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An Act
ENROLLED HOUSE
BILL NO. 2951 By: Hardin of the House
and
Kern of the Senate
An Act relating to prisons and reformatories;
amending 57 O.S. 2021, Section 95, which relates to
the delivery of sentenced persons; authorizing the
transport of inmates to certain facility; amending 57
O.S. 2021, Sections 502, as amended by Section 2,
Chapter 22, O.S.L. 2023, 508, and 509, as last
amended by Section 2, Chapter 467, O.S.L. 2025 (57
O.S. Supp. 2025, Sections 502 and 509), which relate
to the Oklahoma Corrections Act of 1967; removing and
adding correctional centers to certain defined term;
updating reference to certain named act; adding
correctional centers to list of penal institutions
maintained by the Department of Corrections;
repealing 57 O.S. 2021, Section 504.7, which relates
to the Kate Barnard Community Corrections Center; and
providing an effective date.
SUBJECT: Prisons and reformatories
BE IT ENACTED BY THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF OKLAHOMA:
SECTION 1. AMENDATORY 57 O.S. 2021, Section 95, is
amended to read as follows:
Section 95. A. Any person convicted of an offense against the
laws of this state and sentenced to imprisonment that is not to be
served in a county jail shall be transported by the sheriff of the
county where the person is sentenced, or transported by a designated
representative of the sheriff, to the Department of Corrections at
the Lexington Assessment and Reception Center, the Mabel Bassett
Correctional Center, or other location designated by the Director of
the Department of Corrections.
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B. Any person convicted of an offense against the laws of this
state and sentenced to imprisonment that is not to be served in a
county jail and who is not housed in a county jail shall be
transported by the detention center, or transported by a designated
representative of the detention center, to the Department of
Corrections at the Lexington Assessment and Reception Center, the
Mabel Bassett Correctional Center, or other location designated by
the Director of the Department of Corrections.
C. The sheriff shall deliver the person to the Department at
such center together with:
1. A certified copy of the judgment and sentence from the court
ordering such imprisonment, unless the judgment and sentence
previously has been sent electronically by an authorized clerk of
the court;
2. A certificate setting forth the number of days served in the
county jail after the pronouncement of judgment and rendering of
sentence for the offenses committed;
3. A copy of any medical, dental, or mental health records of
the defendant for conditions reviewed or treated while in the
custody of the sheriff;
4. Any medication or medical or dental device prescribed for
the defendant while in the custody of the sheriff or for a
preexisting condition; and
5. A copy of the presentence investigation report, if a report
was prepared.
D. The Department of Corrections shall give the sheriff a
receipt for each person received into the custody of the Department.
The receipt shall be filed by the sheriff in the office of the clerk
of the court where the sentence was made.
E. The Department of Corrections shall reimburse the
transporting agency as follows:
1. Mileage from the county sheriff's office to the appropriate
reception center and back to the county sheriff's office; and
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2. Hourly wage reimbursement for the transporting officer for
the hours of transport travel and time spent at the reception center
based on the transporting officer's normal hourly wage.
Reimbursement shall not exceed Thirty Dollars ($30.00) an hour per
officer. Documentation of the officer's hourly wage shall accompany
all reimbursement requests to the Department.
The Department of Corrections shall have the authority to
promulgate rules and forms for the reimbursement procedures provided
in this section.
The Department of Corrections shall submit a quarterly report to
the Chair of the Senate Appropriations Committee and Chair of the
House of Representatives Appropriations and Budget Committee.
