Oklahoma 2024 Regular Session

Oklahoma House Bill HB2739 Compare Versions

Version 1 (Old)

Version 2 (New)

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3		-	ENGR. H. B. NO. 2739 Page 1 1
	3	+	HB2739 HFLR Page 1
	4	+	BOLD FACE denotes Committee Amendments. 1
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28		-	ENGROSSED HOUSE
29		-	BILL NO. 2739 By: Duel of the House
	29	+	HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES - FLOOR VERSION
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31		-	~~and~~
	31	+	STATE OF OKLAHOMA
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33		-	Montgomery of the Senate
	33	+	1st Session of the 59th Legislature (2023)
	34	+
	35	+	HOUSE BILL 2739 By: Duel
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	41	+	AS INTRODUCED
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40	43		An Act relating to criminal procedure; am ending 22
41	44		O.S. 2021, Section 60.18, which relates to the
42	45		expungement of victim protective orders; expanding
43	46		eligibility requirements for the expungement of
44	47		victim protective orders; and providing an effective
45	48		date.
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50	53		BE IT ENACTED BY THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF OKLAHOMA:
51	54		SECTION 1. AMENDATORY 22 O.S. 2021, Section 60.1 8, is
52	55		amended to read as follows:
53	56		Section 60.18. A. Persons authorized to file a motion for
54	57		expungement of victim protective orders (VPOs) issued pursuant to
55	58		the Protection from Domestic Abuse Act in this state m ust be within
56	59		one of the following cat egories:
57	60		1. An ex parte order was issued to the plaintiff but later
58	61		terminated due to dismissal of the petition before the full hearing,
59	62		or denial of the petition upon full hearing, or failure of the
60	63		plaintiff to appear for full hearing, and at least nine ty (90) days
61	64		have passed since the date set for full hearing;
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63		-	ENGR. H. B. NO. 2739 Page 2 1
	66	+	HB2739 HFLR Page 2
	67	+	BOLD FACE denotes Committee Amendments. 1
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88	92		2. The plaintiff filed an application for a victim protective
89	93		order and failed to appear for the full hearing and at least ninety
90	94		(90) days have passed sin ce the date last set by the court for the
91	95		full hearing, including the last date set for any continuance,
92	96		postponement or rescheduling of the hearing;
93	97		3. The plaintiff or defendant has had the order vacated and
94	98		three (3) years have passed since the order t o vacate was entered;
95	99		or
96	100		4. The victim protective order has expired and the defendant
97	101		has not had a subsequent victim protective order issued, the
98	102		defendant has not been convicted of a felony offense, no felony or
99	103		misdemeanor charges are pending against the defendant, and at least
100	104		five (5) years have passed since the victim protective order
101	105		expired; or
102	106		5. The plaintiff or defendant is deceased.
103	107		B. For purposes of this section:
104	108		1. "Expungement" means the sealing of victim protective order
105	109		(VPO) court records from public inspection, but not from law
106	110		enforcement agencies, the court or the district attorney;
107	111		2. "Plaintiff" means the person or persons who sought the
108	112		original victim protective order (VPO) for cause; and
109	113		3. "Defendant" means the person or per sons to whom the victim
110	114		protective order (VPO) was directed.
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112		-	ENGR. H. B. NO. 2739 Page 3 1
	116	+	HB2739 HFLR Page 3
	117	+	BOLD FACE denotes Committee Amendments. 1
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137	142		C. 1. Any person qualified under subsection A of t his section
138	143		may petition the district court of the district in which the
139	144		protective order pertaining to the person is located for the
140	145		expungement and sealing of the court records from p ublic inspection.
141	146		The face of the petition shall state whether the def endant in the
142	147		protective order has been convicted of any violation of the
143	148		protective order and whether any prosecution or complaint is pending
144	149		in this state or any other state for a vio lation or alleged
145	150		violation of the protective order that is sought to b e expunged.
146	151		The petition shall further state the authority pursuant to
147	152		subsection A of this section for eligibility for requesting the
148	153		expungement. The other party to the protective o rder shall be
149	154		mailed a copy of the petition by certified mail within te n (10) days
150	155		of filing the petition. A written answer or objection may be filed
151	156		within thirty (30) days of receiving the notice and petition.
152	157		2. Upon the filing of a petition, the cour t shall set a date
153	158		for a hearing and shall provide at least a thirty -day notice of the
154	159		hearing to all parties to the protective order, the district
155	160		attorney, and any other person or agency whom the court has reason
156	161		to believe may have relevant information related to the sealing of
