Oklahoma has an opportunity to make meaningful strides in criminal justice reform in 2025. With growing momentum behind efforts to create a more effective justice system, lawmakers have introduced several key policy initiatives that could drastically improve the state's approach to fees, sentencing, and mental health funding. As the conversation around public safety evolves, it is clear that eliminating burdensome fees, strengthening mental health services in rural communities, and advancing sentencing reform will be critical priorities for the upcoming legislative session.
Fee Elimination
One of the most significant proposed areas of reform for 2025 is the elimination of excessive fees within the justice system. This round of reforms will focus on fees as distinguished from fines and restitution. While fines serve as punitive measures and restitution compensates victims, fees often act as hidden taxes on justice-involved individuals to fund government agencies. These fees act as a significant financial burden for individuals, making it difficult for them to move forward with their lives. One estimate puts the amount of court-ordered debt in Oklahoma since 2012 at nearly $700 million. The elimination of these fees has been a top priority for Governor Kevin Stitt, who recognizes the negative impact they have on low-income Oklahomans and public safety overall.
Research has shown that excessive court fees contribute to higher recidivism rates by creating financial instability for justice-involved individuals. These fees are piled onto one of the least wealthy population segments in our State and forces individuals to make difficult choices between crime and the ability to pay their debt. In Oklahoma County, those who had their fines and fees waived were significantly less likely to be charged with a new offense and also had a lower rate of new criminal convictions. Finally, the nonpayment of fines and fees leads to higher incarceration. One study found that around 20% of all those who are behind in their payments are incarcerated specifically due to their nonpayment.
Legislative Efforts to Address Fees
Several key bills introduced in 2025 seek to tackle this issue:
- HB1480 – Establishes an "ability to pay" process in the juvenile justice system and eliminates remaining juvenile fees, ensuring that young Oklahomans are not burdened with financial obligations that hinder their rehabilitation.
- HB1460 – Eliminates 16 executive agency fees under the Department of Public Safety and removes the District Attorney Supervision Fee, a critical step in ensuring that individuals on probation are not unfairly penalized due to their financial situation.
- HB1462 – Prioritizes the payment of restitution over fees, ensuring that victims receive compensation before the state collects administrative costs.
- SB973 – Ends the private collection of court obligations, reducing predatory practices that disproportionately impact low-income individuals.
Bolstering SQ781
In 2016, Oklahoma voters approved State Question 781, directing savings from reduced incarceration rates into mental health and substance abuse treatment programs. However, the legislature took seven years to provide funding. This led to county applications being inconsistent, particularly in rural areas, where access to treatment remains limited. So far $25 Million has been invested in this Community Safety Investment Fund to reduce pre-trial incarceration and lower crime statewide
The Rural Mental Health Crisis
Oklahoma, in particular, has extremely high rates - ranking third and second, respectively, in the nation for mental illness and substance use disorder prevalence. It turns out the main difference between urban centers and other rural communities across our State is the availability of resources to help deal with these issues. For example, Oklahoma has 28 rural counties that are categorized as having high need but low capacity for opioid treatment. This indicates that there is a significant gap between addiction treatment needs and the ability to provide that treatment at the county level, which makes it hard for rural families to get the help they need and increases the risk of fatal overdoses. The gap between need and availability exists for both addiction treatment and general mental health services in many rural communities across Oklahoma. Without adequate mental health care, individuals struggling with substance use disorders and mental illness often end up in the criminal justice system instead of receiving the help they need.
SQ781 funding, which for the first time since its passage in 2016, has provided 25 million dollars to counties for mental health and substance abuse treatment programs, pretrial diversion, housing, and education programs, is already making a difference. There are also opportunities at the state level to better fund treatment courts and expand them geographically so that all Oklahoma residents get a fair chance at treatment. While these recent state appropriations have allocated funding for mental health services, the amounts have been delayed and, in many cases, are insufficient to make a meaningful impact in rural communities. Many local programs remain underfunded, preventing them from providing the necessary support to those in need.
Legislative Solutions
Two bills aim to address these gaps:
- SB251 – Establishes a new funding floor for SQ781, ensuring that rural areas receive enough resources to support mental health and addiction treatment services effectively.
- HB2248 – Creates pilot projects in rural communities to explore innovative approaches to delivering mental health care and rehabilitation services.
Sentencing Reform
Oklahoma has long been known for its harsh sentencing laws, which have contributed to the state's high incarceration rates. However, evidence suggests that excessively long sentences do not reduce crime. Instead, they strain state resources and disrupt families and communities.
Reclassifying Crimes
One of the major areas of focus for 2025 is the continued reclassification of crimes. Last session, the Oklahoma legislature passed HB1792, which creates a new felony classification system in Oklahoma. The new law will group all criminal felonies into “buckets” based on the seriousness of the offense and attach standardized sentencing ranges to each of the groupings. In doing so, Oklahoma will join a majority of states, including neighbors Kansas and Texas, and organize the criminal code in a way that makes sense for all criminal justice actors. Before the passage of HB1792, the state’s criminal code hadn’t seen a comprehensive update for over 30 years. Each individual crime had been added by lawmakers on an individual basis over the history of the state. The criminal code had never been consolidated, nor had old and irrelevant crimes been removed, but all that changed with HB1792.
Modernizing the criminal code is much more than a purely organizational reform for lawyers and judges. The criminal code wastes taxpayer money by encouraging inconsistent and variable sentences from courtroom to courtroom while also creating unnecessarily long and complicated trials due to unclear laws - all at the taxpayer's expense. Many individuals in Oklahoma carry outdated or overly punitive classifications that make it difficult to find employment, secure housing, or reintegrate into society. Updating these classifications will help reduce recidivism and promote economic stability for justice-involved individuals.
Legislative Action on Sentencing Reform
- HB2104 & HB2105 – These "clean-up bills" focus on addressing inconsistencies in Oklahoma’s sentencing laws, ensuring that penalties are proportional to the crimes committed and that individuals have a clear path to rehabilitation. (As of March 2025, SB973 and HB2248 have been laid over and will be pursued in the next legislative session. However, OCJR remains committed to advancing these critical issues and will continue working to drive meaningful reform.)
Conclusion
The 2025 legislative session presents a critical opportunity for Oklahoma to take bold steps in criminal justice reform. Eliminating burdensome fees, strengthening rural mental health services, and reforming sentencing laws are essential measures that will create a more just and effective system. With strong legislative efforts already underway, Oklahoma is poised to make significant progress toward a fairer and safer future for all its residents. The momentum is here—now is the time to act.
