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Oklahoma Legislature· HB 3352Second Reading referred to Rules

An act relating to pardon and parole, the official text

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1                    STATE OF OKLAHOMA

2            2nd Session of the 60th Legislature (2026)

3 HOUSE BILL 3352               By: Williams

4

5

6                    AS INTRODUCED

7   An Act relating to pardon and parole; amending 57

    O.S. 2021, Section 332.2, as amended by Section 1,

8   Chapter 198, O.S.L. 2022 (57 O.S. Supp. 2025, Section

    332.2), which relates to procedures of the Pardon and

9   Parole Board; updating language; and providing an

    effective date.

10

11

12

13 BE IT ENACTED BY THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF OKLAHOMA:

14  SECTION 1.      AMENDATORY  57 O.S. 2021, Section 332.2, as

15 amended by Section 1, Chapter 198, O.S.L. 2022 (57 O.S. Supp. 2025,

16 Section 332.2), is amended to read as follows:

17  Section 332.2. A. The Pardon and Parole Board, which shall

18 meet only on the call of the Chair chair, is authorized, if and when

19 an application made to the Governor for a reprieve, commutation,

20 parole, pardon, or other act of clemency is certified thereto by the

21 Governor, to examine into the merits of said the application and

22 make recommendations to the Governor in relation thereto, said

23 recommendation being advisory to the Governor and not binding

24 thereon.

    Req. No. 15352                                                 Page 1
1   B. Any consideration for commutation shall be made only after

2 application is made to the Pardon and Parole Board pursuant to the

3 procedures set forth in this section. The Pardon and Parole Board

4 shall provide a copy of the application to the district attorney,

5 the victim or representative of the victim, and the Office of the

6 Attorney General within ten (10) business days of receipt of such

7 the application.

8   C. An application for commutation, other than those provided

9 for in subsection F of this section, must be sent to the trial

10 officials, who shall have twenty (20) business days to provide a

11 written recommendation or protest prior to consideration of the

12 application. Trial officials shall include:

13  1. The current elected judge of the court where the conviction

14 was had;

15  2. The current elected district attorney of the jurisdiction

16 where the conviction was had; or

17  3. The chief or head administrative officer of the arresting

18 law enforcement agency.

19  D. In cases resolved prior to the tenure of the present

20 officeholders, the recommendation or protest of persons holding such

21 offices at the time of conviction may also be considered by the

22 Board.

23  E. The recommendation for commutation of a sentence by a trial

24 official may include the following:

    Req. No. 15352                                                  Page 2
1   1. A statement that the penalty now appears to be excessive;

2   2. A recommendation of a definite term now considered by the

3 official as just and proper; and

4   3. A statement of the reasons for the recommendation based upon

5 facts directly related to the case which were not available to the

6 court or jury at the time of the trial or based upon there having

7 been a statutory change in penalty for the crime which makes the

8 original penalty appear excessive.

9   F. The Pardon and Parole Board shall establish an accelerated,

10 single-stage commutation docket for any applicant who has been

11 convicted of a crime that has been reclassified from a felony to a

12 misdemeanor under Oklahoma law. The Pardon and Parole Board shall

13 be empowered to recommend to the Governor for commutation, by

14 majority vote, any commutation application placed on the

15 accelerated, single-stage commutation docket that meets the

16 eligibility criteria provided above. The Department of Corrections

17 shall certify a list of potentially eligible inmates to the Pardon

18 and Parole Board within thirty (30) days of the effective date of

19 this act.

20  G. The Pardon and Parole Board shall schedule the application

21 on a commutation docket in compliance with the notice requirements

22 set forth herein. The Board shall provide the victim or

23 representative of the victim at least twenty (20) days to offer

24 recommendations or protests before consideration of the application.

    Req. No. 15352                                                  Page 3
1   H. Applications for commutation shall be given impartial review

2 as required in Section 10 of Article VI of the Oklahoma

3 Constitution.

4   I. Any consideration for pardon shall be made only after

5 application is made to the Pardon and Parole Board. Upon receipt of

6 an application for pardon, the Board shall provide a copy of the

7 application to the district attorney, the victim or representative

8 of the victim and the Office of the Attorney General within twenty

9 (20) business days of receipt of such application. The district

10 attorney and the victim or representative of the victim shall have

11 twenty (20) business days to provide written recommendation or

12 protest prior to the consideration of the application. The Board

13 shall schedule the application on a pardon docket in compliance with

14 the notice requirements set forth herein.

15  J. In accordance with Section 10 of Article VI of the Oklahoma

16 Constitution, the Board shall communicate to the Legislature, at

17 each regular session, by providing a summary of the activities of

18 the Board. This summary shall include, but not be limited to, the

19 following Board activity:

20  1. The approval or recommendation rates of the Board for both

21 violent and nonviolent offenses;

22  2. The parole approval rates for each individual Board member

23 for both violent and nonviolent offenses; and

24

    Req. No. 15352                                                 Page 4
1   3. The percentage of public comments to and personal

2 appearances before the Board including victim protests and personal

3 appearances, district attorney protests and personal appearances,

4 and delegate recommendations and personal appearances on behalf of

5 the offender.

