2023 Oklahoma Statutes › Title 57. Prisons and Reformatories › §57-566.1. Payments and distributions from damage awards.

A. Any inmate as defined in paragraph 2 of subsection B of Section 566 of this title who successfully obtains a final court order or settlement agreement awarding damages for any cause of action in any federal or state proceedings against the state, a state agency, the Department or any political subdivision, or any employee thereof, shall pay or satisfy from the award:
1. Any previous assessments of court costs or fines involving the criminal convictions of the offender;
2. Victims compensation assessments;
3. Restitution awards;
4. Probation or parole fees;
5. Child support or alimony;
6. Civil judgments; and
7. Any deficiencies of debts not paid of which the state or the Department of Corrections has notice by judgment, lien, garnishment, or other appropriate process.
B. After disbursement of the funds by the state or the Department of Corrections, twenty percent (20%) of the award shall be placed in the offender’s mandatory savings account and the remainder shall be placed in the offender’s regular draw account. The Department shall give notice to the inmate of known debts owed by the inmate. The Department shall be granted a reasonable time to review and discover all outstanding debts of the inmate as enumerated in subsection A of this section and shall disburse the award to all outstanding debtors of the inmate within six (6) months of the final court order or settlement agreement. The Department shall deposit the remaining funds pursuant to subsection C of this section. All of the amounts and any funds deposited with the Department of Corrections or a political subdivision in accordance with this section shall not be subject to the attachment and garnishment procedures set forth in Title 12 of the Oklahoma Statutes until ninety (90) days after all outstanding debts are paid pursuant to this section. For purposes of this section, the statutory limits on the collection of debts set out in subsection A of Section 95 of Title 12 of the Oklahoma Statutes shall not apply.
C. Any inmate, as defined in paragraph 2 of subsection B of Section 566 of this title, or attorney of the inmate, who successfully obtains a final court order awarding damages for any cause of action arising in tort or contract, in any state or federal proceedings, or any settlement agreement, against any party shall notify the Department of Corrections or appropriate political subdivision of the award and shall make the same distribution of the award as is provided in subsection A of this section. It shall be the duty of the attorney of the inmate or the inmate, if acting pro se, to notify the defendant that any settlement shall be deposited with the Department or political subdivision for disbursement in accordance with this section. In addition, the state, the Department of Corrections, any other state agency, or any political subdivision of the state shall have the first right of subrogation to any such award or settlement for costs of services incurred by the state, state agency, or political subdivision in relation to such claim, for service provided to the inmate at the request of the inmate, and for all costs of incarceration, before any part of the award is placed in the trust account of the inmate.
Added by Laws 1995, c. 141, § 3, eff. Nov. 1, 1995. Amended by Laws 1999, c. 127, § 2, eff. July 1, 1999; Laws 2002, c. 402, § 9, eff. July 1, 2002; Laws 2004, c. 168, § 11, emerg. eff. April 27, 2004.