SB 397 was signed by the Governor, Friday. Below are the highlights of the bill. It is 50 legal size pages long. If you wish to view it. Clink the link be low and scroll down to the bill and click the bill number. All the bills listed there were ones DOC was keeping an eye on.

Oklahoma House of Representatives

Media Divison

June 8, 2001

OKLAHOMA CITY -- Comprehensive legislation that calls for tougher and smarter punishment of criminals in Oklahoma was signed into law Friday.Senate Bill 397, a sweeping overhaul of the criminal justice code, was signed by Gov. Frank Keating and becomes effective July 1 Principal authors of the measure were Senate President Pro Tempore Stratton Taylor, D-Claremore, and House GOP Leader Fred Morgan, R-Oklahoma City. Speaker Larry E. Adair, D-Stilwell, was the principal co-author. Among its principal provisions, the new law:

* raises the threshold at which a crime is elevated from a misdemeanor to a felony, from $50 to $500, but allows more appropriate alternative sentences to be imposed;

* encourages restitution instead of incarceration for many non-violent crimes;
* lowers the drunken driving limit from 0.10 percent to a breath- or blood-alcohol concentration of 0.08 percent;

* adds several crimes to the list of "deadly sins" for which a convict must serve at least 85 percent of the sentence before he/she can even be considered for parole;
* modifies several provisions in state law governing parole for convicts.

Senate Bill 397 represents a dramatic change in criminal justice philosophy in this state, supporters asserted.
RAISING FELONY LIMIT

A critical shift in public policy is raising the felony limit for "hot" checks and some property crimes from $50 to $500. Crimes involving sums less than $500 will be misdemeanors. This feature will apply not only to grand larceny and bogus check
cases -- including 'rubber' checks written to pay taxes, fees or penalties -- but also to credit card fraud, embezzlement, defrauding an innkeeper, obtaining property by trick or deception, larceny of merchandise such as "goods, edible meat or other corporeal property," taking domesticated game or fish, taking crude oil, gas or gasoline products without permission, and violations of the Amusement and Carnival Games Act. Last year, 300 people were sent to prison in Oklahoma on felony
convictions of embezzlement or passing bogus checks, records indicate.
According to the Criminal Justice Resource Center, only about 15 percent of those convicts committed crimes that involved amounts greater than $500. Under the new law, penalties for offenses involving sums of $500 or less will be a county jail term of up to a year and a fine of up to $500. A crime involving property valued at more than $500 but less than $1,000 can be punished as a felony with a county jail sentence of up to one year, coupled with fines and restitution. Penalties for crimes involving property valued at more than $1,000 will, as a general rule, be prison terms of up to 10 years plus fines ranging from $100 to $50,000, depending upon the offense. SB 397 marks only the second time the felony limit has been raised in Oklahoma. The threshold initially was set at $20 in 1907, and remained there until it was boosted to $50 in 1982, records reflect.
PENALTIES for BOGUS CHECKS

Under current law, a district attorney is paid court costs on each bogus check case. The new law provides that the DA will receive from the defendant a special $25 fee on every "hot" check; additionally, the DA will continue to receive felony-level court costs on bogus checks written for amounts greater than $50. State law mandates that in a bogus check case, the defendant must compensate the merchant for the face value of the check and reimburse the business for the bad-check charges assessed by the bank. Under SB 397, the defendant also must pay the merchant $25 fee for each bad check. While the felony threshold has been raised to a higher level, restitution payments will be multiplied by SB 397. That trade-off is expected to benefit district attorneys and retail merchants who often turn to the county prosecutor to collect their bad debts.
RESTITUTION, DIVERSION

SB 397 instructs every district attorney to create a Restitution and Diversion Program. It accords them discretion "to divert criminal complaint involving property crimes from criminal court and to monitor restitution payments." Crimes that qualify for diversion and restitution include embezzlement, larceny, forgery, theft (such as shoplifting), malicious injury to property, any offense "which results in economic loss but does not result in physical injury to another human being..." In such cases, the district attorney is empowered to defer prosecution for up to two years, pending the defendant's payment of restitution and requisite fees, such as in-lieu-of court costs plus $25. The new law requires defendants to pay victims up to triple the documented or estimated economic loss "suffered as a direct result of the criminal act..." The law also redefines economic loss to include "loss of earnings" as a
component of the "actual financial detriment suffered by the victim, consisting of ... damage to or loss of real and personal property and any other out-of-pocket expenses..." A judge may direct the defendant to pay 12 percent interest on
restitution that is paid in installments over a long term, SB 397 provides. The bill stipulates that a victim must notify the prosecutor if he/she receives any compensation or reimbursement from insurance companies or agencies of this state or any other state, or from the federal government, "for injury, loss of earnings or out-of-pocket loss ... as a direct result of the crime..." When deciding whether to defer prosecution and refer a case to the Restitution and Diversion Program, a district attorney must consider:
* whether the criminal complaint alleges an offense involving property;
* whether the alleged crime was "committed in an aggressive, violent,premeditatedor willful manner";

* the prospects for adequate protection of the public if the accused person receives deferred prosecution;
* whether the accused has a criminal record or any pending criminal charges;
* the strength of the evidence against the defendant;
* the wishes of the victim.
Each prosecutor's office is directed by the new law to "assign sufficient staff and resources" to ensure "efficient operation" of the diversion and restitution program.
DEALING HARSHLY WITH CONSPIRACIES, THREATS

Senate Bill 397 creates a new felony crime: planning, attempting, conspiring or endeavoring to perform an act of violence causing or intended to cause serious injury to or death of another person. The penalty will be a prison sentence of up to 10 years. A threat to perform a violent act intended to cause serious bodily harm or death of another person is also now a crime. An offender can be locked in a county jail for up to six months for the misdemeanor offense. A law enforcement officer who has probable cause to believe someone has threatened to hurt or kill another person can arrest the suspect without first obtaining a warrant, the new law decrees.
MORE 'DEADLY SINS'

