The Oklahoma House Judiciary Committee on an unspecified date reported multiple bills to the full House by majority vote, advancing measures that range from criminal-sentencing changes to updates to trust and easement law.

The most contested measure heard was House Bill 1001, which the bill sponsor said would make accessory-to-murder convictions subject to an 85% minimum term of incarceration. The committee voted to report the bill "do pass" by a 6–1 margin.

Why it matters: Committee passage sends the measures to the full House for further consideration. Several bills made changes to state statutes or state practice — for example, shifting an advocacy office between agencies and adopting model uniform law language — that could affect court interpretation, agency responsibilities and private transactions if passed by the Legislature.

Votes at a glance

- HB1001 — Accessory-to-murder minimum term: Sponsor (identified in the transcript as Lauren Ashews Law) said the bill would require a person convicted as an accessory to murder to serve 85% of the imposed sentence and would remove certain existing behavior-credit offsets. The sponsor framed the bill as a response to two girls from the sponsor’s district who went missing in 1999 and said parents requested tougher accountability; the sponsor said an earlier offender served three years and later lived roughly 20 miles from a victim’s mother. Committee action: reported due pass. Recorded vote: 6 yes, 1 no. (Transcript excerpted from the presenter’s remarks and the committee’s recorded vote.)

- HB2622 — Nuisance-procedure changes for municipalities: Representative Harris explained the bill would make “a couple of changes to the nuisance procedure that municipalities have to follow.” Committee action: reported due pass. Recorded vote: 8 yes, 0 no.

- HB1835 (committee substitute) — Protective services for vulnerable adults: Representative Heffner said the committee substitute moves the Office of Client Advocacy from the Department of Human Services to the Department of Health and coordinates agencies’ handling of client complaints about abuse. Committee action: reported due pass. Recorded vote: 8 yes, 0 no.

- HB2729 — Judicial authority on ambiguous federal statutes: Representative Kendrick said the bill would statutoryize a June 2024 Supreme Court approach by returning to courts the independent authority to evaluate whether agency interpretations are required by ambiguous federal statutes. Committee action: reported due pass. Recorded vote: recorded as majority present (transcript line: "68 to nay" appears to be a transcription error; committee chair declared the motion passed).

- Advanced health-care-directive bill (bill number not specified in transcript) — Updated statutory language and definitions for advance health-care directives: Sponsor said the bill incorporates uniform definitions so instruments are more uniform across states; sponsor identified the request source as a judge in the sponsor’s district who is part of the Uniform Law Commission. Committee action: reported due pass. Recorded vote: 8 yes, 0 no.

- HB1850 — Uniform Trust Code (committee substitute): Sponsor said the measure adopts the Uniform Trust Code as tailored to Oklahoma law to provide consistency with statutes used in many other states. Committee action: reported due pass. Recorded vote: 8 yes, 0 no.

- HB1177 — Prohibition on unfair service agreements: Representative Stark said the bill places a prohibition on unfair service agreements into statute. Committee action: reported due pass. Recorded vote: passed (recorded vote shown as majority present; tally not specified beyond Chair’s declaration).

- HB1027 — Technical corrections to the Oklahoma Law Enforcement Retirement System: Representative Kelly said the bill makes technical and IRS-related corrections and does not add new members to the older system. Committee action: reported due pass. Recorded vote: recorded in the transcript as passed (chair declared motion passed; a transcription line recorded "8 nays, 0 nays" appears erroneous).

- HB2207 — Broadening DHS facility authority to request protective orders for residents: Representative Lay said the bill would allow a Department of Human Services facility to request a protective order when a resident becomes involved in an inappropriate online relationship; under current law the protective order must be requested by the person themself. Committee action: reported due pass. Recorded vote: 9 yes, 0 no.

- HB202217 (vocational rehabilitation in workers’ compensation) — Representative Deck said the bill amends vocational rehabilitation benefits in the workers’ compensation program, including mechanisms for attorney payment and incentives to keep injured workers in the workforce. Committee action: reported due pass. Recorded vote: 9 yes, 0 no.

- HB1060 (uniform easement bill) — Representative Wilk said the bill allows a primary property owner to relocate a surface easement on their property so long as it does not diminish the easement holder’s access. Committee action: reported due pass. Recorded vote: 9 yes, 0 no.

- HB1415 — Antitrust authority for attorney general on behalf of indirect consumers: Chairman (as recorded in the transcript) said the bill includes indirect consumers and authorizes the attorney general to pursue antitrust violations on their behalf. Committee action: reported due pass. Recorded vote: 9 yes, 0 no.

Procedure and debate: Most bills drew minimal debate in committee. Several sponsors said the measures reflected prior legislative activity (carryovers or cleanups), model state law, or requests from judges or state agencies. Committee substitutes were adopted as working drafts where noted; the committee chair repeatedly directed staff to activate the voting machine for recorded votes and declared votes passed after majority tallies.

What the committee did not decide: The committee’s action was to report bills to the full House; no floor-level votes or final enactments occurred in the meeting excerpts provided.

Ending: The vice chairman returned the meeting to the chair at the close of the session, and the chair thanked members for attending his first meeting as chair.