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On January 6th, CJI staff facilitated a full Task Force report-out phone meeting to finalize the policy recommendations on January 6th. CJI staff worked with Task Force members to review and edit the Task Force final report, which was scheduled to be released at the final Task Force meeting on January 13th.

On February 2nd, at the final Task Force meeting, the Oklahoma Justice Reform Task Force Final Report was released. CJI collaborated with stakeholders on media around the final recommendations, including an op-ed from the business community and an article and speaking event with right-of-center group Oklahoma Council of Public Affairs.

CJI staff began drafting language reflecting the task force recommendations to assist legislative counsel

During the month of October, CJI staff traveled to Oklahoma to renew policymakers’ interest in the six bills that were developed by Oklahoma's Justice Reform Task Force that did not pass last session. CJI staff met with representatives from the Governor’s Office, including her Chief of Staff and Deputy General Counsel, as well as with the primary sponsor of the bills, Senator Greg Treat, to plan for the forthcoming session. The policymakers' attendance at these meetings indicated a significant interest in completing the process that was left unfinished last session and a desire to address the legislation early in the regular session beginning in February 2018.

During the month of November, CJI staff worked with stakeholders in Oklahoma to respond to changes in the Oklahoma House of Representatives. The primary opponent of the 2017 legislative session bills advanced by Oklahoma's Justice Reform Task Force resigned from the state legislature to take a position with the federal government. CJI is developing strategies to address this vacancy and planning for a variety of different advocacy options depending on how it is filled. Additionally, CJI spoke with representatives from FWD.US who are interested in working in Oklahoma and providing additional support to the Task Force legislation. CJI staff has also worked with individuals from the Pew Charitable Trusts to compare recent data analyzing Oklahoma’s rising prison population with Louisiana’s recent declines in prison population. This analysis will likely be a compelling message to move the legislation early on next session.

During the month of December, CJI staff worked with stakeholders in Oklahoma to prepare for the upcoming session and the reintroduction of the six bills advanced by Oklahoma's Justice Reform Task Force that did not pass last session. CJI staff traveled to Oklahoma to meet with Senate and House leadership to ensure that all the bills would be refiled and taken up in the early months of the next legislative session. Senator Treat has agreed and is committed to sponsoring the bills and guiding them through the Senate. Senator Treat expressed a renewed interest in refiling one of last year’s bills that would reduce sentences for commercial drugs that was previously removed from the legislative floor early last session. CJI staff met with Representative Sears to determine the best way to navigate the bills through the House. Representative Sears indicated that the District Attorneys voiced concerns that they were not consulted in the development of the bills. CJI staff explained to him the many ways in which the Task Force and CJI has worked with the District Attorneys and made compromises within the existing bills. CJI staff also met with the Department of Corrections (DOC), which has been a formidable force in keeping attention on Oklahoma’s problem statement. CJI and DOC considered ways in which the DOC could bring further awareness to the problem statement and provide support throughout the next legislative session. CJI also met with representatives from the Oklahoma City Chamber and State Chamber to prepare for policy development in the next session. Both Chambers discussed the potential of creating a position specifically for engaging local communities to support the legislation as well as using local business leaders as a resource to help garner support in the House. CJI staff is working with FWD.us, which has contracted with Saxum, to develop a communications plan for the policies in the upcoming session.

In January, CJI staff traveled to Oklahoma to meet with the sponsors of the Task Force bills and other stakeholders. The purpose of the trip was to ensure that the five priority bills were on track to be heard early on this session. There are four bills that were sent to Conference Committees, a joint committee with House and Senate members, where the conferees were not able to agree. The path forward for these bills is to assign conferees who can sign the bill out of the Conference Committee, file another Conference Committee Report (CCR) summarizing the bill, and then vote on the measure on the House Floor. Upon successful passage on the House floor, these bills will be transmitted to the Senate for consideration and vote, and if approved, enrolled to the Governor. There is one bill currently in the House where a CCR was filed. This bill is available for the House to either adopt the CCR, where it would be voted on and transmitted back to the Senate for approval, or fail to adopt the CCR, and request another Conference Committee to work out disagreements between the two chambers. CJI staff spoke with various stakeholders to understand the degree of support for the policies underpinning the legislation, communicate changes to the projected prison population and identify opportunities to broaden the impact of the policies. CJI staff also attended a breakfast meeting organized by the Oklahoma City Chamber of Commerce where legislators, including Senator Treat, the Senate Majority Floor Leader, and Representative McCall, the Speaker of the House, spoke on the impetus for the passage of these bills. CJI staff is developing policy impacts to respond to the district attorneys’ alternate proposals to the existing legislation.

In February, CJI staff met with legislators and other stakeholders to work on language for the five remaining Task Force bills as well as develop one new bill addressing drug offenses. The new bill was drafted last session, however was not moved to through Committee due to concerns by the Sponsor. CJI staff worked with district attorneys, members from the pardon and parole board, the Governor’s Deputy Counsel, the chambers, and counsels from the Department of Corrections to make amendments to the bills. Following such meetings, stakeholders have indicated widespread support for the legislation. CJI staff attended a press conference held by the Governor announcing the amended package and her renewed dedication to getting the legislation passed. At the press conference Senators, House Members, and District Attorneys all pledged support for the package. Senator Treat, Majority Floor Leader, and sponsor of many of the Task Force bills, indicated that the bills will likely move quickly to the floor. The amended versions of the bills must be submitted as an amended Conference Committee Report and then will be signed out of conference committee. Once out of the Conference Committee, the bills will go to the floor for a vote and then sent to the other chamber. The Governor’s office is looking for a new sponsor for the drug offense bill.

During the month of March, CJI staff worked with legislators and stakeholders to incorporate amendments into the five bills advanced by the Governor’s Task Force that did not pass last session as well as draft one new bill that reduces sentences for commercial drug offenses. The amendments predominantly concern removing provisions regarding supervision practices and the structure/ training of the parole board. House and Senate leadership were in support of the amendments and the new bill as well as the State Chamber, Oklahoma City Chamber, and the District Attorneys Council. Four of the bills have been signed out of Conference Committee and are ready to go to the Senate floor for a vote. After they go to the Senate floor, they will return to the House floor for a vote. Two of the bills remain in Conference Committee needing signatures. Both chambers are supportive of the legislation and have indicated a strong desire to get these bills to a floor vote as soon as possible. Additionally, CJI staff worked on developing projected impacts for the amended legislation.

The seven bills advanced by the Oklahoma Task Force were passed by both houses of the Oklahoma legislature on April 24th, 2018. They were sent to the Governor for signing on April 25th, 2018. The Governor held a bill signing on April 26th that CJI staff and Task Force members attended.

The bills passed in the same versions as the committee reports that were introduced in late March of 2018. Throughout the month of April, CJI staff worked with legislators and stakeholders to ensure that the seven bills would be signed out of their respective Conference Committees and be heard on the floor in both chambers for a vote. The bills incorporated policies that will establish administrative and geriatric parole, reduce sentences for nonviolent property and drug offenders, tailor sentences more narrowly to conduct, and improve supervision practices to reduce recidivism. The package of bills passed will avert 67% of Oklahoma’s projected prison population - approximately 5,000 beds over the next 10 years. Oklahoma’s prison population will still grow 2,000 beds by 2026. While the original Task Force recommendations would have eliminated entire population growth (25%) and created a 7% decline from the current population level, legislators and stakeholders want this package to be a starting point for Oklahoma and are aware that more work remains.