Revised ’Oklahoma Survivors’ Act’ gets signed into law by stroke of Governor’s pen

OKLAHOMA CITY (KSWO) – Senate Bill 1835, a revised version of the Oklahoma Survivors’ Act, is officially set to become law after Oklahoma Governor Kevin Stitt signed his name to the bill.

SB1835 directs Oklahoma courts to consider a defendant’s history of being abused by their sexual partner, family member, any member of their household, a trafficker, or any person who used them for financial gain as a mitigating factor when sentencing or accepting a plea deal.

The defendant would have to provide the court with at least one piece of documentary evidence which shows the abuse took place.

This signing comes just after the Oklahoma Governor vetoed a previous version of the bill, Senate Bill 1470. The Oklahoma Senate quickly overrode it, sending the original bill to the House for consideration.

However, Senate Bill 1835 was officially modified to be a revised version of the original survivors’ act on May 14, according to the Legislature’s tracking webpage.

The biggest difference between the original, and now the signed version, is that the signed version has language which limits the scope of the bill to only apply to cases where the defendant has fought back against their alleged abuser.

The signed bill will officially take effect at the end of August.

Oklahoma has been in the bottom of state rankings for years on both rate of women murdered by men and rate of domestic violence.

You can read the full enrolled bill below:

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