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STATE OF OKLAHOMA
1st Session of the 59th Legislature (2023)
HOUSE BILL 2649 By: Steagall
AS INTRODUCED
An Act relating to community sentencing; amending 22
O.S. 2021, Sections 988.2, as amended by Section 1,
Chapter 55, O.S.L. 2022 , 988.3, 988.6, 988.7 and
988.18 (22 O.S. Supp. 2022, Section 988.2), which
relate to the Oklahoma Community Sentencing Act;
changing scope of certain definition; expanding
purpose of the Oklahoma Community Sentencing Act;
clarifying duties of the community sentencing
planning council; changing type of information to be
collected in each jurisdiction; expanding pool of
offenders that may be eligible for community
punishment; clarifying funding requirement for
certain disciplinary sanctions; and providing an
effective date.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF OKLAHOMA:
SECTION 1. AMENDATORY 22 O.S. 2021, Section 988.2, as
amended by Section 1, Chapter 55, O.S.L. 2022 (22 O.S. Supp. 2022,
Section 988.2), is amended to read as follows:
Section 988.2 A. For purposes of the Oklahoma Community
Sentencing Act:
1. "Local community sentencing system " means the use of public
and private entities to deliver services to the sentencing court for
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punishment of eligible felony offenders under the authority of a
community sentence;
2. "Community sentence" or "community punishment" means a
punishment imposed b y the court as a condition of a deferred or
suspended sentence for an eligible offender;
3. "Continuum of sanctions" means a variety of coercive
measures ranked by degrees of public safety, punitive effect, and
cost benefit which are available to the sen tencing judge as
punishment for criminal conduct;
4. "Community sentencing system planning council " or "planning
council" means a group of citizens an d elected officials sp ecified
by law or appointed by the Chief Judge of the Judicial District
which plans the local community sentencing system and with the
assistance of the Community Sentencing Division of the Department of
Corrections locates treatment providers and resource s to support the
local community sentencing sys tem;
5. "Incentive" means a court-ordered reduction in the terms or
conditions of a community sentence which is given for exceptional
performance or progress by t he offender;
6. "Disciplinary sanction" means a court-ordered punishment in
response to a technical or noncompliance violatio n of a community
sentence which increases in intensity or duration with each
successive violation;
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7. "Division" means the Community Sentencing Division within
the Department of Corrections which is the state administratio n
agency for the Oklahoma Commun ity Sentencing Act, the statewide
community sentencing system, and all local community sentencing
systems;
8. "Eligible offender" means an offender who has been convicted
of or who has entered a plea other than not guilty to a crime and
who upon completion of a risk and needs assessment has been found to
be in a range other than the low range and wh o is not otherwise
prohibited by law, or is a person who has had an assessment
authorized by Section 3-704 of Title 43A of the Oklahoma Statutes
and the assessment recommends community sentencing . Provided,
however, that no person who has been convicted o f or who has entered
a plea other than not guilty to an offense enu merated in paragraph 2
of Section 571 of Title 57 of the Oklahoma Statutes, as an exception
to the definition of "nonviolent offense", shall be eligible for a
community sentence or communit y punishment unless the district
attorney or an assistant district attorney for the district in which
the offender's conviction was obtained consents thereto . The
district attorney may consent to eligibility for an offender who has
a mental illness or a d evelopmental disability or a co-occurring
mental illness and substa nce abuse disorder and who scores in the
low range on the risk and needs assessment authoriz ed by Section 3-
704 of Title 43A of the Oklahoma Statutes or another assessment
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instrument if the offender is not otherwise prohibited by law. Any
consent by a district attorney shall be made a part of the record of
the case; and
9. "Statewide community sentencing system" means a network of
all counties through their respective local community sente ncing
systems serving the state judicial system and offering suppor t
services to each other through reciprocal and interlocal agreements
and interagency coope ration.
B. For the purposes of the Oklahoma Community Sentencing Act,
if a judicial district does not have a Chief Judge or if a judicial
district has more than one Chief Judge, the duties of the Chief
Judge provided for in the Oklahoma Community Sentenc ing Act shall be
performed by the Presiding Judge of the Judicial Administrative
District.
SECTION 2. AMENDATORY 22 O.S. 2021, Section 988.3, is
amended to read as follows:
Section 988.3 The purposes of the Oklahoma Community Sentencing
Act are to:
1. Protect the public;
2. Establish a statewide community sentencing system;
3. Adequately supervise felony offenders punished under a
court-ordered community sentence;
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4. Provide a series of sanctions to the court for eligible
felony offenders sentenced to a community sentence within the
community sentencing system;
5. Increase the availability of punishment and t reatment
programs to eligible felony offenders;
6. Improve the criminal justice system within this state
through public/private partnerships, reciprocal and interlocal
governmental agreements, and interagency cooperation and
collaboration; and
7. Operate effectively within the allocation of state and local
resources for the criminal justice system.
