2018 Session In Review - Oklahoma House Of Representatives

substance. Existing law provides thata person may be sentenced to a termof not less than five years nor morethan life in prison. For a Schedule Ior II drug, the bill removes the abilityof the court to impose a life sentenceand provides that a person maybe sentenced to up to seven yearsimprisonment for transporting orpossessing with intent to distribute.A person convicted of a second offensemay be sentenced for up to 14 years.A third or subsequent conviction canresult in a sentence of up to 20 years.For a Schedule III, IV, V drug ormarijuana, a person may be sentencedfor up to five years. The punishmentfor manufacturing a controlleddangerous substance is imprisonmentfor not more than 10 years. A secondmanufacturing conviction can resultin a term of between 2 to 20 yearsand a third offense may result insentence of not less than 10 years toa life sentence. Finally, the measuremodifies penalties for drug traffickingby removing life without parole as asentencing option.SB 1098 creates the CriminalJustice Reclassification CoordinationCouncil. The 22-member council is torecommend to the Legislature: The classification of all feloniesinto appropriate categories; Appropriate sentence lengths foreach class of felonies; Appropriate enhanced sentencesfor crimes committed after priorconvictions; and Other appropriate changes toimprove the criminal justicesystem in Oklahoma and ensurethe public safety of its citizens.The council is to submit a reportannually by December 31 each year.HB 2281 contains modificationsrelating to certain criminal offenses.The bill creates threshold amountsfor the crimes of unlawful deliveryof goods, embezzlement, falsepersonation, obtaining property bytrick or deception, bogus checks,forged instruments or coins, larcenyof lost property, receipt of stolengoods, theft of aircraft, automobileor construction equipment, larceny ofmerchandise held for sale in retail andfalse representation to a pawnbroker.The measure also creates graduatedpenalties based upon the value of theproperty, and establishes the theftof a firearm as a felony. To addressbusiness owner concerns, if three ormore larceny offenses are committedwithin a 90-day period, the value ofthe property may be aggregated todetermine the total value. Further,the measure modifies the punishmentfor possession of a vehicle withoutconsent by allowing a term ofimprisonment of up to two yearsand provides that the possession ofan implement of husbandry withoutconsent is a felony punishable byimprisonment of up to five years andup to a 5,000 fine.HB 2286 creates a streamlinedadministrativeparoleandacomprehensive aging and medicalparole.TheDepartmentofCorrections (DOC) can submit to thePardon and Parole Board the nameof any person who has served onefourth of the sentence or consecutivesentences imposed. Persons servinga life without parole sentence, an 85percent sentence, or a sentence fora violent crime are not eligible foradministrative parole.The Pardon and Parole Board is togrant administrative parole if: The person has substantiallycomplied with their case plan; The victim or district attorneyhas not submitted an objection; The person has not received aprimary class X infraction withintwo years of the parole eligibilitydate; The person has not received asecondary class X infractionwithin one year of the paroleeligibility date; and The person has not received aclass A infraction within sixmonths of the parole eligibilitydate.Criminal Justice 4Upon receiving administrative parole,the offender is to be supervised andmanaged by the DOC and is subjectto all rules and regulations of parole.Further, the Pardon and Parole Boardis authorized to parole offenders whoare 60 years of age or older who haveserved the shorter of 10 years of theterm of imprisonment, or one-thirdof their total sentence. Offendersconvicted of a violent offense, a sexoffense, or an 85 percent offense arenot eligible.SB 185 requires each member ofthe Pardon and Parole Board tocomplete annual training basedon guidance from organizationsthat provide training and technicalassistance related to the probationand parole process. The annualtraining curriculum is to includeidentifying,understandingandtargeting criminogenic needs, theprinciples of effective intervention,core correctional practices and howto support and encourage offenderbehavior change. The measure alsorequires at least two of the membersthe Pardon and Parole Board havefive years of training or experiencein mental health services, substanceabuse services or social work.SB 340 provides that if a defendantis without means to pay fines or costs,and no undue hardship would result,the municipal judge may direct thedefendant to perform communityservice at a rate of not less than thecurrent federal minimum wage.To provide fair access to publicdefenders, SB 1021 deletes languagethat creates a rebuttable presumptionthat any defendant who is able topost bail is not indigent and thereforeineligible for the appointment ofan indigent defender. Instead,the measure directs the court toconsider the ability to post bail asone factor in determining whether ornot the defendant is eligible for theappointment of an indigent defender.SB 363 authorizes special judgesto release offenders not eligible forpretrial release under conditionsprescribed by the judge.

