Criminal justice measures advance in state Senate

A package of criminal justice reform measures is headed to the Senate floor.

The Senate Appropriations Committee on Wednesday passed four measures to curb the growing offender population.

“It is about curbing prison crowding and improving people’s lives,” said Sen. Greg Treat, R-Oklahoma, the Senate author of three of the measures.

A prison sentence makes it more difficult for a person to find employment once released, he said. In addition, incarceration has a ripple effect on other services, such as foster care.

“There has got to be a better way,” he said.

House Bill 2472 gives prosecutors discretion to file misdemeanor charges rather than felony charges for crimes that do not require offenders to serve 85 percent of the sentence, he said.

Crimes that require an offender to serve at least 85 percent of a sentence include murder, rape and shooting with intent to kill.

The measure passed by a vote of 33-0 and heads to the full Senate for consideration.

The panel also passed House Bill 2753, which would expand the eligibility for drug courts and community sentencing to more defendants. Under current law, a defendant must have a prior felony conviction to be eligible for the alternative sentencing programs.

Sen. Wayne Shaw, R-Grove, said the measure would allow people to get into those programs without already having a felony so they can get help sooner.

The measure passed by a vote of 37-3. It heads to the Senate floor.

Sentencing changes

House Bill 2479, which would adjust the mandatory minimum and maximum sentences for felony drug possession, passed by a vote of 30-2.

Under current law, mandatory minimum and maximum sentences are two to 10 years for a first offense, and four to 20 years for a second and third offense. The measure would change that to zero to five years for a first offense, zero to 10 years for a second offense and four to 15 years for a third offense. It heads to the full Senate.

House Bill 2751 is also headed to the Senate floor after securing approval by a vote of 34-3. The measure would raise the threshold to be charged with a felony property crime to $1,000 from $500, Treat said.

Rep. Pam Peterson, R-Tulsa, is the House author of the four measures.

In a Tuesday letter to lawmakers, Gov. Mary Fallin said the measures are part of her criminal justice legislative agenda and urged approval.

“Our state prisons are filled to well over capacity, so it is crucial that we make some changes to our criminal justice system,” she said. “These measures do not jeopardize public safety while addressing Oklahoma’s prison population, which is among the highest in the nation.”

Department of Corrections Interim Director Joe M. Allbaugh called the measures “a step in the right direction as we find ways to reduce the state’s prison capacity, which is at 122 percent today.”

In other action, the panel killed a bill that would have consolidated the Oklahoma State Bureau of Narcotics and Dangerous Drugs Control, the Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation, and the Oklahoma Department of Public Safety.

The measure — House Bill 2864, by Rep. Mike Christian, R-Oklahoma City, and Sen. Ralph Shortey, R-Oklahoma City — failed by a vote of 16-25.