Oklahoma 2022 Regular Session

Oklahoma House Bill HB3918 Compare Versions

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	30	+	April 11, 2022
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3	34		BILL NO. 3918 By: Pfeiffer of the House
4	35
5	36		and
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7	38		Paxton of the Senate
8		-
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10	39
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14	43		An Act relating to commutations; amending 57 O.S.
15	44		2021, Section 332.2, which relates to application
16	45		procedures for commutations and pardons; providing
17	46		gender-neutral language; directing the Secretary of
18	47		State to file notice of commutation with the district
19	48		attorney and clerk of the court; stating requirements
20	49		for the notice; requirin g notice of commutation
21	50		decision to victims or representatives of victims;
22	51		and providing an effective date.
23	52
24	53
25	54
26		-
27		-	SUBJECT: Commutations
28		-
29	55		BE IT ENACTED BY THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF OKLAHOMA:
30		-
31	56		SECTION 1. AMENDATORY 57 O.S. 2021, Section 332.2, is
32	57		amended to read as follow s:
33		-
34	58		Section 332.2 A. The Pardon and Parole Board, which shall meet
35	59		only on the call of the Chairman Chair, is authorized, if and when
36	60		an application made to t he Governor for a reprieve, commutation,
37	61		parole, pardon, or other act of clemency is certified th ereto by the
38	62		Governor, to examine into the merits of said application and make
39	63		recommendations to the Governor in relation thereto, said
40	64		recommendation being a dvisory to the Governor and not binding
41	65		thereon.
42	66
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43	93		B. Any consideration f or commutation shall be m ade only after
44	94		application is made to the Pardon and Parole Board pursuant to the
45	95		procedures set forth in this section. The Pardon and Parole Board
46		-	shall provide a copy of the application to the district attorney, ~~ENR. H. B. NO. 3918 Page 2~~
	96	+	shall provide a copy of the application to the district attorney,
47	97		the victim or representative of the victi m and the Office of the
48	98		Attorney General within ten (10) business days of receipt of such
49	99		application.
50		-
51	100		C. An application for commutation, other than those pro vided
52	101		for in subsection F of this section, must be sent to the trial
53	102		officials, who shall have tw enty (20) business days to provide a
54	103		written recommendation or protest prior to consideration of the
55	104		application. Trial officials shall include:
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57	105		1. The current elected judge of the court where the conviction
58	106		was had;
59		-
60	107		2. The current elected district atto rney of the jurisdiction
61	108		where the conviction was had; or
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63	109		3. The chief or head administrative officer of the arresting
64	110		law enforcement agency.
65		-
66	111		D. In cases resolved prior to the tenure of the present
67	112		officeholders, the recommendat ion or protest of persons holding such
68	113		offices at the time of conviction may also be considered by the
69	114		Board.
70		-
71	115		E. The recommendation for commutation of a sentence by a trial
72	116		official may include the following:
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74	144		1. A statement that the penalty now appears t o be excessive;
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76	145		2. A recommendation of a definite term now considered by the
77	146		official as just and proper; and
78		-
79	147		3. A statement of the reasons for the recommendation based upon
80	148		facts directly related to the case which were not available to the
81	149		court or jury at the time of the trial or based upon there having
82	150		been a statutory change in penalty for the crime which makes the
83	151		original penalty appear excessive.
84		-
85	152		F. The Pardon and Parole Board shall establish an accelerated,
86	153		single-stage commutation docket for any applicant who has been
87	154		convicted of a crime that has been reclassified from a felony to a
88	155		misdemeanor under Oklahoma law. The Pardon and Parole Board shall
89	156		be empowered to recommend to the Governor for commutation, by
90	157		majority vote, any commutation appli cation placed on the
91		-	accelerated, single-stage commutation docket that meets the ~~ENR. H. B. NO. 3918 Page 3~~
	158	+	accelerated, single-stage commutation docket that meets the
92	159		eligibility criteria provided above. The Department of Corrections
93	160		shall certify a list of potentially eligible inmates to the Pardon
94	161		and Parole Board within thirty (30) days of the effective date of
95	162		this act.
