Crimes and punishments; electronic communication devices; threaten; intimidate; harass; public officials; municipal officials; public school board members; effective date.
Summary
HB3678 amends Oklahoma’s law on using electronic communication devices to threaten, intimidate, or harass certain protected individuals by publishing personally identifiable information. The bill keeps the existing misdemeanor penalties for doxxing-type conduct when it places the targeted person in reasonable fear of death or serious bodily injury, and it preserves enhanced penalties for repeat violations.
The main substantive change is to expand the list of protected persons. In addition to peace officers, election officials, medical care providers, and crime victims, the bill expressly adds municipal officials and public school board members to the statute’s protections. It also broadens the definition of “public official” to include people elected or appointed to municipal offices, authorities, boards, commissions, and public school boards. The bill retains the existing carve-out for medical care providers when the incident is unrelated to their professional duties, and it clarifies several definitions, including “publish” and “electronic communication.”
Impact
HB3678 amends 21 O.S. Section 1176, expanding Oklahoma’s criminal harassment/doxxing statute to cover municipal officials and public school board members and to clarify the scope of protected public officials. It affects who can be prosecuted for posting personally identifiable information with intent to threaten, intimidate, or harass, and it may increase the number of officials and public employees who can invoke the statute’s protections. The bill takes effect November 1, 2026.
Sentiment
The bill appears to have broad support and little visible opposition. It passed House committees unanimously, passed the House 82-4, and cleared the Senate Public Safety Committee 8-0 before passing the Senate 47-0. The committee transcript also suggests minimal debate, with the measure moving forward quickly and without recorded controversy in committee.
Contention
The primary policy issue is the balance between protecting public servants from threats and harassment versus concerns about the reach of criminal penalties for online speech. The expansion to municipal officials and public school board members is the most notable change and could be viewed as broadening criminal liability to a wider set of local officeholders. The bill also preserves a limitation for medical care providers when the incident is unrelated to professional duties, indicating an effort to narrow the statute in that context while expanding it in others.
Bullying; aiding suicide; crimes and punishments; prohibiting certain communications through an online platform; schools; modifying provisions of the School Safety and Bullying Prevention Act; effective date.
Crimes and punishments; modifying provisions and expanding applicability of offenses related to aiding suicide or an attempt at suicide. Effective date.