Oklahoma Senate Bill SB691

Oklahoma 2026 Regular Session

• Introduced: 2/3/25
• Refer: 2/4/25

Caption

Law enforcement; requiring the Council on Law Enforcement Education and Training and the Department of Mental Health and Substance Abuse Services to develop certain program. Effective date.

Summary

SB 691 creates a new voluntary training program for Oklahoma law enforcement officers focused on responding to calls involving people experiencing a mental health crisis. The bill directs the Council on Law Enforcement Education and Training (CLEET) to work with the Department of Mental Health and Substance Abuse Services to develop the program, and it provides that officers who volunteer and complete the training will be designated as law enforcement mental health specialists. The measure also authorizes both agencies to adopt rules needed to implement the program and specifies that the new law would take effect on November 1, 2025. The bill would be codified in Title 70 of the Oklahoma Statutes as Section 3311.19, adding a state-level framework for specialized crisis-response training within law enforcement.

Impact

SB 691 would add a new statutory section requiring CLEET and the Department of Mental Health and Substance Abuse Services to jointly create and administer a voluntary mental-health-response training program for law enforcement. It would not mandate participation for all officers, but it would establish an official designation for those who complete the training and would likely affect law enforcement training standards, crisis response practices, and interagency coordination across the state.

Sentiment

Based on the bill text and available legislative history, the measure appears to have a generally supportive and practical public-safety orientation, with no recorded committee debate or votes indicating opposition. The bill’s voluntary structure and focus on specialized training suggest it is framed as a collaborative response to mental health crises rather than a punitive or controversial mandate.

Contention

No committee transcripts or recorded votes are available, so there is no documented floor or committee-level disagreement to identify. Potential areas of concern, if raised, would likely involve implementation costs, training requirements, agency workload, and whether a voluntary specialist designation is sufficient to improve crisis response; however, none of these issues are reflected in the available legislative record.