96		-
97	163		G. The Pardon and Parole Board shall schedule the application
98	164		on a commutation docket in compliance with the notice requirements
99	165		set forth herein. The Board shall provide the victim or
100	166		representative of the victim at l east twenty (20) days to offer
101	167		recommendations or protests before consideration of the application.
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103	195		H. Applications for commutation shall be given impartial review
104	196		as required in Section 10 of Article VI of the Oklahoma
105	197		Constitution.
106		-
107	198		I. Any consideration for pardon shall be made only after
108	199		application is made to the Pardon and Parole Board. Upon receipt of
109	200		an application for pardon, the Board shall provide a copy of the
110	201		application to the district attorney, the victim or representative
111	202		of the victim and the Office of the Att orney General within twenty
112	203		(20) business days of receipt of such application. The district
113	204		attorney and the victim or representative of the victim shall have
114	205		twenty (20) business days to provide written recommendat ion or
115	206		protest prior to the consideratio n of the application. The Board
116	207		shall schedule the application on a pardon docket in compliance with
117	208		the notice requirements set forth herein.
118		-
119	209		J. In accordance with Section 10 of Article VI of the Oklahoma
120	210		Constitution, the Board sha ll communicate to the Legislature, at
121	211		each regular session, by providing a summary of the activities of
122	212		the Board. This summary shall include, but not be limited to, the
123	213		following Board activity:
124		-
125	214		1. The approval or recommendation ra tes of the Board for b oth
126	215		violent and nonviolent offenses;
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128	216		2. The parole approval rates for each individual Board member
129	217		for both violent and nonviolent offenses; and
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131	245		3. The percentage of public comments to and personal
132	246		appearances before the Board inclu ding victim protests a nd personal
133	247		appearances, district attorney protests and personal appearances,
134	248		and delegate recommendations and personal appearances on behalf of
135	249		the offender.
136		-	ENR. H. B. NO. 3918 Page 4
137	250		This summary shall be mad e available to the public through
138	251		publication on the website of the Pard on and Parole Board.
139		-
140	252		K. The Pardon and Parole Board shall provide a copy of their
141	253		regular docket and administrative parole docket to each district
142	254		attorney in this state at least twen ty (20) days before such docket
143	255		is considered by the Board, or in the ca se of a supplemental,
144	256		addendum or special docket, at least ten (10) days before such
145	257		docket is considered by the Board, and shall notify the district
146	258		attorney of any recommendations fo r commutations or paroles no later
147	259		than twenty (20) days after the docke t is considered by the Board.
148		-
149	260		L. The Pardon and Parole Board shall notify all victims or
150	261		representatives of the victim in writing at least twenty (20) days
151	262		before an inmate is conside red by the Board provided the Board has
152	263		received a request from the vict im or representatives of the victim
153	264		for notice. The Board shall provide all victims or representatives
154	265		of the victim with the date, time and place of the scheduled meeting
155	266		and rules for attendance and providing information or i nput to the
156	267		Board regarding the inmate or the crime. If requested by the victim
157	268		or representatives of the victim, the Board shall allow the victim
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158	296		or representatives of the victim to testify at the parole hearin g of
159	297		the inmate for at least five (5) minute s.
160		-
161	298		M. The Pardon and Parole Board shall notify all victims or
162	299		representatives of the victim in writing of the decision of the
163	300		Board no later than twenty (20) days after the inmate is considered
164	301		by the Board.
165		-
166	302		N. Any notice required to be provided to the victims or the
167	303		representatives of the victim shall be mailed by first-class mail to
168	304		the last-known address of the victim or representatives of the
169	305		victim. It is the responsibility of the victims or representative s
170	306		of the victim to provide the Pardon and Parole Board a current
171	307		mailing address. The victim-witness coordinator of the district
172	308		attorney shall assist the victims or representatives of the victim
173	309		with supplying their address to the Board if they wish to b e
174	310		notified. Upon failure of the Pardo n and Parole Board to notify a
175	311		victim who has requested notification and has provided a current
176	312		mailing address, the final decision of the Board may be voidable,
177	313		provided, the victim who failed to receive notification requests a
178	314		reconsideration hearing wit hin thirty (30) days of the
179	315		recommendation by the Board for parole. The Pardon and Parole Board
180	316		may reconsider previous action and may rescind a recommendation if
181		-	deemed appropriate as determined by the Board. ENR. H. B. NO. 3918 Page 5
182		-
	317	+	deemed appropriate as determined by the Board.
