SB 1264 revises Oklahoma’s criminal code classifications for certain offenses, primarily by updating the lists of crimes that qualify as Class A3 and Class B3 felonies. The bill keeps a broad set of violent, sexual, child-abuse, terrorism, arson, fraud, drug-trafficking, and public-order offenses in those categories, while also making targeted changes such as deleting one offense from the Class B3 list and updating statutory references and effective dates. It also aligns the classification language with the bill’s broader restructuring of assault and battery provisions.
A major part of the bill amends 21 O.S. Section 644, which governs assault, assault and battery, domestic abuse, domestic assault with a dangerous weapon, domestic abuse against a pregnant woman, domestic abuse resulting in great bodily injury, domestic abuse in the presence of a child, and domestic abuse by strangulation. The measure increases the penalty for simple assault from up to 30 days to up to 90 days in jail, and increases assault and battery from up to 90 days to up to six months. It also updates felony classifications and penalties tied to domestic violence offenses, clarifies definitions such as “great bodily injury” and “strangulation,” and preserves court-ordered treatment and review procedures for domestic abuse cases.
The bill also expands and formalizes the domestic violence treatment framework. It requires courts to order batterers’ intervention treatment for qualifying domestic abuse convictions, sets review hearings, and authorizes the Attorney General to certify two pilot batterers’ intervention programs in Oklahoma and Tulsa Counties beginning in 2026. Those pilot programs must use evidence-based, survivor-centered practices, risk assessment, and reporting requirements, and they may not include offenders convicted of domestic abuse with a dangerous weapon or by strangulation. The bill further states that anger management or couples counseling alone does not satisfy the treatment requirement.
The overall sentiment in the legislative record appears strongly supportive and largely noncontroversial. The bill advanced unanimously through the Senate Public Safety Committee, Senate third reading, House Criminal Judiciary Committee, House Judiciary and Public Safety Oversight Committee, House third reading, and Senate fourth reading, with no recorded dissenting votes. Committee remarks indicate support for addressing domestic violence proactively and suggest the measure was viewed as a public safety and victim-protection bill.
The main points of contention are limited in the available record, but the bill’s most significant policy choices are the increased penalties for assault and battery and the detailed domestic violence treatment mandates. Those provisions affect defendants convicted of domestic abuse, courts, the Attorney General, batterers’ intervention providers, and victims who are protected from being required to pay prosecution-related fees. The bill’s repealer sections also indicate that prior versions of Section 644 are being replaced to consolidate the amended law before the November 1, 2026 effective date.
SB 1264 amends multiple provisions of Title 21 and related statutes to reclassify and update criminal offenses, especially violent crimes, domestic violence offenses, and certain drug and fraud crimes. It increases misdemeanor penalties for assault and assault and battery, revises domestic abuse penalty structures, and creates/updates felony classifications for domestic violence involving dangerous weapons, strangulation, pregnancy, great bodily injury, and child presence. It also repeals prior versions of Section 644 to replace them with the new consolidated language, and sets the act’s effective date for November 1, 2026.
The bill appears to have enjoyed broad bipartisan support and little visible opposition. It passed Senate and House committees and floor votes unanimously, and the committee discussion reflected a favorable view of strengthening domestic violence prevention and intervention. The tone of the available commentary suggests the measure was seen as a public-safety and victim-protection bill rather than a controversial policy change.
No major opposition is reflected in the provided votes or transcripts. The most notable policy choices are the increased penalties for assault and battery and the expanded court-ordered treatment regime for domestic abuse offenders, including the Attorney General’s new pilot-program authority. Potentially sensitive issues include the stricter felony treatment of domestic violence offenses, the exclusion of certain offenders from pilot programs, and the replacement of prior statutory versions through repealers, but the record provided does not show organized resistance to those provisions.