HB 1124 expands the scope ofthe zone of safety restrictions andresidency restrictions that are appliedto persons subject to the provisions ofthe Sex Offender Registration Act toinclude the residence of the victim.The person subject to the restrictionsis prohibited from loitering within1,000 feet of the residence of thevictim.HB 2881 modifies the eligibilityrequirements for drug court byallowing for a review to determine ifan offender is eligible for drug courtat any time prior to disposition of thecase and sentencing of the offender,including sentencing on a petition torevoke a suspended sentence or anyprobation violation. The measureprovides that a person having beenadmitted to a drug court programwithin the previous five years doesnot make the offender ineligiblefor consideration for the program.Finally, a drug court investigation isto be conducted prior to the hearingfor final determination of eligibilityfor the drug court program.HB 3260 modifies the crime ofstalking by adding a definition ofthe word following to include thetracking of the movement or locationof an individual through the use ofa global positioning system (GPS)device or other monitoring device,without the consent of the individualwhose movement or location is beingtracked. The measure exemptsthe lawful use of a GPS device orother monitoring device by a lawenforcement agency or the parent ofa minor child.HB 3283 requires the OklahomaDepartment of Mental Health andSubstance Abuse Services to providecompetencyrestorationservicesfor death row defendants who arefound insane because of a mentalillness that causes the person to bepresently unable to have a rationalunderstanding as to why the personis being executed. The services areto be provided where the defendantis currently incarcerated. Thedepartment may designate a willingentity to provide such restorationservices, provided the entity hasqualified personnel.HB 3330 adds family child carehome, as that term is defined in theOklahoma Child Care FacilitiesLicensing Act, to the list of locationsfor which it is unlawful for aperson subject to the registrationrequirements of the Oklahoma SexOffender Registration Act to residewithin a 2,000-foot radius.HB 3370 modifies the fine for thecrime of trespass on private landdevoted to farming, ranching orforestry purposes. The measure setsthe fine for a first offense as not lessthan 750 nor more than 2,000. Themeasure also modifies the fine forthe crime of trespass with intent tocommit waste, theft, or damage bysetting the fine at not less than 1,000for first offense. The fine for personsconvicted of a second or subsequentoffense is set at not less than 2,500.SB 1005 requires any peace officeror employee of a district court,juvenile bureau or Office of JuvenileAffairs who has reasonable suspicionthat a minor may be a victim ofhuman trafficking and is in needof immediate protection to assumeprotective custody over the minor andimmediately notify the Departmentof Human Services. The measuremodifies the definitions of forciblesodomy and rape by providing thatit is a violation of these acts whencommitted on a person who is at least16 years of age but less than 18 yearsof age by a person responsible for thechild’s health, safety or welfare. Themeasure modifies the crime of lewdmolestation by providing that it is acriminal act to force or require a childto defecate or urinate upon the bodyor private parts of another, or forthe purpose of sexual gratification.The measure provides that anyparent or person responsible for thechild’s health, safety or welfare whocommits lewd molestation when thevictim is at least 16 years of age butless than 18 years of age is guilty ofa felony subject to not more than 10years imprisonment.Criminal Justice 5SB 1251 provides that a bond is to beexonerated by operation of law in anycase in which the defendant has beenarrested on new charges in the samejurisdiction in which the bondsmanor insurer has posted the appearancebond or bonds for the defendant, andthe defendant has been subsequentlyreleased on his or her own personalrecognizance. Bond is also to beexonerated by operation of law inany case in which there is an addedcharge to a case that would result in ahigher fine or longer term of sentenceif convicted, or an amendment to acharge that would result in a higherfine or longer term of sentence ifconvicted.SB 1346 requires the court records ofjudgment to include the month andyear of the defendant’s birth date onthe copy of the judgment. Currentlaw requires only the year of thedefendant’s birth to be included.AlcoholLegislation this session focused onadapting state law in anticipationof previously enacted legislation tomodernize Oklahoma’s liquor lawsthat took effect on October 1, 2018.SB 1173 establishes the regulatoryframework to comply with alcoholmodernization brought about by theapproval of State Question 792 in2016. The measure authorizes wineand spirits wholesalers who havebeen designated by a manufactureras a distributor of its wine or spiritsto post those products by line-item;allows a bonded warehouse licenseto receive and store nonalcoholicbeverages; allows an applicant fora retail wine or retail beer licenseto maintain a separate mixedbeverage, caterer, mixed beverage/caterer combination license, or anon-premise beer and wine license, ifthe retail wine or retail beer license isnot situated within or adjacent to thesame physical space where the onpremises license is maintained. Toassist the Alcoholic Beverage LawsEnforcement (ABLE) Commission inperforming the expected increasedduties, 5 of every employee license

