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STATE OF OKLAHOMA
1st Session of the 60th Legislature (2025)
HOUSE BILL 1316 By: Humphrey
AS INTRODUCED
An Act relating to prosecuting attorneys; creating
the Prosecuting Attorneys Oversight Commission;
stating purpose of the Commission; defining term;
establishing membership and panels of the Commission;
stating responsibilities of the investigative panel;
stating responsibilities of the hearing panel;
defining terms; providing for the appointment of
members to each panel; establishing date for initial
terms; providing limitation on number of terms to be
served; providing appointments upon vacancies;
prohibiting ex parte communications regarding certain
matters; providing procedures for voting; providing
for the removal of panel members; setting quorum
requirement; providing for travel reimbursement;
directing the Commission to promulgate standards and
rules of governance; providing grounds of discipline
for district attorneys; establishing procedures for
filing complaints; setting limitations on when the
Commission can entertain complaints; providing
exceptions; requiring confidentiality of information
regarding disciplinary or incapacity matters;
providing an exception; providing confidentiality and
disclosure requirements after the filing and service
of formal charges; providing confidentiality of work
product; authorizing disclosure of information under
certain circumstances; making information submitted
to the Commission or staff privileged; directing copy
of proposed record be given to respondent; providing
commencement date of the Commission; requiring
promulgation of rules and regulations by certain
date; prohibiting the filing of complaints before
certain date; limiting the authority of the
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Commission; providing construing provision; providing
for codification; and providing an effective date.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF OKLAHOMA:
SECTION 1. NEW LAW A new section of law to be codified
in the Oklahoma Statutes as Section 986 of Title 22, unless there is
created a duplication in numbering, reads as follows:
A. There is hereby created the Prosecuting Attorneys Oversight
Commission which shall have the power to discipline, remove, and
cause involuntary retirement of appointed or elected district
attorneys. As used in this section, the term "Commission" means the
Prosecuting Attorneys Oversight Commission.
B. The Commission shall consist of eight (8) members.
C. The Commission shall be divided into a five-member
investigative panel and a three-member hearing panel.
D. The investigative panel of the Commission shall be
responsible for:
1. The investigative, prosecutorial, and administrative
functions of the Commission;
2. Investigation of alleged conduct constituting grounds for
discipline under subsection S of this section;
3. The selection of an individual to serve as the Director of
the Commission who shall be an active member of the Oklahoma Bar
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Association and who shall not engage in the practice of law, other
than to represent the Commission; and
4. Authorization of employment of such additional staff as the
Commission deems necessary to carry out the powers and duties
assigned to the Commission.
E. The hearing panel of the Commission shall be responsible
for:
1. Adjudicating formal charges filed by the investigative
panel;
2. Issuing disciplinary and incapacity orders;
3. Issuing formal advisory opinions on its own initiative or on
the recommendation of the investigative panel regarding the grounds
for discipline set forth under subsection S of this section; and
4. Issuing standards on its own initiative or on the
recommendation of the investigative panel. Any such standards shall
elaborate, define, or provide context for the grounds for discipline
as set forth in subsection S of this section.
F. As used in subsection J of this section, the terms:
1. "Attorney" means a lawyer who has been an active member of
the State Bar of Oklahoma for at least ten (10) years and is a
registered voter in this state;
2. "Citizen" means an individual who is neither an attorney nor
a judge and who is a registered voter in this state; and
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3. "Judge" means an elected or appointed public official who
presides over a court of record.
G. The District Attorneys Council may recommend to the
respective appointing authorities a list of the names of individuals
for consideration to serve as attorney Commission members.
H. The five members of the investigative panel of the
Commission shall be appointed as follows:
1. One attorney with prosecutorial experience shall be
appointed by the Governor and shall serve a term of four (4) years;
provided, however, that the initial appointment shall be for three
(3) years, and thereafter, successors to such member shall serve
terms of four (4) years;
2. One attorney with prosecutorial experience shall be
appointed by the Lieutenant Governor and shall serve a term of four
(4) years; provided, however, that the initial appointment shall be
for two (2) years, and thereafter, successors to such member shall
serve terms of four (4) years;
3. Two practicing attorneys shall be appointed by the Speaker
of the Oklahoma House of Representatives and each shall serve terms
of four (4) years; provided, however, that the initial appointment
of one attorney member as designated by the Speaker of the Oklahoma
House of Representatives shall be for four (4) years and the initial
appointment of the other attorney member as designated by the
Speaker of the Oklahoma House of Representatives shall be for one
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(1) year, and thereafter, successors to such members shall serve
terms of four (4) years; and
4. One attorney with prosecutorial experience shall be
appointed by the President Pro Tempore of the Oklahoma State Senate
and shall serve a term of four (4) years; provided, however, that
the initial appointment shall be for three (3) years, and
thereafter, successors to such member shall serve terms of four (4)
years.