SECTION 2. AMENDATORY 57 O.S. 2021, Section 502, as
amended by Section 2, Chapter 22, O.S.L. 2023 (57 O.S. Supp. 2025,
Section 502), is amended to read as follows:
Section 502. As used in this title, unless the context
otherwise requires:
1. "Board" means the State Board of Corrections;
2. "Department" means the Department of Corrections of this
state;
3. "Director" means the Director of the Department of
Corrections;
4. "Halfway house" means a private facility for the placement
of inmates in a community setting for the purpose of reintegrating
into the community inmates who are nearing their release dates. The
term shall not include private prisons;
5. "Institutions" means the Oklahoma State Penitentiary located
at McAlester, Oklahoma; the Oklahoma State Reformatory located at
Granite, Oklahoma; the Lexington Assessment and Reception Center
located at Lexington, Oklahoma; the Joseph Harp Correctional Center
located at Lexington, Oklahoma; the Jackie Brannon Correctional
Center located at McAlester, Oklahoma; the Howard McLeod
Correctional Center located at Atoka, Oklahoma; the Mack H. Alford
Correctional Center located at Stringtown, Oklahoma; the Jim E.
Hamilton Correctional Center located at Hodgen, Oklahoma; the Mabel
Bassett Correctional Center located at McLoud, Oklahoma; the R.B.
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"Dick" Conner Correctional Center located at Hominy, Oklahoma; the
James Crabtree Correctional Center located at Helena, Oklahoma; the
Jess Dunn Correctional Center located at Taft, Oklahoma; the John
Lilley Correctional Center located at Boley, Oklahoma; the William
S. Key Correctional Center located at Fort Supply, Oklahoma; the Dr.
Eddie Warrior Correctional Center located at Taft, Oklahoma; the
Northeast Oklahoma Community Corrections Center located at Vinita,
Oklahoma; the Clara Waters and Kate Barnard Community Corrections
Centers Center located at Oklahoma City, Oklahoma; the Community
Corrections Centers located at Lawton, Enid, Oklahoma City and Union
City; the Charles E. "Bill" Johnson Correctional Center, located
east of Alva, Oklahoma; the Southern Oklahoma Resource Center
located at Pauls Valley, Oklahoma the Great Plains Correctional
Center located at Hinton, Oklahoma; the Allen Gamble Correctional
Center located at Holdenville, Oklahoma; the Chief James Smith
Correctional Center located at Lawton, Oklahoma; and other
facilities under the jurisdiction and control of the Department of
Corrections or hereafter established by the Department of
Corrections;
6. "Intermediate revocation facility" means a corrections
center operated by the Department of Corrections or a private
facility or public trust operating pursuant to contract with the
Department of Corrections which provides housing and intensive
programmatic services for offenders who have violated the terms or
conditions of probation as determined by a supervising probation
officer. "Intensive programmatic services" offered by the
Department of Corrections includes, but shall not be limited to,
alcohol and substance abuse counseling and treatment, mental health
counseling and treatment and domestic violence courses and treatment
programs;
7. "Intermediate sanctions facility" means a community
corrections center operated by the Department of Corrections or a
private facility or public trust operating pursuant to contract with
the Department of Corrections which provides for the housing and
programmatic services of offenders such as probation or parole
violators or community sentenced offenders placed in the facility
for disciplinary sanctions, work release offenders, offenders who
need intensive programmatic services, or offenders who have
demonstrated positive adjustment while in an institutional setting
who need additional programmatic services to enhance their reentry
into society upon release from a prison term; and
8. "Private prison contractor" means:
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a. a nongovernmental entity or public trust which,
pursuant to a contract with the Department of
Corrections, operates an institution within the
Department other than a halfway house or intermediate
sanctions facility, or provides for the housing, care,
and control of inmates and performs other functions
related to these responsibilities within a minimum,
medium, or maximum security level facility not owned
by the Department but operated by the contractor, or
b. a nongovernmental entity or public trust which,
pursuant to a contract with the United States or
another state, provides for the housing, care, and
control of minimum or medium security inmates in the
custody of the United States or another state, and
performs other functions related to these
responsibilities other than a halfway house or
intermediate sanctions facility within a facility
owned or operated by the contractor.
