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ENGROSSED HOUSE
BILL NO. 1996 By: Turner of the House
and
Hamilton of the Senate
An Act relating to criminal procedure; amending 22
O.S. 2021, Section 1325, which relates to procedures
for disposing of unclaimed property; updating written
notice requirements; and providing an effective date.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF OKLAHOMA:
SECTION 1. AMENDATORY 22 O.S. 2021, Section 1325, is
amended to read as follows:
Section 1325. A. Any sheriff's office or campus police agency
as authorized under the Oklahoma Campus Security Act is authorized
to dispose of by public sale, destruction, donation, or transfer for
use to a governmental subdivision personal property which has come
into its possession, or depos it in a special fund, as hereafter
provided, all money or legal tender of the United States which has
come into its possession, whether the property or money be stolen,
embezzled, lost, abandoned or otherwise, the owner of the property
or money being unkno wn or not having claimed the same, and which the
sheriff or campus police agency has held for at least six (6)
months, and such property or money, or any part thereof, being no
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longer needed to be held as evidence or otherwise used in connection
with any litigation.
B. Where personal property held under the circumstances
provided in subsection A of this section is determined by the agency
having custody to be unsuitable for disposition by public sale due
to its condition or assessed by agency personnel as having limited
or no resale value, it may be destroyed, discarded as solid waste or
donated to a charitable organization designated by the U.S. Internal
Revenue Service as a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization. Where
disposition by destruction, discard, or d onation is made of personal
property, a report des cribing the property by category and quantity,
and indicating what disposition was made for each item or lot, shall
be submitted to the presiding judge of the district court within ten
(10) days following t he disposition.
C. Where disposition by public sale is appropriate, the
sheriff's office or campus police agency shall file an application
in the district court of its county requesting the authority of the
court to dispose of such personal property, and shall attach to the
application a list describing the property, including all
identifying numbers and marks, if any, the date the property came
into the possession of the sheriff's office or campus police agency
and the name and address of the owner, if kn own. The court shall
set the application for hearing not less than ten (10) days nor more
than twenty (20) days after filing.
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D. Written notice shall be given by the sheriff's office or
campus police agency of the hearing to each and every owner if known
and as set forth in the application by first -class mail, postage
prepaid, and directed to the last -known address of the owner at
least ten (10) days prior to the date of the hearing , unless the
personal property is held by the sheriff's office as inmate
commissary and is less than Fifty Dollars ($50.00) in which case
notice by first-class mail shall not be required . The notice shall
contain a brief description of the property of the owner and the
place and date of the hearing. In addition, notice Notice of the
hearing shall be posted in three public pla ces in the county, one
being the county courthouse at the regular place assigned for the
posting of legal notices or shall be published in a newspaper
authorized by law to publish legal notices in the count y in which
the property is located. If no newspaper authorized by law to
publish legal notices is published in such county, the notice shall
be published in a newspaper of general circulation which is
published in an adjoining county. The notice shall st ate the name
of the owner being notified by public ation and shall be published at
least ten (10) days prior to the date of the hearing.
E. At the hearing, if no owner appears and establishes
ownership to the property, the court shall enter an order
authorizing the sheriff's office or campus police agency to donate
property having a value of less than Five Hundred Dollars ($500.00)
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to a not-for-profit corporation as defined in Title 18 of the
Oklahoma Statutes or to sell the personal property to the highest
bidder for cash, after at least five (5) days of notice has been
given by publication in one issue of a legal newspaper of the
county. The sheriff's office or campus police agency shall make a
return of the donation or sale and, when confirmed by the cou rt, the
order confirming the donation or sale shall vest in the recipient or
purchaser title to the property so donated or purchased.
F. A sheriff's office having in its possession money or legal
tender under the circumstances provided in subsection A of this
section, prior to appropriating the same for deposit into a special
fund, shall file an application in the district court of its county
requesting the court to enter an order authorizing it to so
appropriate the money for deposit in the special fund. The
application shall describe the money or legal tender, together with
serial numbers, if any, the date the same came into the possession
of the sheriff's office or campus police agency, and the name and
address of the owner, if known. Upon filing, the application, which
may be joined with an applicati on as described in subsection C of
this section, shall be set for hearing not less than ten (10) days
nor more than twenty (20) days from the filing thereof, and notice
of the hearing shall be given as prov ided in subsection D of this
section. The notice shall state that, upon no one appearing to
prove ownership to the money or legal tender, the same will be
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ordered by the court to be deposited in the special fund by the
sheriff's office or campus police ag ency. The notice may be
combined with a notice to sell personal property as set forth in
subsection D of this section. At the hearing, if no one appears to
claim and prove ownership to the money or legal tender, the court
shall order the same to be depos ited by the sheriff's office or
campus police agency in the special fund, as provided in subsection
H of this section.
G. Where a sheriff's office or campus police agency has in its
possession under the circumstances provided in subsection A of this
section, personal property deemed to have potential uti lity to that
sheriff's office, campus police agency or another governmental
subdivision, prior to appropriating the personal property for use,
the sheriff's office or campus police agency shall file an
application in the district court requesting the court to enter an
order authorizing it to so appropriate or transfer the property for
use. The application shall describe the property, together with
serial numbers, if any, the date the property came into the
possession of the sheriff's office or campus polic e agency and the
name and address of the owner, if known. Upon filing, the
application, which may be joined with an application as described in
subsection C of this section, shall be set for hearing not le ss than
ten (10) days nor more than twenty (20) days from the filing
thereof. Notice of the hearing shall be given as provided in
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subsection D of this section. The notice shall state that, upon no
one appearing to prove ownership to the personal property , the
property will be ordered by the court to be delivered for use by the
sheriff's office or campus police agency or its authorizing
institution or transferred to another governmental subdivision for
its use. The notice may be combined with a notice to sell personal
property as set forth in subsection D of this section. At the
hearing, if no one appears to claim and prove ownership to the
personal property, the court shall order the property to be
available for use by the sheriff's office or campus poli ce agency or
delivered to an appropriate person fo r use by the authorizing
institution or another governmental subdivision.
H. The money received from the sale of personal property as
above provided, after payment of the court costs and other expenses,
if any, together with all money in possession of the sheriff's
office or campus police agency, which has been ordered by the court
to be deposited in the special fund, shall be deposited in such fund
which shall be separately maintained by the sheriff's offi ce in a
special fund with the county treasurer or campus police agency to be
expended upon the approval of the sheriff or head of the campus
police agency for the purchase of equipment, materials or supplies
that may be used in crime prevention, education, training or
programming. The fund or any portion of it may be expended in
paying the expenses of the sheriff or any duly authorized deputy or
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employee of the campus police agency to attend law enforcement or
public safety training courses which are condu cted by the Oklahoma
Council on Law Enforcement Ed ucation and Training (CLEET) or other
certified trainers, providers, or agencies.
I. The disposition of biological evidence, as defined by
Section 1372 of this title, shall be governed by the provisions se t
forth in Section 1372 of this title.
SECTION 2. This act shall become effective November 1, 2025.
Passed the House of Representatives the 11th day of March, 2025.
Presiding Officer of the House
of Representatives
Passed the Senate the ____ day of __________, 2025.
Presiding Officer of the Senate