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1 STATE OF OKLAHOMA
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2 2nd Session of the 60th Legislature (2026)
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3 SENATE BILL 1224 By: Jech
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7 AS INTRODUCED
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8 An Act relating to pardons and paroles; amending 57
8 O.S. 2021, Section 332.2, as amended by Section 1,
9 Chapter 198, O.S.L. 2022 (57 O.S. Supp. 2025, Section
9 332.2), which relates to pardon and parole
10 procedures; authorizing electronic notification to
10 victims and victim representatives; updating
11 statutory language; and providing an effective date.
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16 BE IT ENACTED BY THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF OKLAHOMA:
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17 SECTION 1. AMENDATORY 57 O.S. 2021, Section 332.2, as
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18 amended by Section 1, Chapter 198, O.S.L. 2022 (57 O.S. Supp. 2025,
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19 Section 332.2), is amended to read as follows:
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20 Section 332.2. A. The Pardon and Parole Board, which shall
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21 meet only on the call of the Chair chair, is authorized, if and when
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22 an application made to the Governor for a reprieve, commutation,
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23 parole, pardon, or other act of clemency is certified thereto by the
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24 Governor, to examine into the merits of said the application and
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1 make recommendations to the Governor in relation thereto, said such
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2 recommendation being advisory to the Governor and not binding
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3 thereon.
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4 B. Any consideration for commutation shall be made only after
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5 application is made to the Pardon and Parole Board pursuant to the
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6 procedures set forth in this section. The Pardon and Parole Board
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7 shall provide a copy of the application to the district attorney,
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8 the victim or representative of the victim, and the Office of the
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9 Attorney General within ten (10) business days of receipt of such
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10 application.
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11 C. An application for commutation, other than those provided
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12 for in subsection F of this section, must be sent to the trial
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13 officials, who shall have twenty (20) business days to provide a
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14 written recommendation or protest prior to consideration of the
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15 application. Trial officials shall include:
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16 1. The current elected judge of the court where the conviction
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17 was had;
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18 2. The current elected district attorney of the jurisdiction
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19 where the conviction was had; or
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20 3. The chief or head administrative officer of the arresting
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21 law enforcement agency.
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22 D. In cases resolved prior to the tenure of the present
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23 officeholders, the recommendation or protest of persons holding such
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1 offices at the time of conviction may also be considered by the
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2 Board.
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3 E. The recommendation for commutation of a sentence by a trial
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4 official may include the following:
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5 1. A statement that the penalty now appears to be excessive;
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6 2. A recommendation of a definite term now considered by the
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7 official as just and proper; and
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8 3. A statement of the reasons for the recommendation based upon
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9 facts directly related to the case which were not available to the
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10 court or jury at the time of the trial or based upon there having
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11 been a statutory change in penalty for the crime which makes the
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12 original penalty appear excessive.
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13 F. The Pardon and Parole Board shall establish an accelerated,
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14 single-stage commutation docket for any applicant who has been
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15 convicted of a crime that has been reclassified from a felony to a
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16 misdemeanor under Oklahoma law. The Pardon and Parole Board shall
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17 be empowered to recommend to the Governor for commutation, by
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18 majority vote, any commutation application placed on the
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19 accelerated, single-stage commutation docket that meets the
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20 eligibility criteria provided above. The Department of Corrections
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21 shall certify a list of potentially eligible inmates to the Pardon
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22 and Parole Board within thirty (30) days of the effective date of
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23 this act no later than December 1, 2019.
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1 G. The Pardon and Parole Board shall schedule the application
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2 on a commutation docket in compliance with the notice requirements
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3 set forth herein. The Board shall provide the victim or
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4 representative of the victim at least twenty (20) days to offer
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5 recommendations or protests before consideration of the application.
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6 H. Applications for commutation shall be given impartial review
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7 as required in Section 10 of Article VI of the Oklahoma
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8 Constitution.
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9 I. Any consideration for pardon shall be made only after
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10 application is made to the Pardon and Parole Board. Upon receipt of
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11 an application for pardon, the Board shall provide a copy of the
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12 application to the district attorney, the victim or representative
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13 of the victim, and the Office of the Attorney General within twenty
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14 (20) business days of receipt of such application. The district
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15 attorney and the victim or representative of the victim shall have
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16 twenty (20) business days to provide written recommendation or
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17 protest prior to the consideration of the application. The Board
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18 shall schedule the application on a pardon docket in compliance with
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19 the notice requirements set forth herein.
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20 J. In accordance with Section 10 of Article VI of the Oklahoma
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21 Constitution, the Board shall communicate to the Legislature, at
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22 each regular session, by providing a summary of the activities of
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23 the Board. This summary shall include, but not be limited to, the
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24 following Board activity:
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1 1. The approval or recommendation rates of the Board for both
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2 violent and nonviolent offenses;
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3 2. The parole approval rates for each individual Board member
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4 for both violent and nonviolent offenses; and
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5 3. The percentage of public comments to and personal
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6 appearances before the Board including victim protests and personal
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7 appearances, district attorney protests and personal appearances,
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8 and delegate recommendations and personal appearances on behalf of
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9 the offender.
