1 STATE OF OKLAHOMA
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2 2nd Session of the 59th Legislature (2024)
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3 SENATE BILL 1770 By: Pugh
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6 AS INTRODUCED
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7 An Act relating to criminal records; amending 22 O.S.
7 2021, Section 18, as last amended by Section 1,
8 Chapter 143, O.S.L. 2022 (22 O.S. Supp. 2023, Section
8 18), which relates to expungement; clarifying records
9 eligible to be sealed; amending 22 O.S. 2021, Section
9 19, as amended by Section 2, Chapter 143, O.S.L. 2022
10 (22 O.S. Supp. 2023, Section 19), which relates to
10 sealing of records; authorizing consideration of
11 certain multiple expungements in a single petition;
11 prohibiting treatment of certain offense as a prior
12 offense under certain circumstances; amending 22 O.S.
12 2021, Section 1373.5, which relates to DNA testing
13 results; requiring submission of certain report to
13 the Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation; and
14 providing an effective date.
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17 BE IT ENACTED BY THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF OKLAHOMA:
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18 SECTION 1. AMENDATORY 22 O.S. 2021, Section 18, as last
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19 amended by Section 1, Chapter 143, O.S.L. 2022 (22 O.S. Supp. 2023,
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20 Section 18), is amended to read as follows:
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21 Section 18. A. Persons authorized to file a motion for
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22 expungement, as provided herein, must be within one of the following
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23 categories:
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24 1. The person has been acquitted;
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 1 2. The conviction was reversed with instructions to dismiss by
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2 an appellate court of competent jurisdiction, or an appellate court
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3 of competent jurisdiction reversed the conviction and the
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4 prosecuting agency subsequently dismissed the charge;
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5 3. The factual innocence of the person was established by the
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6 use of deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) evidence subsequent to
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7 conviction, including a person who has been released from prison at
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8 the time innocence was established;
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9 4. The person has received a full pardon by the Governor for
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10 the crime for which the person was sentenced;
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11 5. The person was arrested and no charges of any type,
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12 including charges for an offense different than that for which the
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13 person was originally arrested, are filed and the statute of
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14 limitations has expired or the prosecuting agency has declined to
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15 file charges;
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16 6. The person was under eighteen (18) years of age at the time
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17 the offense was committed and the person has received a full pardon
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18 for the offense;
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19 7. The person was charged with one or more misdemeanor or
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20 felony crimes, all charges have been dismissed, the person has never
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21 been convicted of a felony, no misdemeanor or felony charges are
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22 pending against the person and the statute of limitations for
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23 refiling the charge or charges has expired or the prosecuting agency
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24 confirms that the charge or charges will not be refiled; provided,
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 1 however, this category shall not apply to charges that have been
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2 dismissed following the completion of a deferred judgment or delayed
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3 sentence;
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4 8. The person was charged with a misdemeanor, the charge was
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5 dismissed following the successful completion of a deferred judgment
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6 or delayed sentence, the person has never been convicted of a
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7 felony, no misdemeanor or felony charges are pending against the
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8 person and at least one (1) year has passed since the charge was
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9 dismissed;
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10 9. The person was charged with a nonviolent felony offense not
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11 listed in Section 571 of Title 57 of the Oklahoma Statutes, the
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12 charge was dismissed following the successful completion of a
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13 deferred judgment or delayed sentence, the person has never been
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14 convicted of a felony, no misdemeanor or felony charges are pending
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15 against the person and at least five (5) years have passed since the
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16 charge was dismissed;
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17 10. The person was convicted of a misdemeanor offense, the
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18 person was sentenced to a fine of less than Five Hundred One Dollars
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19 ($501.00) without a term of imprisonment or a suspended sentence,
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20 the fine has been paid or satisfied by time served in lieu of the
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21 fine, the person has not been convicted of a felony and no felony or
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22 misdemeanor charges are pending against the person;
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23 11. The person was convicted of a misdemeanor offense, the
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24 person was sentenced to a term of imprisonment, a suspended sentence
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 1 or a fine in an amount greater than Five Hundred Dollars ($500.00),
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2 the person has not been convicted of a felony, no felony or
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3 misdemeanor charges are pending against the person and at least five
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4 (5) years have passed since the end of the last misdemeanor
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5 sentence;
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6 12. The person was convicted of a nonviolent felony offense not
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7 listed in Section 571 of Title 57 of the Oklahoma Statutes, the
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8 person has not been convicted of any other felony, the person has
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9 not been convicted of a separate misdemeanor in the last seven (7)
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10 years, no felony or misdemeanor charges are pending against the
