‘Ludicrous, unnecessary’: OK legislators take aim at initiative petition law again; passes House

OKLAHOMA CITY (KFOR)- Oklahoma’s legislators are considering adding more requirements to the state’s initiative petition law that some worry create more challenges for voters to have a say in the lawmaking process.

State law give residents the power to file initiative petitions about legislative issues. With the required number of legally sufficient signatures, the initiative triggers a public vote.

Previous initiative petitions include recreational marijuana, healthcare expansion, and criminal justice reform.

The state’s minimum wage is currently going through the initiative petition process in hopes of becoming a state question.

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“Oklahoma already has one of the most difficult and onerous initiative petition processes in the country,” said Let’s Fix This CEO, Andy Moore.

House Bill 1105, authored by Speaker of the House Charles McCall, would:

• Add a $1,000 filing fee, which is refundable if the petition meets the qualifications to appear in the ballot

• Extend the challenge periods from 10 days/each to 90 days/each

• Require all signature collectors to have an OSBI background check on file with the Secretary of State.

If the bill is signed into law, lawmakers say this will effect the initiative petition for the state’s minimum wage.

Representative Jon Echols (R-OKC) spoke on the House floor on behalf of Speaker McCall Wednesday afternoon. He said there’s nothing wrong with the language in this bill, but said it’s more so of people wanting to “freak out” over it.

He also said any opposing argument is simply “faux outrage.”

“What you’re doing is putting that right to petition in the hands of very wealthy people and not everyday Oklahomans,” stated Michelle Tilley. “House Bill 1105 just further chips away at our freedom to petition. And the freedom to petition is one of our core freedoms guaranteed in the United States Constitution, in the Oklahoma Constitution.”

Tilley has worked on the recreational marijuana and healthcare expansion initiative petitions.

Tilley added initiative petitions also cost tens of thousands of dollars in financing and fears with these new requirements, it would only attract more big corporations instead of average Oklahomans.

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“This is just making it more inaccessible to everyday Oklahomans. And the fact is, by the time an issue comes to a petition, it’s something that’s dire that needs to happen. And that’s already been discussed that, again, our elected politicians have not taken the initiative to make the change. And so to continue to drag it out for years and years and years just chips away at our freedom to petition,” said Tilley.

There was an emergency clause amended into the proposal that would have made the background check go into effect immediately after the Governor would sign the bill into law.

However, because of debate, Rep. Echols decided to lay over the amendment for bipartisanship.

The requirement of a criminal background is still included in the proposal, just not under an emergency clause.

Rep. Echols stated the reason for a background check is for Oklahomans to be more aware of the person pushing the petition.

If a criminal history popped up though, Rep. Echols confirmed it would not keep that individual from being able to circulate the petition. It would however be used publicly and in a database, according to Rep. Echols.

With the potential permanent slash of the emergency clause, this bill, if signed into law, would go into effect 90 days after sine die.

The House has passed the proposal and it’ll now go to the Senate for consideration.

Tilley and Moore suggest any constituent who is against the proposal to contact their Senators in an effort to keep it from moving any further.

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