SECTION 3. AMENDATORY 57 O.S. 2021, Section 508, is
amended to read as follows:
Section 508. The Director, subject to the approval of the
Board, is hereby authorized to create divisions within the
Department of Corrections as he they may deem appropriate to
effectively manage the Department. The divisions shall be under the
immediate supervision and control of the Director. The Director is
hereby authorized to appoint Deputy Directors for the divisions of
the Department, who shall be exempt from the Merit System of
Personnel Administration Act Civil Service and Human Capital
Modernization Act, and to fix the salaries and duties thereof;
provided, the salary ranges of said Deputy Directors shall be set by
the Legislature in the Department's annual appropriation. The
Deputy Directors shall have at least a master's degree from an
accredited college or university and at least four (4) years of
professional level work experience in corrections; or a bachelor's
degree and at least five (5) years of work experience in
corrections. Provided, however, that for the position of Deputy
Director of administrative services, professional level
administrative experience may be substituted for work experience in
corrections. The provisions of this act shall not apply to those
presently serving as Deputy Director as herein defined.
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SECTION 4. AMENDATORY 57 O.S. 2021, Section 509, as last
amended by Section 2, Chapter 467, O.S.L. 2025 (57 O.S. Supp. 2025,
Section 509), is amended to read as follows:
Section 509. A. The Department of Corrections is authorized to
maintain the following facilities in this state:
1. Oklahoma State Penitentiary in McAlester;
2. Oklahoma State Reformatory in Granite;
3. Lexington Assessment and Reception Center in Lexington;
4. Jackie Brannon Correctional Center in McAlester;
5. Joseph Harp Correctional Center in Lexington;
6. Howard McLeod Correctional Center in Atoka;
7. Mack H. Alford Correctional Center in Stringtown;
8. Jim E. Hamilton Correctional Center in Hodgen;
9. Mabel Bassett Correctional Center in McLoud;
10. R.B. "Dick" Conner Correctional Center in Hominy;
11. James Crabtree Correctional Center in Helena;
12. Jess Dunn Correctional Center in Taft;
13. Northeast Oklahoma Community Corrections Center in Vinita;
14. John Lilley Correctional Center in Boley;
15. Dr. Eddie Warrior Correctional Center in Taft;
16. Clara Waters Community Corrections Center in Oklahoma City;
17. Lawton Community Corrections Center in Lawton;
18. Enid Community Corrections Center in Enid;
19. Union City Community Corrections Center in Union City;
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20. Charles E. "Bill" Johnson Correctional Center in Alva; and
21. A facility purchased pursuant to the provisions of Enrolled
House Bill No. 2780 of the 1st Session of the 60th Oklahoma
Legislature Great Plains Correctional Center in Hinton;
22. Allen Gamble Correctional Center in Holdenville; and
23. Chief James Smith Correctional Center in Lawton.
B. The Department shall be the legal successor of and, except
as otherwise provided in the Oklahoma Corrections Act of 1967, shall
have the powers and duties vested by law in the Office of Management
and Enterprise Services in all matters relating to penal
institutions, heretofore or hereafter established by the Department,
which institutions and community corrections centers shall be under
the administrative direction and control of the Department.
SECTION 5. REPEALER 57 O.S. 2021, Section 504.7, is
hereby repealed.
SECTION 6. This act shall become effective November 1, 2026.
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Passed the House of Representatives the 4th day of May, 2026.
Presiding Officer of the House
of Representatives
Passed the Senate the 27th day of April, 2026.
Presiding Officer of the Senate
OFFICE OF THE GOVERNOR
Received by the Office of the Governor this ____________________
day of ___________________, 20_______, at _______ o'clock _______ M.
By: _________________________________
Approved by the Governor of the State of Oklahoma this _________
day of ___________________, 20_______, at _______ o'clock _______ M.
_________________________________
Governor of the State of Oklahoma
OFFICE OF THE SECRETARY OF STATE
Received by the Office of the Secretary of State this __________
day of ___________________, 20_______, at _______ o'clock _______ M.
By: _________________________________