I. The investigative panel members shall annually elect a chair
and vice chair for such panel.
J. The three members of the hearing panel of the Commission
shall be appointed as follows:
1. One citizen member shall be appointed by the Governor for a
term of four (4) years and his or her successors shall serve terms
of four (4) years;
2. One district attorney shall be appointed by the President
Pro Tempore of the Oklahoma State Senate and shall be the presiding
officer of the hearing panel and shall serve a term of four (4)
years; provided, however, that the initial appointment shall be for
one (1) year, and thereafter, successors to such member shall serve
terms of four (4) years; and
3. One former judge of the Oklahoma Court of Criminal Appeals
or former judge who shall have at least ten (10) years of service as
a judge shall be appointed by the Speaker of the Oklahoma House of
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Representatives and shall serve a term of four (4) years; provided,
however, that the initial appointment shall be for three (3) years,
and thereafter, successors to such member shall serve terms of four
(4) years.
K. All initial terms of the members shall begin on April 1,
2026; provided, however, that the initial term of a member under the
provisions of this section shall not be construed as counting toward
the limit of two full terms of service as provided for under
subsection L of this section.
L. A Commission member shall be eligible to serve so long as he
or she retains his or her status as an attorney, citizen, or
district attorney, but a vacancy shall be created by operation of
law when he or she no longer has the designation for which he or she
was appointed. Any vacancy for a member shall be filled by the
appointing authority, and such appointee shall serve the balance of
the unexpired term of the vacating member; provided, however, if the
appointing authority fails to fill a vacancy within sixty (60) days
of being notified of such vacancy by the Commission, the Governor
shall appoint a replacement member from the same category of the
previous member. Any member of the Commission shall serve no more
than two full terms.
M. Members and staff of the hearing panel shall not engage in
any ex parte communications regarding a disciplinary or incapacity
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matter of a district attorney, including with members and staff of
the investigative panel.
N. 1. Each member of the Commission shall be entitled to vote
on any matter coming before his or her respective panel unless
otherwise provided by rules adopted by the Commission concerning
recusal. The chair of the investigative panel and the presiding
officer of the hearing panel shall retain a vote on all matters
except those in which such chair or presiding officer has been
recused. No Commission member present at a panel meeting shall
abstain from voting unless he or she is recused. The rules of the
Commission shall establish grounds for recusal and the process for
allowing a temporary replacement of a Commission member in such
circumstance.
2. Removal of a panel member for cause shall be by a unanimous
vote of all members of the Commission; provided, however, that the
panel member who is the subject of the vote shall not vote.
3. As used in this subsection, the term "for cause" shall
include indictment for or conviction of a felony or any offense
involving moral turpitude, misconduct, malpractice, malfeasance,
misfeasance, nonfeasance, or incapacity, failure to attend three or
more panel meetings or hearings in a one-year period without good
and sufficient reason or abstaining from voting, unless recused.
O. A quorum of the investigative panel shall require any three
members of such panel.
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P. Members of the Commission shall serve without compensation
but shall receive travel reimbursement as follows:
1. State employees who are members of the Commission shall be
reimbursed for necessary travel expenses incurred in the performance
of their duties by their respective agencies in accordance with the
State Travel Reimbursement Act; and
2. All other members of the Commission shall be reimbursed by
the Office of Management and Enterprise Services for necessary
travel expenses incurred in the performance of their duties in
accordance with the State Travel Reimbursement Act.
Q. The Commission, with the assistance of the District
Attorneys Council, shall promulgate standards of conduct and rules
for the governance of the Commission which will comport with due
process and enforce the provisions of subsections R and S of this
section; provided, however, that such standards and rules shall be
effective only upon review and adoption by the Oklahoma Supreme
Court. Such standards and rules shall allow for a full
investigation of a district attorney only upon majority vote of the
investigative panel. When a Commission member receives information
relating to the conduct of a district attorney, such member shall
provide such information to the director of the Commission for
appropriate action.
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R. The following shall be grounds for discipline of a district
attorney or for his or her removal or involuntary retirement from
office:
1. Mental or physical incapacity interfering with the
performance of his or her duties which is, or is likely to become,
permanent;
2. Willful misconduct in office;
3. Willful and persistent failure to perform his or her duties;
4. Conviction of a crime involving moral turpitude;
5. Conduct prejudicial to the administration of justice which
brings the office into disrepute;
6. Knowingly authorizing or permitting an assistant district
attorney to commit any act constituting grounds for removal under
paragraphs 1 through 5 of this subsection; or
7. Violation of the Oklahoma Rules of Professional Conduct
including, but not limited to, Rule 3.8 of Appendix 3-A of Title 5
of the Oklahoma Statutes regarding special responsibilities of a
prosecutor.
