Speaker’s Office
The House today approved Senate amendments to a measure authored by House Speaker Jeffrey W. Hickman that would give the Pardon and Parole Board additional options for overseeing offenders who are on parole. The bill now goes to Governor Fallin.
House Bill 2187 authorizes the Pardon and Parole Board to use electronic monitoring devices with GPS technology for any person granted parole, or as disciplinary sanction as authorized by law. If the Pardon and Parole Board chooses to use electronic monitoring, the offender could be required to pay towards the monitoring service as a condition of their parole.
“Electronic monitoring will expand the Board’s ability to oversee parolees which enhances public safety using modern technology available today, but not authorized in current law as a tool for the Parole Board to utilize,” said Hickman. “This measure also allows the board to use electronic monitoring as a parole violation penalty as opposed to sending a person with a minor offense back to one of Oklahoma’s overcrowded correction facilities. If we are to tackle the current problems of our state, there is no reason why we should not use today’s technology to find solutions. ”