183	318		O. For purposes of this section, "victim" shall mean all
184	319		persons who have suff ered direct or threatened physical or emotional
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185	347		harm, or financial loss as the result of the commission or attempted
186	348		commission of criminally injurious conduct, and "representatives of
187	349		the victim" shall mean those perso ns who are members of the
188	350		immediate family of the victim, incl uding stepparents, stepbrothers,
189	351		stepsisters, and stepchildren.
190		-
191	352		P. All meetings of the Pardon and Parole Board shall comply
192	353		with Section 301 et seq. of Title 25 of the Oklahoma Statutes;
193	354		provided that the Board shall have the auth ority to limit the number
194	355		of persons attending in support of, or in opposition to, any inmate
195	356		being considered for parole and shall have the authority to exclude
196	357		persons from attendanc e in accordance with prison secu rity
197	358		regulations and the capacity of the meeting room. Persons e xcluded
198	359		from attending the meeting under this provision shall be informed of
199	360		their right to be informed of the vote of the Board in accordance
200	361		with Section 312 of Title 25 of the Oklahoma Sta tutes. Provided
201	362		further, nothing in thi s section shall be constr ued to prevent any
202	363		member of the press or any public official from attending any
203	364		meeting of the Pardon and Parole Board, except as provided by the
204	365		Oklahoma Open Meeting Act.
205		-
206	366		Q. All victim information maintained by the Departmen t of
207	367		Corrections and the Par don and Parole Board shall be confidential
208	368		and shall not be released.
209		-
210	369		R. When a commutation is granted or denied, the Secretary of
211	370		State shall give notice of that fact to the district attorney and
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212	398		clerk of the court i n the county where the sentence was originally
213	399		obtained within thirty (30) business days. Said notic e may be given
214	400		by either first-class mail or email. Upon receipt of said notice,
215	401		the clerk of the court shall file the not ice. The district attorney
216	402		shall confirm that the clerk of the court has filed said notice.
217	403		The notice shall include the following information:
218		-
219	404		1. The month and year in which the commutation was recommended
220	405		by the Pardon and Parole Board;
221		-
222	406		2. The decision of the Governor to grant or deny commutation;
223	407		and
224		-
225		-	3. If commutation is gran ted, the new term of sentence ,
226		-	including conditions th ereof, if any, for each charged count. ENR. H. B. NO. 3918 Page 6
227		-
	408	+	3. If commutation is granted, th e new term of sentence
	409	+	including conditions th ereof, if any, for each charged count.
228	410		S. The district attorney in the district where the sentence was
229	411		originally obtained shall ensure that all victims or r epresentatives
230	412		of the victim are given notice of the decision regarding
231	413		commutation.
232		-
233	414		SECTION 2. This act shall become effective November 1, 2022.
234		-	ENR. H. B. NO. 3918 Page 7
235		-	Passed the House of Representatives the 21st day of March, 2022.
236		-
237		-
238		-
239		-
240		-	Presiding Officer of the House
241		-	of Representatives
242		-
243		-
244		-	Passed the Senate the 27th day of April, 2022.
245		-
246		-
247		-
248		-
249		-	Presiding Officer of the Senate
250		-
251		-
252		-
253		-	OFFICE OF THE GOVERNOR
254		-	Received by the Office of the Governor this ____________________
255		-	day of ___________________, 20_______, at _______ o'clock _______ M.
256		-	By: _________________________________
257		-	Approved by the Governor of the State of Oklahoma this _____ ____
258		-	day of ___________________, 20_______, at _______ o'clock _______ M.
259		-
260		-
261		-	_________________________________
262		-	Governor of the State of Oklahoma
263		-
264		-	OFFICE OF THE SECRETARY OF STAT E
265		-	Received by the Office of the Secretary of State this __________
266		-	day of ___________________, 20_______, at _______ o'clock _______ M.
267		-	By: _________________________________
268		-
	415	+	COMMITTEE REPORT BY: COMMITTEE ON PUBLIC SAFETY
	416	+	April 11, 2022 - DO PASS