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Committee advances bill to require immediate law-enforcement notification for certain hotline reports
Summary
House Bill 1565 would require that when a hotline report alleges abuse of a minor, the state Department of Human Services (DHS) must communicate that allegation to law enforcement immediately so police can begin a parallel criminal investigation; the committee reported the bill out of committee.
The Oklahoma House Rules Committee advanced House Bill 1565, a request bill from district attorneys that would require Department of Human Services hotline reports alleging abuse of a minor to be communicated immediately to law enforcement, Representative Duell said.
Representative Duell, the bill’s presenter, said the bill transposes DHS’s referral requirements for investigations to the front end of the process so law enforcement can begin a parallel criminal investigation when a hotline call alleges abuse. “So when someone calls the hotline and alleges abuse or something for a minor, that needs to be communicated, and this bill requires communication to law enforcement,” Duell said.
Committee members asked technical and scope questions. Representative Fugate asked whether current practice already involves law enforcement when caregivers are the subject of the allegation and whether some information is confidential; the sponsor and staff said current law provides referrals during investigations but that this bill requires the communication as soon as the hotline call is made so law enforcement can begin parallel work.
Representative Duell moved for passage and yielded for questions. The chair opened the queue for a vote and the clerk declared the bill reported out of committee; the vote tally recorded in the transcript was not specified unambiguously in the public record excerpt.