157	162		the victim protective order (VPO) court recor d.
158	163		3. Without objection from the other party to the victim
159	164		protective order (VPO) or upon a finding that the harm to the
160	165		privacy of the person in interest or dangers of unwarranted adv erse
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162		-	ENGR. H. B. NO. 2739 Page 4 1
	167	+	HB2739 HFLR Page 4
	168	+	BOLD FACE denotes Committee Amendments. 1
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187	193		consequences outweigh the public and safety interests of the parti es
188	194		to the protective order in retaining the records, the court may
189	195		order the court record, or any part thereof, to be sealed from
190	196		public inspection. Any order entered pursuant to this section shall
191	197		not limit or restrict any law enforcement agency, the dis trict
192	198		attorney or the court from accessing said records without the
193	199		necessity of a court order. Any order entered pursuant to this
194	200		subsection may be appealed by any party to the protec tive order or
195	201		by the district attorney to the Oklahoma Supreme Court in accordance
196	202		with the rules of the Oklahoma Supreme Court.
197	203		4. Upon the entry of an order to expunge and seal from public
198	204		inspection a victim pr otective order (VPO) court record, or any part
199	205		thereof, the subject official actions shall be deemed never to hav e
200	206		occurred, and the persons in interest and the public may properly
201	207		reply, upon any inquiry in the matter, that no such action ever
202	208		occurred and that no such record exists with respect to the persons.
203	209		5. Inspection of the protective order court records in cluded in
204	210		the expungement order issued pursuant to this section may thereafter
205	211		be permitted only upon petition by the persons in interest who a re
206	212		the subjects of the records, or without petition by the district
207	213		attorney or a law enforcement agency in the d ue course of
208	214		investigation of a crime.
209	215		6. Employers, educational institutions, state and local
210	216		government agencies, officials, and employees s hall not require, in
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212		-	ENGR. H. B. NO. 2739 Page 5 1
	218	+	HB2739 HFLR Page 5
	219	+	BOLD FACE denotes Committee Amendments. 1
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237	244		any application or in terview or otherwise, an applicant to disclose
238	245		any information containe d in sealed protective order court records.
239	246		An applicant need not, in answer to any question concerning the
240	247		records, provide information that has been sealed, including any
241	248		reference to or information concerning the sealed information and
242	249		may state that no such action has ever occurred. The application
243	250		may not be denied solely because of the refusal of the applicant to
244	251		disclose protective order court records information that has been
245	252		sealed.
246	253		7. The provisions of this section shall apply to all protective
247	254		order court records existing in the district courts of this state
248	255		on, before and after the effective date of this section.
249	256		8. Nothing in this section shall be construed to authorize t he
250	257		physical destruction of any court records, except as otherwise
251	258		provided by law for records no longer required to be maintained by
252	259		the court.
253	260		9. For the purposes of this section, sealed materials which are
254	261		recorded in the same document as unsealed mater ial may be recorded
255	262		in a separate document, and sealed, then obliterate d in the original
256	263		document.
257	264		10. For the purposes of this act, district court index
258	265		reference of sealed material shall be destroyed, removed or
259	266		obliterated.
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261		-	ENGR. H. B. NO. 2739 Page 6 1
	268	+	HB2739 HFLR Page 6
	269	+	BOLD FACE denotes Committee Amendments. 1
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286	294		11. Any record ordered to b e sealed pursuant to this section
287	295		may be obliterated or destroyed at th e end of the ten-year period.
288	296		12. Nothing herein shall prohibit the introduction of evidence
289	297		regarding actions sealed pursuant to the provisio ns of this section
290	298		at any hearing or trial for purposes of impeaching the credibility
291	299		of a witness or as evidence of character testimony pursuant to
292	300		Section 2608 of Title 12 of the Oklahoma Statutes.
293	301		SECTION 2. This act shall become effective November 1, 2023.
294		-	Passed the House of Representative s the 14th day of March, 2023.
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299		-	Presiding Officer of the House
300		-	of Representatives
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304		-	Passed the Senate the ___ day of __________, 2023.
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309		-	Presiding Officer of the Senate
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	303	+	COMMITTEE REPORT BY: COMMITTEE ON JUDICIARY - CRIMINAL, dated
	304	+	02/22/2023 - DO PASS.