SB 397 adds seven more violent crimes to the list of 11 so-called "deadly sins" for which a convict must serve at least 85 percent of his/her sentence. The additional crimes include second-degree murder; first-degree manslaughter; poisoning with intent to kill; shooting with intent to kill, use of a vehicle to facilitate use of a firearm, as in a "drive-by shooting," and assault and or battery with any other deadly weapon, such as a crossbow, that is "likely to produce death or great bodily harm"; assault with intent to kill, conjoint robbery and first-degree robbery. The list of "deadly sins" already includes first-degree murder, robbery with a dangerous weapon, first-degree rape, first-degree arson, first-degree burglary (when an occupant is inside the premises), bombing, forcible sodomy, child pornography, child prostitution, lewd molestation of a child, or other instances of child abuse.
CLARIFYING the LAW AGAINST 'CAREER CRIMINALS'
SB 397 modifies sentencing guidelines for multiple offenders, authorizing sanctions that are less severe than "locking 'em up and throwing away the key" if a third or subsequent felony offense is non-violent. (State law limits consideration of prior offenses to those that have occurred within 10 years after completion of the first sentence.) -- If the subsequent conviction is a violent crime and the offense is
punishable by more than five years' imprisonment, then the sentence range is
10 years to life. -- If the subsequent conviction is for a non-violent crime but
nevertheless can be punished with a prison term of more than five years, that convict's sentence must be "in the range of twice the minimum term for a first-time offender," up to life behind bars.-- If the subsequent felony offense provides no specific minimum sentence for a first-time offender, the sentence range for the multiple offender will be imprisonment for two years to life. On a conviction for a third felony within 10 years after completing a prior sentence, if the crime committed was violent the offender must be sentenced to 20 years to life in prison. SB 397 further mandates that for third-time convictions: * the sentence range for a non-violent offense will be three times the minimum for a first-time offender, up to a maximum of life in prison * the penalty will be four years to life in prison if the third or subsequent offense does not specify a minimum sentence for a first-time offender.
PUNISHING DRUG MANUFACTURERS

Lawbreakers who are convicted of manufacturing or distributing drugs will be treated like career criminals. For a second or subsequent conviction of transporting or distributiing drugs within 2,000 feet of a school or park, a prisoner must serve 85
percent of his/her sentence before becoming eligible for parole consideration.
SB 397 also provides a two-tiered scale for punishing drug manufacturers, based on the amount of drugs involved. * "Simple" manufacturing will be punished with a prison term of seven years to life plus a $50,000 fine. * "Aggravated" manufacturing, which is defined by thresholds that are similar to federal law, is punishable by 20 years to life and a fine of at least $50,000. Also, a repeat offender is ineligible for a suspended or deferred sentence or probation, and is not eligible for parole before serving at least 85 percent of his/her sentence.
CLAMPING DOWN ON DRUNK DRIVERS

The threshold at which an impaired driver will be deemed drunk has been lowered by SB 397 from 0.10 to 0.08 percent. Also, a motorist convicted of drunken driving will not be eligible for a deferred prison sentence, SB 397 stipulates. Oklahoma legislators previously resisted federal efforts to compel the state to adopt the tougher standard. The federal government threatened to withhold $58 million in federal highway aid over a four-year period, 2004-2007, if Oklahoma did not lower its drunken driving threshold Also, with enactment of SB 397 Oklahoma becomes eligible to apply for $2 million in additional federal highway aid, the Oklahoma Department of Transportation reported.
ELIGIBILITY for 'EARLY OUT'

Senate Bill 397 makes several changes in Oklahoma's guidelines for releasing convicts from custody before they complete their entire prison sentences.

To illustrate:
* Prisoners convicted of non-violent crimes will be exempt from the prohibition against reconsidering, for one full year, any convict who has been denied parole.
* The state Pardon and Parole Board is required by SB 397 to place on its next parole consideration docket any prisoner whose medical condition "has rendered the inmate no longer a threat to public safety..." However, such leniency would not extend to any convict serving a sentence of life without possibility of parole.

* The prison "cap" law that instructs the Governor to order the Corrections Department to release some inmates when the prison population nears the system's maximum capacity is repealed by SB 397.

* The minimum period that prison inmates must be incarcerated before they become eligible for Class Level 3 is trimmed from four months to three, and the minimum time a prisoner must serve before qualifying for Class Level 4 is shaved from 10 months to eight. Prisoners in Class Levels 2, 3 and 4 are eligible for credits each
month which apply toward their early release from custody.

* Under SB 397, inmates in Class Levels 3 and 4 who have never been convicted of a violent crime, either as an adult or as a juvenile, will receive additional credits each month.

* Prisoners convicted as adults or as juveniles of any of 66 violent crimes specified in SB 397 are ineligible for the extra credits.

* A statutory provision which limited an inmate to no more than 90 achievement credits per calendar year is removed by SB 397. The Corrections Department awards achievement earned credits to prisoners who successfully complete educational courses, job training and/or substance abuse programs.
* The Pardon and Parole Board is directed by SB 397 to "consider the availability of programs and the waiting period" for those programs when setting conditions for the release of a convict. Consequently, the board may require an inmate to complete a program after he/she is released from prison, the new law provides.

* In a related vein, the board is authorized to revoke the parole of any inmate who "fails to satisfactorily attend and make ... progress in" an education program required as a condition of the convict's release.
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Mike W. Ray Media Division Director Oklahoma House of Representatives
(405) 557-7421