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11 person and at least five (5) years have passed since the completion
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12 of the sentence for the felony conviction;
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13 13. The person was convicted of not more than two felony
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14 offenses, none of which is a felony offense listed in Section 13.1
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15 of Title 21 of the Oklahoma Statutes or any offense that would
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16 require the person to register pursuant to the provisions of the Sex
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17 Offenders Registration Act, no felony or misdemeanor charges are
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18 pending against the person, and at least ten (10) years have passed
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19 since the completion of the sentence for the felony conviction;
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20 14. The person has been charged or arrested or is the subject
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21 of an arrest warrant for a crime that was committed by another
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22 person who has appropriated or used the person’s name or other
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23 identification without the person’s consent or authorization; or
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 1 15. The person was convicted of a nonviolent felony offense not
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2 listed in Section 571 of Title 57 of the Oklahoma Statutes which was
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3 subsequently reclassified as a misdemeanor under Oklahoma law, the
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4 person is not currently serving a sentence for a crime in this state
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5 or another state, at least thirty (30) days have passed since the
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6 completion or commutation of the sentence for the crime that was
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7 reclassified as a misdemeanor, any restitution ordered by the court
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8 to be paid by the person has been satisfied in full, and any
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9 treatment program ordered by the court has been successfully
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10 completed by the person, including any person who failed a treatment
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11 program which resulted in an accelerated or revoked sentence that
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12 has since been successfully completed by the person or the person
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13 can show successful completion of a treatment program at a later
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14 date. Persons seeking an expungement of records under the
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15 provisions of this paragraph may utilize the expungement forms
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16 provided in Section 18a of this title.
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17 B. For purposes of Section 18 et seq. of this title,
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18 “expungement” shall mean the sealing of criminal records, as well as
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19 any public civil record, involving actions brought by and against
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20 the State of Oklahoma arising from the same arrest, transaction or
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21 occurrence.
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22 C. Beginning three (3) years after the effective date of this
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23 act and subject to the availability of funds, individuals with clean
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24 slate eligible cases arrest records shall be eligible to have their
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 1 criminal arrest records sealed automatically. For purposes of
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2 Section 18 et seq. of this title, “clean slate eligible case arrest
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3 record” shall mean a case an arrest record where each charge within
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4 the case is pursuant to arrest meets one of the following criteria:
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5 1. Records described in paragraph 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 10,
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6 11, 14 or 15 of subsection A of this section;
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7 2. Records described in paragraph 7 of subsection A of this
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8 section where the prosecuting agency has declined to file charges
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9 and the record is an Oklahoma single-source record; or
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10 3. Records described in paragraph 8, 10, or 11 of subsection A
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11 of this section where the record is an Oklahoma single-source
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12 record.
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13 D. For purposes of seeking an expungement under the provisions
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14 of paragraph 10, 11, 12 or 13 of subsection A of this section,
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15 offenses arising out of the same transaction or occurrence shall be
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16 treated as one conviction and offense.
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17 E. Records expunged pursuant to paragraphs 4, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12,
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18 13, 14 and 15 of subsection A of this section shall be sealed to the
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19 public but not to law enforcement agencies for law enforcement
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20 purposes. Records expunged pursuant to paragraphs 8, 9, 10, 11, 12
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21 and 13 of subsection A of this section shall be admissible in any
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22 subsequent criminal prosecution to prove the existence of a prior
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23 conviction or prior deferred judgment without the necessity of a
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24 court order requesting the unsealing of the records. Records
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 1 expunged pursuant to paragraph 4, 6, 12 or 13 of subsection A of
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2 this section may also include the sealing of Pardon and Parole Board
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3 records related to an application for a pardon. Such records shall
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4 be sealed to the public but not to the Pardon and Parole Board.
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5 SECTION 2. AMENDATORY 22 O.S. 2021, Section 19, as
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6 amended by Section 2, Chapter 143, O.S.L. 2022 (22 O.S. Supp. 2023,
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7 Section 19), is amended to read as follows:
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8 Section 19. A. Any person qualified under Section 18 of this
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9 title may petition the district court of the district in which the
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10 arrest information pertaining to the person is located for the
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11 sealing of all or any part of the record, except basic
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12 identification information.
