2017 Oklahoma Expungement Amendments Die in Conference

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Oklahoma Senate Bill 650 (SB650), the 2017 expungement amendments bill introduced by Rep. Ben Loring and Sen. Wayne Shaw, has died in conference. You can view the Legislature's bill tracking information here.

The bill sought to do the following:

• Allow for the expungement of a non-violent felony, without a pardon;

• Allow for the expungement of violent felony, with a pardon;

• Reduce the wait time on the expungement of a felony conviction by approximately three years;

• Allow for the expungement of any crime, if all law enforcement agencies involved affirmatively agreed that it was in the best interests of justice to do so;

I am not privy to the exact reasons that the conference failed; however, based on my review of the tracking information, it appears that the bill died after a hostile House amendment was introduced and passed in the House Judiciary Committee. I am also sure that the wrangling over the state budget this year did not help.

Two steps forward, one step back,
Michael