Groundbreaking Domestic Violence Bill Passes Oklahoma House

TULSA, Okla. (KTUL) — A bill that would give the court more discretion when sentencing domestic abuse survivors where the abuse was determined to be a significant factor in the crime, passed the Oklahoma House Wednesday afternoon.

Ninety-one votes were in favor of the bill, written by Representative Toni Hasenback, with zero votes against it.

“This bill deals with any person who has had to make a decision on whether or not to save their own life,” said Hasenbeck.

The bill gives the courts more discretion when sentencing crimes where domestic violence was considered to be a significant factor, including providing sentencing ranges.

In order to qualify, evidence of the abuse has to be presented including court record, presentencing report, hospital record, sworn state of witness to the violence, law enforcement record, domestic incident report, or protection order.

NewsChannel 8 spoke with Rep. Hasenbeck in January before the bill was made public. Since then, numerous changes have been made to the framework, including a component to allow domestic violence survivors who are currently incarcerated to apply to the court to seek redress.

The legislation now heads to the Oklahoma Senate.