S. 1. In any complaint filed with the Commission alleging a
violation of this subsection and requesting an investigation of an
elected or appointed district attorney, the complainant shall be
required to file with the Commission a sworn affidavit detailing the
personal knowledge of the facts supporting the complaint, including
any interest the complainant may have in the outcome of the case.
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The complainant may attach documents to support the complaint.
Nothing in this section shall be construed to limit the ability of
the Commission to bring a complaint pursuant to this section on its
own motion.
2. The Commission may not entertain a complaint on the basis of
a charging decision, plea offer, opposition to or grant of a
continuance, placement of a case on a trial calendar, or
recommendation regarding bond unless the affidavits and any
documents attached to the complaint show it is plausible that the
district attorney made or knowingly authorized the decision based
on:
a. undue bias or prejudice against the accused or in
favor of persons with interests adverse to the
accused,
b. a lack of probable cause,
c. an undisclosed financial interest in the outcome of
the prosecution,
d. an undisclosed conflict of interest,
e. factors that are completely unrelated to the duties of
prosecution, or
f. a stated policy, written or otherwise, which
demonstrates that the district attorney categorically
refuses to prosecute any offense or offenses of which
he or she is required by law to prosecute.
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3. All information regarding a disciplinary or incapacity
matter of a district attorney shall be kept confidential by the
investigative panel and Commission staff before formal charges are
filed; provided, however, that, if prior to filing formal charges
such judge and investigative panel agree to a satisfactory
disposition of a disciplinary matter other than by a private
admonition or deferred discipline agreement, a report of such
disposition shall be publicly filed in the Oklahoma Supreme Court.
4. After the filing and service of formal charges:
a. with respect to an incapacity matter of a district
attorney, all pleadings, information, hearings, and
proceedings shall remain confidential,
b. with respect to a disciplinary matter of a district
attorney, all pleadings and information shall be
subject to disclosure to the public, and all hearings
and proceedings shall be open and available to the
public, except to the extent that such pleadings and
information or hearings and proceedings could be
properly sealed by a court of competent jurisdiction,
and
c. with respect to administrative and other matters, all
records and information shall be subject to disclosure
to the public, and all meetings, or portions thereof,
shall be open and available to the public, except to
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the extent that such records, information, and
meetings would:
(1) disclose disciplinary matters of a district
attorney protected in subparagraph b of this
paragraph,
(2) disclose incapacity matters of a district
attorney protected in subparagraph a of this
paragraph, or
(3) be considered a matter subject to executive
session, if the Commission were considered to be
an agency under the provisions of Section 3301 of
Title 74 of the Oklahoma Statutes.
5. The work product of the Commission and its staff and the
deliberations of the Commission shall remain confidential.
T. Notwithstanding the provisions of subsection S of this
section, information regarding a disciplinary or incapacity matter
of a district attorney may be disclosed or the confidentiality of
such information may be removed when:
1. The privilege of confidentiality has been waived by the
individual who was the subject of the investigation by the
Commission; or
2. The rules of the Commission provide for disclosure:
a. in the interest of justice and to protect the public,
b. if an emergency situation exists, or
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c. if a district attorney is under consideration for
another state or federal position.
U. Information submitted to the Commission or its staff, and
testimony given in any proceeding before the Commission or one of
its panels, shall be absolutely privileged, and no civil action
predicated upon such information or testimony shall be instituted
against any complainant, witness, or his or her counsel.
V. A respondent who is subjected to public reprimand, censure,
limitation on the performance of prosecutorial duties, suspension,
retirement, or removal shall be entitled to a copy of the proposed
record to be filed with the Oklahoma Supreme Court and, if the
respondent has objections to it, to have the record settled by the
presiding officer of the hearing panel. The order issued by the
hearing panel in a disciplinary or incapacity matter may be reviewed
by the Oklahoma Supreme Court in accordance with its rules and the
rules of the Commission.
W. The Commission shall commence by April 1, 2026, and the
rules and regulations promulgated by such Commission shall be
established no later than April 1, 2026. No complaint shall be
filed before July 1, 2026.
X. The authority of the Commission shall be limited to
incapacity or discipline regarding the conduct of a district
attorney as a holder of such office. Nothing in this section shall
be construed as diminishing the authority of the Oklahoma Supreme
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Court or the Oklahoma Bar Association to regulate the practice of
law in this state.
SECTION 2. This act shall become effective November 1, 2025.
60-1-10833 GRS 01/09/25