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10 This summary shall be made available to the public through
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11 publication on the website of the Pardon and Parole Board.
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12 K. The Pardon and Parole Board shall provide a copy of their
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13 regular docket and administrative parole docket to each district
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14 attorney in this state at least twenty (20) days before such docket
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15 is considered by the Board, or in the case of a supplemental,
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16 addendum, or special docket, at least ten (10) days before such
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17 docket is considered by the Board, and shall notify the district
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18 attorney of any recommendations for commutations or paroles no later
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19 than twenty (20) days after the docket is considered by the Board.
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20 L. The Pardon and Parole Board shall notify all victims any
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21 victim or representatives of the victim in writing at least twenty
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22 (20) days before an inmate is considered by the Board provided the
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23 Board has received a request from the victim or representatives of
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24 the victim for notice. The Board shall provide all victims any
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1 victim or representatives of the victim with the date, time, and
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2 place of the scheduled meeting and rules for attendance and
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3 providing information or input to the Board regarding the inmate or
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4 the crime. If requested by the victim or representatives of the
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5 victim, the Board shall allow the victim or representatives of the
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6 victim to testify at the parole hearing of the inmate for at least
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7 five (5) minutes.
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8 M. The Pardon and Parole Board shall notify all victims or
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9 representatives of the victim in writing of the decision of the
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10 Board no later than twenty (20) days after the inmate is considered
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11 by the Board.
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12 N. Any notice required to be provided to the victims or the
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13 representatives of the victim shall be mailed by first-class mail to
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14 the last-known address of the victim or representatives of the
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15 victim or shall be sent by email to the last-known email address of
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16 the victim or representatives of the victim. It is the
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17 responsibility of the victims or representatives of the victim to
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18 provide the Pardon and Parole Board a current mailing address or
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19 email address. The victim-witness coordinator of the district
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20 attorney shall assist the victims or representatives of the victim
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21 with supplying their address or email address to the Board if they
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22 wish to be notified. Upon failure of the Pardon and Parole Board to
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23 notify a victim who has requested notification and has provided a
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24 current mailing address or email address, the final decision of the
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1 Board may be voidable, provided, the victim who failed to receive
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2 notification requests a reconsideration hearing within thirty (30)
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3 days of the recommendation by the Board for parole. The Pardon and
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4 Parole Board may reconsider previous action and may rescind a
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5 recommendation if deemed appropriate as determined by the Board.
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6 O. For purposes of this section, "victim" shall mean all
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7 persons any person who have has suffered direct or threatened
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8 physical or emotional harm, or financial loss as the result of the
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9 commission or attempted commission of criminally injurious conduct,
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10 and "representatives of the victim" shall mean those persons who are
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11 members of the immediate family of the victim, including
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12 stepparents, stepbrothers, stepsisters, and stepchildren.
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13 P. All meetings of the Pardon and Parole Board shall comply
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14 with Section 301 et seq. of Title 25 of the Oklahoma Statutes;,
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15 provided that the Board shall have the authority to limit the number
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16 of persons attending in support of, or in opposition to, any inmate
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17 being considered for parole and shall have the authority to exclude
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18 persons from attendance in accordance with prison security
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19 regulations and the capacity of the meeting room. Persons excluded
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20 from attending the meeting under this provision shall be informed of
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21 their right to be informed of the vote of the Board in accordance
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22 with Section 312 of Title 25 of the Oklahoma Statutes. Provided
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23 further, nothing in this section shall be construed to prevent any
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24 member of the press or any public official from attending any
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1 meeting of the Pardon and Parole Board, except as provided by the
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2 Oklahoma Open Meeting Act.
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3 Q. All victim information maintained by the Department of
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4 Corrections and the Pardon and Parole Board shall be confidential
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5 and shall not be released.
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6 R. When a commutation is granted or denied, the Secretary of
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7 State shall give notice of that fact to the district attorney and
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8 clerk of the court in the county where the sentence was originally
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9 obtained within thirty (30) business days. Said Such notice may be
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10 given by either first-class mail or email. Upon receipt of said
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11 such notice, the clerk of the court shall file the notice. The
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12 district attorney shall confirm that the clerk of the court has
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13 filed said the notice. The notice shall include the following
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14 information:
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15 1. The month and year in which the commutation was recommended
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16 by the Pardon and Parole Board;
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17 2. The decision of the Governor to grant or deny commutation;
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18 and
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19 3. If commutation is granted, the new term of sentence,
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20 including conditions thereof, if any, for each charged count.
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21 S. The district attorney in the district where the sentence was
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22 originally obtained shall ensure that all victims or representatives
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23 of the victim are given notice of the decision regarding
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24 commutation.
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1 SECTION 2. This act shall become effective November 1, 2026.
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3 60-2-2317 CN 12/9/2025 3:40:01 PM
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Req. No. 2317 Page 9Every fact on this page links to its source, starting with the official bill record.