, reads as follows:
A. Within The Oklahoma State System of Higher Edu cation or the
system of career technology districts, no resident tuition,
nonresident tuition, room and board, and any mandatory fees
associated with such attendance shall be charged to:
1. A person who was wrongfully incarcerated and awarded
compensation pursuant to the provisions of subsection B of Section 2
of this act; and
2. Children of any person wrongfully incarcerated and the
person was awarded compensation pursuant to the provisions of
subsection B of Section 2 of this act.
B. Such waiver of resident tuition, nonresident tuition, room
and board, and mandatory fees associated with such attendanc e shall
be limited to one hundred twenty (120) credit hours.
C. As used in this section, the term "children" includes
children by birth and by adoption.
SECTION 5. This act shall become effective July 1, 2022.
SECTION 6. It being immediately necessary for the preservation
of the public peace, health or safety, an emergency is hereby
Req. No. 8798 Page 15 1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
declared to exist, by reason whereof thi s act shall take effect and
be in full force from and after its passage and approval.
58-2-8798 GRS 01/16/22