6   This summary shall be made available to the public through

7 publication on the website of the Pardon and Parole Board.

8   K. The Pardon and Parole Board shall provide a copy of their

9 regular docket and administrative parole docket to each district

10 attorney in this state at least twenty (20) days before such docket

11 is considered by the Board, or in the case of a supplemental,

12 addendum or special docket, at least ten (10) days before such

13 docket is considered by the Board, and shall notify the district

14 attorney of any recommendations for commutations or paroles no later

15 than twenty (20) days after the docket is considered by the Board.

16  L. The Pardon and Parole Board shall notify all victims or

17 representatives of the victim in writing at least twenty (20) days

18 before an inmate is considered by the Board provided the Board has

19 received a request from the victim or representatives of the victim

20 for notice. The Board shall provide all victims or representatives

21 of the victim with the date, time and place of the scheduled meeting

22 and rules for attendance and providing information or input to the

23 Board regarding the inmate or the crime. If requested by the victim

24 or representatives of the victim, the Board shall allow the victim

    Req. No. 15352                                                 Page 5
1 or representatives of the victim to testify at the parole hearing of

2 the inmate for at least five (5) minutes.

3   M. The Pardon and Parole Board shall notify all victims or

4 representatives of the victim in writing of the decision of the

5 Board no later than twenty (20) days after the inmate is considered

6 by the Board.

7   N. Any notice required to be provided to the victims or the

8 representatives of the victim shall be mailed by first-class mail to

9 the last-known address of the victim or representatives of the

10 victim. It is the responsibility of the victims or representatives

11 of the victim to provide the Pardon and Parole Board a current

12 mailing address. The victim-witness coordinator of the district

13 attorney shall assist the victims or representatives of the victim

14 with supplying their address to the Board if they wish to be

15 notified. Upon failure of the Pardon and Parole Board to notify a

16 victim who has requested notification and has provided a current

17 mailing address, the final decision of the Board may be voidable,

18 provided, the victim who failed to receive notification requests a

19 reconsideration hearing within thirty (30) days of the

20 recommendation by the Board for parole. The Pardon and Parole Board

21 may reconsider previous action and may rescind a recommendation if

22 deemed appropriate as determined by the Board.

23  O. For purposes of this section, "victim" shall mean all

24 persons who have suffered direct or threatened physical or emotional

    Req. No. 15352                                                 Page 6
1 harm, or financial loss as the result of the commission or attempted

2 commission of criminally injurious conduct, and "representatives of

3 the victim" shall mean those persons who are members of the

4 immediate family of the victim, including stepparents, stepbrothers,

5 stepsisters, and stepchildren.

6   P. All meetings of the Pardon and Parole Board shall comply

7 with Section 301 et seq. of Title 25 of the Oklahoma Statutes;

8 provided that the Board shall have the authority to limit the number

9 of persons attending in support of, or in opposition to, any inmate

10 being considered for parole and shall have the authority to exclude

11 persons from attendance in accordance with prison security

12 regulations and the capacity of the meeting room. Persons excluded

13 from attending the meeting under this provision shall be informed of

14 their right to be informed of the vote of the Board in accordance

15 with Section 312 of Title 25 of the Oklahoma Statutes. Provided

16 further, nothing in this section shall be construed to prevent any

17 member of the press or any public official from attending any

18 meeting of the Pardon and Parole Board, except as provided by the

19 Oklahoma Open Meeting Act.

20  Q. All victim information maintained by the Department of

21 Corrections and the Pardon and Parole Board shall be confidential

22 and shall not be released.

23  R. When a commutation is granted or denied, the Secretary of

24 State shall give notice of that fact to the district attorney and

    Req. No. 15352                                                Page 7
1 clerk of the court in the county where the sentence was originally

2 obtained within thirty (30) business days. Said notice may be given

3 by either first-class mail or email. Upon receipt of said notice,

4 the clerk of the court shall file the notice. The district attorney

5 shall confirm that the clerk of the court has filed said notice.

6 The notice shall include the following information:

7       1. The month and year in which the commutation was recommended

8 by the Pardon and Parole Board;

9       2. The decision of the Governor to grant or deny commutation;

10 and

11      3. If commutation is granted, the new term of sentence,

12 including conditions thereof, if any, for each charged count.

13      S. The district attorney in the district where the sentence was

14 originally obtained shall ensure that all victims or representatives

15 of the victim are given notice of the decision regarding

16 commutation.

17      SECTION 2. This act shall become effective November 1, 2026.

18

19      60-2-15352  GRS  01/03/26

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    Req. No. 15352                                                Page 8
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