SECTION 3. AMENDATORY 22 O.S. 2021, Section 98 8.6, is
amended to read as follows:
Section 988.6 A. Each community sentencing planni ng council
shall:
1. Plan the local community s entencing system within allocated
funds and other available resources according to the provisions of
the law and with the assistance of the Community Sentencing Division
of the Department of Corrections;
2. Promulgate rules for functioning of the planning council
which are consistent with the provisions of this act;
3. Prepare a detailed plan within the provisions of law and
rule each fiscal year with an accompanying budget for the local
community sentencing system;
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4. Identify local resources by type, c ost and location which
are available to serve the court for eligible felony offenders
sentenced to the community;
5. Identify qualified service providers to deliver services to
the court for eligible felony offenders sentenced to the community;
6. Assist in monitoring the sentencing practices of the court
to ensure the local community sentencing system functions within th e
allocation of resources and according to the provisions of this act;
7. Assist in preparing information necessary for qualified
services to support the local community sentencing system plan as
provided in Section 988.7 of this title;
8. Identify and advocate the use of interlocal governmental
agreements for qualified services where servi ces are not available
within the jurisdiction or where services may be delivered in a more
cost-effective manner by another jurisdiction;
9. Form multicounty systems a s may be necessary to conserve
state or local resources or to implement an appropriate r ange of
services to the court;
10. Review and recommend services for cost -effectiveness and
performance-based evaluation;
11. Identify various sources of funding and resources for the
local community sentencing system including a variety of free
services available to the court;
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12. Assist in developi ng public/private partnerships in the
local jurisdiction, reciprocal agreements, and interagency
cooperation and collabo ration to provide appropriate services and
support to the system; and
13. Assist in promoting local involvement and support for the
provisions of the Oklahoma Community Sentencing Act.
B. Each community sentencing planning council may employ a
local director and other personnel to perform the duties of the
local community sentencing system, subject to the availability of
funds. Such council may contract with a county to provide benefits
and payroll services to such personnel.
SECTION 4. AMENDATORY 22 O.S. 2021, Section 988.7, is
amended to read as follows:
Section 988.7 A. A detailed plan for each local co mmunity
sentencing system seeking state funds shall be submitted each fiscal
year to the Community Sentencing Division within the Department of
Corrections pursuant to the rules promulgat ed for such purpose. The
designated judge of the planning council sh all review the range of
services proposed in the plan and declare in writing whether the
proposed services meet the needs of the court for purposes of
sentencing pursuant to the authority of the Oklahoma Communit y
Sentencing Act. The judge shall forward t he plan to the Division
for state review and appropriate funding. A plan that conforms with
the purposes and goals of the Oklahoma Community Sentencing Act
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shall not be modified or disap proved except when the pl an requires
more funding than is available t o the local system. Each local
community sentencing system plan shall include, but not be limited
to, the following goals:
1. Identification of existing resources, including cash,
professional services, in -kind resources, property, or other sources
of resources;
2. Identification of additional resources needed, identified by
type and amount;
3. Projected number of offenders to be served by each provider
and the projected total number o f offenders to be served by the
local system;
4. Types and priority groups of offenders to be served for
purposes of budgeting and targeting specific use of selected service
providers;
5. Identification of sentencing practices used for disciplinary
sanctions for noncriminal cond uct against participating offenders
and applicable costs;
6. Identification of local policy statements;
7. Methods for allocating resources to support the services
included in the plan;
8. Identification and evaluation of local record keeping and
needs for audits or reviews;
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9. Identification of any special administrative structure of
the local system and list of specific service providers
participating in the system, including detailed qualifications of
staff and program admini strators; and
10. Description and evaluation of the extent of commun ity
participation and support for the local system.
B. A community sentencing system shall be operational when the
plan is accepted by the Community Sentencing Division or is
receiving funding. The Division, up on receipt of a proposed local
system plan for conformance with the purpose and goals of the
Oklahoma Community Sentencing Act , shall have not more than forty -
five (45) days to evaluate the plan and to notify the planning
council of any recommended modific ation. The Division shall notify
the chair of each local community sentencing system of its allocated
budget by June 15. Based on the funding allocation, the local
community sentencing system shall submit its budget to the Divisi on
prior to finalizing pr ovider service agreements for the fiscal yea r.
