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SENATE FLOOR VERSION - SB601 SFLR Page 1
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SENATE FLOOR VERSION
March 4, 2025
COMMITTEE SUBSTITUTE
FOR
SENATE BILL NO. 601 By: Rader
An Act relating to the death penalty; creating the
Death Penalty Moratorium Act; providing short title;
staying the execution of judgments in all death
penalty cases; prohibiting the Court of Criminal
Appeals from ordering the execution of judgments in
death penalty cases; prohibiting the setting of
execution dates; vacating all current execution
dates; suspending all statutes related to death
penalty sentences; returning death penalty statutes
to full force and effect upon repeal of the Death
Penalty Moratorium Act; providing construing
provisions; creating the Death Penalty Reform Task
Force; providing purpose of the task force; providing
for membership; establishing date for appointing
members; setting organizational meetings; providing
for the selection of a chair and vice chair; stating
primary function of the task force; authorizing the
task force to collaborate with other agencies,
organizations, entities, and educational
institutions; providing quorum requirements; making
meetings of the task force subject to the Oklahoma
Open Meeting Act; prohibiting compensation or travel
reimbursement; directing the Attorney General to
provide staffing and administrative support;
requiring the submission of certain report to the
Legislature and Governor; providing for codification;
providing for noncodification; and declaring an
emergency.
SENATE FLOOR VERSION - SB601 SFLR Page 2
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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 1001a-1 of Title 22, unless
there is created a duplication in numbering, reads as follows:
This act shall be known and may be cited as the “Death Penalty
Moratorium Act”.
SECTION 2. NEW LAW A new section of law to be codified
in the Oklahoma Statutes as Section 1001a-2 of Title 22, unless
there is created a duplication in numbering, reads as follows:
A. The execution of the judgment in all cases where a sentence
of death has been imposed is hereby stayed until June 1, 2027.
B. The Court of Criminal Appeals shall not order execution of
the judgment in cases where a sentence of death has been imposed
while the stay provided for in subsection A of this section is in
effect.
C. No further execution dates shall be set by the Court of
Criminal Appeals or by the Governor while the stay provided for in
subsection A of this section is in effect.
D. All execution dates currently in place at the time of the
effective date of this act shall be vacated.
SECTION 3. NEW LAW A new section of law to be codified
in the Oklahoma Statutes as Section 1001a-3 of Title 22, unless
there is created a duplication in numbering, reads as follows:
SENATE FLOOR VERSION - SB601 SFLR Page 3
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A. The provisions of this act shall not be construed to
prohibit prosecutions seeking the penalty of death for new or
current cases.
B. The provisions of this act shall not be construed to vacate
the individual judgments in cases where a sentence of death has been
imposed.
SECTION 4. NEW LAW A new section of law not to be
codified in the Oklahoma Statutes reads as follows:
A. There is hereby created until June 1, 2027, the Death
Penalty Reform Task Force to study and report on the progress of
implementing reforms to the use of the death penalty in this state.
B. The task force shall be comprised of five (5) members to be
appointed as follows:
1. One member to be appointed by the President Pro Tempore of
the Senate;
2. One member to be appointed by the Minority Leader of the
Senate;
3. One member to be appointed by the Speaker of the House of
Representatives;
4. One member to be appointed by the Minority Leader of the
House of Representatives; and
5. One member to be appointed by the Governor.
C. Appointments to the task force shall be made within sixty
(60) days after the effective date of this act.
SENATE FLOOR VERSION - SB601 SFLR Page 4
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D. The task force shall conduct an organizational meeting no
later than November 1, 2025. A chair and vice chair shall be
selected to serve by the membership of the task force at the
organizational meeting. The task force may meet as often as may be
required to perform the duties imposed upon the task force.
E. The primary function of the task force shall be to create
reports describing in detail the degree to which the recommendations
contained in the 2017 Report of the Oklahoma Death Penalty Review
Commission have been put into effect in this state. The task force
may coordinate, communicate, and collaborate with state and federal
agencies, nonprofit organizations, public and private health care
entities, and state educational institutions regarding issues
associated with the death penalty.
F. A quorum of the task force members shall be required to
approve any final action of the task force. For purposes of this
subsection, three members of the task force shall constitute a
quorum.
G. The meetings of the task force shall be subject to the
Oklahoma Open Meeting Act.
H. Members of the task force shall receive no compensation or
travel reimbursement.
I. The Office of the Attorney General shall provide staff and
administrative support for the task force.
SENATE FLOOR VERSION - SB601 SFLR Page 5
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J. The task force shall electronically submit a report of its
findings no later than November 30, 2026, to the President Pro
Tempore of the Senate, the Speaker of the House of Representatives,
and the Governor, such report to be supplemented and updated upon
the termination of the task force.
SECTION 5. It being immediately necessary for the preservation
of the public peace, health or safety, an emergency is hereby
declared to exist, by reason whereof this act shall take effect and
be in full force from and after its passage and approval.
COMMITTEE REPORT BY: COMMITTEE ON JUDICIARY
March 4, 2025 - DO PASS AS AMENDED BY CS