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13 B. The process for the automatic expungement of a clean slate
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14 eligible case as defined in subsection C of Section 18 of this title
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15 is as follows:
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16 1. On a monthly basis, the Oklahoma State Bureau of
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17 Investigation shall identify cases which are clean slate eligible by
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18 conducting a search of the criminal history repository records of
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19 the Bureau;
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20 2. The Bureau shall, on a monthly basis, provide a list of
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21 clean slate eligible cases to the prosecuting agency and the
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22 arresting agency;
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23 3. The prosecuting agency, arresting agency, and the Bureau
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24 may, no later than forty-five (45) days from the day on which the
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 1 notice described in paragraph 2 of this subsection is transmitted,
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2 object to an automatic expungement and such objection shall be
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3 transmitted to all parties. An objection may be made for any of the
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4 following reasons:
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5 a. after reviewing the agency record, the agency believes
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6 the case does not meet the definition of a clean slate
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7 eligible case,
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8 b. the individual has not paid court-ordered restitution
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9 to the victim, or
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10 c. the agency has a reasonable belief, grounded in
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11 supporting facts, that an individual with a clean
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12 slate eligible case is continuing to engage in
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13 criminal activity, whether charged or not charged,
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14 within or outside the state;
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15 4. If an agency identified in paragraph 3 of this subsection
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16 objects for a reason described in paragraph 3 of this subsection
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17 within forty-five (45) days of the day on which the notice described
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18 in paragraph 2 of this subsection is transmitted, the record shall
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19 not be expunged. Once a year, the Bureau shall submit a report to
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20 the Legislature with a list of all cases where a record was not
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21 expunged pursuant to this paragraph; and
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22 5. After forty-five (45) days pass from the day on which the
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23 notice described in paragraph 2 of this subsection is sent, the
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24 Bureau shall provide to the courts a list of all cases where
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 1 responses from all parties were received and no parties objected.
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2 The court shall review this list and provide to all agencies that
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3 have criminal history records a signed expungement order for all
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4 cases approved. Upon receipt of a signed expungement order, each
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5 agency shall seal the relevant records.
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6 The Bureau and the Oklahoma Supreme Court may promulgate rules
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7 to govern the process for automatic expungement of records for a
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8 clean slate eligible case in accordance with this subsection.
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9 C. 1. Nothing in this section precludes an individual from
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10 filing a petition for expungement of records that are eligible for
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11 automatic expungement under subsection C of Section 18 of this title
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12 if an automatic expungement has not occurred pursuant to subsection
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13 B of this section.
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14 2. An individual does not have a cause of action for damages as
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15 a result of the failure of the Bureau to identify a case as eligible
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16 for automatic expungement.
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17 D. An automatic expungement granted under subsection B of this
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18 section does not preclude an individual from requesting the
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19 unsealing of records in accordance with subsection O P of this
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20 section.
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21 E. Upon the filing of a petition or entering of a court order
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22 as prescribed in subsection A of this section, the court shall set a
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23 date for a hearing and shall provide thirty (30) days of notice of
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24 the hearing to the prosecuting agency, the arresting agency, the
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 1 Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation, and any other person or
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2 agency whom the court has reason to believe may have relevant
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3 information related to the sealing of such record.
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4 F. If a petitioner requests expungement for multiple offenses
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5 in one county, each of which would qualify for expungement if
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6 processed sequentially, the expungements may be considered under a
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7 single petition. The petitioner shall not be required to submit
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8 multiple petitions to accomplish the sequential sealing of multiple
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9 offenses in a single county.
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10 G. Upon a finding that the harm to privacy of the person in
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11 interest or dangers of unwarranted adverse consequences outweigh the
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12 public interest in retaining the records, the court may order such
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13 records, or any part thereof except basic identification
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14 information, to be sealed. If the court finds that neither sealing
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15 of the records nor maintaining of the records unsealed by the agency
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16 would serve the ends of justice, the court may enter an appropriate
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17 order limiting access to such records.
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18 Any order entered under this subsection shall specify those
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19 agencies to which such order shall apply. Any order entered
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20 pursuant to this subsection may be appealed by the petitioner, the
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21 prosecuting agency, the arresting agency, or the Oklahoma State
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22 Bureau of Investigation to the Oklahoma Supreme Court in accordance
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23 with the rules of the Oklahoma Supreme Court. In all such appeals,
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