The Division shall not restrict by rule or practice the plan of any
local system or determine what constitutes treatment or necessary
services if the treatment or services comply with the purposes and
goals of the Oklahoma Community Sentencing Act, unl ess there is a
demonstrated deficiency or poor program evaluation.
C. A local administrator as provided in Section 988.13 of this
title shall assist the local planning council in gatheri ng and
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keeping accurate information about the jurisdiction to support the
planning process. For the previous two (2) years, the information
pertaining to the jurisdiction may include, but not be limited to:
1. The number and rate of arrests, number of felony
convictions, admissi ons to probation, number of offenders senten ced
to post-imprisonment supervision, number of offenders sentenced to
county jail, average length of sentence served in county jail,
number of offenders sentenced to the custody of the D epartment of
Corrections, and average length of sentence served in th e custody of
the Department of Corrections;
2. Current jail capacity, and jail population data by offender -
type including, but not limited to, misdemeanor, felony, trusty,
post-trial detainee, pretrial detainee, disciplinary sanction or
juvenile;
3. A listing of services and programs available in the
community, including costs, space availability, the number of
offenders participating, the average length of participation and
performance-based data;
4. Range of community punishments previously used by the courts
for offenders within the jurisdiction, including methods and use of
disciplinary sanctions for noncriminal behavior of offenders
sentenced to community punishment and use of incen tives;
5. A listing of educational, vocational -technical, health,
mental health, substance abuse treatment, medical, and social
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services available to offenders or to be made available within a
twelve-month period;
6. Restrictive residential facilities or other restrictive
housing options available or to be made available within a twelve-
month period; and
7. Approved local system plans and budgets.
SECTION 5. AMENDATORY 22 O.S. 2021, Section 988.18, is
amended to read as follows:
Section 988.18 A. On and after March 1, 2000, for each felony
offender considered for any community punishment pursuant to the
Oklahoma Community Sentencing Act, the judge shall, prior to
sentencing, order an assessment and evaluation of the defendant as
required by law. The j udge may determine that no additional
assessment is required if one was completed within the last six (6)
months.
B. The risk and needs assessment and evaluation instrument
designed to predict risk to recidivate approved by the Department of
Corrections, shall be required to determine eligibility for a ny
offender sentenced pursuant to the Oklahoma Community Sentencing
Act. The completed assessment accompanied by a written super vision
plan shall be presented to and reviewed by the court prior to
determining any punishment for the offense. The purpose o f the
assessment shall be to identify the extent of the deficiencies and
pro-social needs of the defendant, the potential risk to commit
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additional offenses that threaten public safety, and the
appropriateness of various community punishments.
C. Upon order of the court, the defendant shall be required to
submit to the risk and needs assessment which shall be administered
and scored by an appropriately trained person pursuant to a service
agreement with the l ocal community sentencing system. Any defendant
lacking sufficient skills to comprehend or otherwise participate in
the assessment and evaluation shall have appropriate assista nce. If
it is determined that the offender cannot be adequately evaluated
using the risk and needs assessment, the offender sh all be deemed
ineligible for any community services pursuant to the Oklahoma
Community Sentencing Act, and shall be sentenced as prescribed by
law for the offense.
D. The willful failure or refusal of the de fendant to be
assessed and evaluated by using th e risk and needs assessment shall
preclude the defendant from eligibility for any community
punishment.
E. The completed risk an d needs assessment, shall include a
written supervision plan and identify an ap propriate community
punishment, if any, when the offender is considered eligible for
community punishments based upon the completed risk/need score from
the risk and needs asses sment of the offender. Unless otherwise
prohibited by law, only eligible offen ders, as defined in Section
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988.2 of this title, shall be eligible for any state -funded
community punishments.
F. The court is not required to sentence any offender to a
community punishment regardless of an eligible score on the risk and
needs assessment. Any felony offender scoring in the low risk/n eed
levels on the risk and needs assessment may be sentenced to a
suspended sentence with minimal, if any, conditions of the sent ence
to be paid by the offender. If the risk and needs assessment has
been conducted, the evaluation report shall accompany th e judgment
and sentence, provided the risk and needs assessment indicates the
offender is in need of this level of supervision an d treatment.
SECTION 6. AMENDATORY 57 O.S. 2021, Sect ion 38.1, is
amended to read as follows:
Section 38.1 In jurisdictions wher e the local community
sentencing system is receiving state funds, the state shall provide
funding for county jail incarceration for disciplinary sanct ions for
eligible felony offenders pursuant to the provisions of the Oklahoma
Community Sentencing Act at a rate of Twenty-four Dollars ($24.00)
per day per person imprisoned for a maximum term as provided by law.
SECTION 7. This act shall become effective November 1, 2023.
59-1-6137 GRS 12/28/22