fee is to be deposited in the AlcoholicBeverage Governance RevolvingFund.SB 1332 provides that thoseestablishments licensed prior toOctober 1, 2018, to sell low-pointbeer, and were permitted to belocated within 300 feet of any schoolor church property, will be allowed tooperate with any license in effect onOctober 1, 2018.SB 1336 modifies the hours duringwhich alcoholic beverages may be soldby prohibiting the sale of alcoholicbeverages between 2 a.m. and 8 a.m.Municipalities may enact ordinancesrequiring such premises to be closedto the public between the hours of 2a.m. and 6 a.m.SB 1498 requires the AlcoholicBeverage Laws Enforcement (ABLE)Commission to mail a notice ofapplication for a license to sellalcohol to the chief of police of acity or town. The measure providesthat any political subdivision that isentitled to notice of an application fora license be considered an interestedparty to the proceeding and is givennotice of any issuance of license andmay appeal the issuance of a license.SB 1570 authorizes counties to levyan annual occupational tax for theprivilege of operating as a retailer ofalcoholic beverages.SB 1333 modifies the definitionof small brewer to mean a brewerwho manufactures less than 65,000barrels of beer annually.SB 1334 provides that applicantsfor an employee license under theprovisions of the Oklahoma AlcoholicBeverage Control Act must completea training program not later than 14days after initial licensure.SB 1337 allows the holder of a distillerlicense to sell spirits produced by thelicensee for either on-premises or offpremises consumption to consumerson the distillery premises and atpublic events such as trade shows orfestivals.SB 1338 authorizes the holder ofa brewer license to purchase winein retail containers from the holderof a wholesaler license and to sell,offer for sale and possess wine foron-premisesconsumption.Thebill also authorizes the holder of awinemaker license to purchase beerin retail containers from the holder ofa wholesaler, beer distributor, smallbrewer self-distributor or brewpubself-distributor license and to sell,offer for sale and possess beer for onpremises consumption.SB 1395 provides that if a licenseddistributor possesses inventory of abrand that it is no longer authorizedto distribute within this state, theinventory is to be sold to a licenseddistributor authorized to distributethe brand, at a price not to exceed thetotal of the actual purchase price ofthe selling distributor plus the costof inbound and outbound shipping tothe purchasing distributor.SB 1499 provides that an employeelicense may be issued and held by aperson who has been convicted of afelony if such conviction was not aviolent crime or a crime set forth inthe Alcoholic Beverages code, andif the conviction was more than fiveyears prior to the issuance of thelicense.SB 1537 makes several modificationsto the self-distribution license byexpanding the authority of holders ofa winemaker self-distribution licenseto distribute its product to otherlicensees. The measure removes aprohibition on direct wine shipperpermit holders from shipping intothe state wine otherwise availablein Oklahoma. The measure requiresexpress companies and contractcarriers who deliver wine intoOklahoma to file quarterly reports ondeliveries to the ABLE Commission.Themeasureprovidesthatconfidential wine shipment reportsmay be kept confidential by a publicbody. The measure repeals statutesrelating to direct wine shipper’sand direct wine consumer’s permitsand transporters reports to the TaxCommission.Criminal Justice 6SB 1489 modifies the eligibility onwho may become a bail bondsmanby removing restrictions on personswho hold a license to sell alcohol orpersons who are an agent or owner ofan establishment that allows for onpremises consumption of low-pointbeer.FirearmsSeveral measures were enactedto allow greater citizen access tofirearms.HB 2632 allows places of worshipto establish policies regarding thepossession of weapons on theirproperty. The measure allows the useof physical or deadly force againstan intruder in a place of worshipwhen the intruder is committingor attempting to commit a felony.Place of worship is defined as anypermanent building or space usedfor worship services, activities andbusiness of the congregation.HB 3353 authorizes a person inpossession of a valid handgun licenseto carry a handgun on propertydesignated as a wildlife refuge orwildlife management area.HB 2527 allows the sheriff of anycounty to authorize employees ofthe county, who possess a validhandgun license issued pursuantto the provisions of the OklahomaSelf-Defense Act (SDA), to carry aconcealed handgun when acting inthe course and scope of employmentwithin the courthouses of the countyin which the person is employed.This authority to designate anemployee to carry in the courthousedoes not allow the employee to carrythe handgun into a courtroom. Themeasure also allows a board ofcounty commissioners to authorize

necessary to implement Oklahoma Groundwater Quality Standards. SB 1412 limits the amount allocated to the DEQ Revolving Fund, the DEQ and the Oklahoma Tax Commission (OTC) from fees collected pursuant to the Used Tire Recycling Act. Any amount in excess of the three-year average of the revenue apportioned in fiscal years 2015, 2016 and 2017