Opinion/Editorial

SJR #37- A TERRIBLE IDEA!

by Steve Fair

Oklahoma State Constitution- Article V Section V-2 The first power reserved by the people is the initiative, and eight percentum of the legal voters shall have the right to propose any legislative measure, and fifteen per centum of the legal voters shall have the right to propose amendments to the Constitution by petition, and every such petition shall include the full text of the measure so proposed. The second power is the referendum, and it may be ordered (except as to laws necessary for the immediate preservation of the public peace, health, or safety), either by petition signed by five per centum of the legal voters or by the Legislature as other bills are enacted. The ratio and per centum of legal voters hereinbefore stated shall be based upon the total number of votes cast at the last general election for the State office receiving the highest number of votes at such election.

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The Oklahoma Constitution provides for the citizens to propose amendments to the state constitution through the initiative petition process. In years past, private citizens in Oklahoma have used the process to rein in state government. In 1992, signatures were gathered by grassroots citizens fed up with out of control spending and rising taxes imposed by the state legislature. They gathered signatures across the state and got a proposal on the ballot that blocked the state legislature from passing a tax increase that did not pass the legislature with a 75% margin. If it did not meet that threshold, then it had to go to a vote of the people. In November 1992, SQ 640 was passed by a vote of 56% to 44%.

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Legislators from both parties hate SQ640 because it took the supply side of the ‘power of the purse’ out of their hands. In response, the legislature cleverly re-branded 'taxes' and started calling them ‘fees’ to circumvent 640. To discourage the people from getting into their business, lawmakers increased the number of signatures required and shortened the length of time to gather signatures to get a question on the ballot. Their tactics have worked quite well because until 2010, no state question since 1992 had been on the ballot that came through the initiative petition process. All of the state questions Oklahomans have voted on in the recent past have been placed on the ballot by the legislature in the form of Joint Resolutions. The glaring exception last year was SQ #744 which was initiated by the OEA after the union lost a lawsuit seeking to increase education funding. The signatures on SQ #744 were gathered by paid staff in the metropolitan areas of Oklahoma. SQ #744 would have tied Oklahoma’s education funding to the ‘regional average.’ The proposal did not provide any mechanism as to where the additional money to fund this concept was to come from. SQ#744 went down in flames- 81% to 19%- because even the liberals recognized the obscurity of the proposal.

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The number of required signatures to get a proposal on the ballot by initiative petition was theoretically reduced after the passage of SQ #750 in November. I say theoretically, because now the signature requirements are based on the Governor's race, which historically has lower turnout, and not the presidential election. That was progress for the citizens of Oklahoma. But once again the legislature is 'tinkering' with the initiative petition process.

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Senator Mike Schultz, (R-Altus) and Representative Leslie Osborne, (R-Tuttle) are running Joint Resolution (SJR#37) that would change the initiative petition process yet again. If approved by Oklahoma voters, it would require initiative petitioners to reach the signature requirements in all five congressional districts. The SJR has already passed the Senate and will likely be voted on in the state House in the next week. If it passes the House, it will be placed on the ballot in November 2012. Joint Resolutions do not require the signature of the Governor.

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I talked with the House author of the bill, Representative Leslie Osborne, (R-Tuttle) Wednesday morning on a conference call with Representative Dennis Johnson, (R-Duncan). Osborne is a gracious, intelligent, well spoken lady whose motives I do not question, but on this issue she is wrong. She said the target of SJR 37 is radical groups like PETA who target states with initiative petition processes where the gathering of signatures is easier to accomplish. Osborne conceded that I made some valid points in my argument against the proposal, but it’s clear I did not persuade her SJR 37 would have unintended consequences for the average citizen.

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There are at least three reasons why the initiative petition process in Oklahoma should be left alone.

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First and foremost, it is next to impossible to gather the necessary signatures now with grassroots volunteers! Implementation of more restrictions would make it even more unlikely. If SJR37 were approved by the voters of Oklahoma, the ONLY organizations that will be able to satisfy the signature requirements will be well-funded groups- like unions- that use paid signature gatherers. In the process of trying to keep those groups like the OEA and PETA from getting proposals on the ballot, this bill would have the unintended consequence of hurting the average citizen in Oklahoma.

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Second, the concept of gathering signatures by Congressional district sounds good, but is impractical and senseless. The majority of Oklahomans live in three metropolitan areas. Statewide candidates for office concentrate on the areas with the highest density of population. They ‘fish where the fish are.’ There is nothing wrong with that. We elect officials statewide. Imagine if it were proposed we elect our US Senators and statewide officials using a complicated formula of making sure they got a certain percentage of their vote from every Congressional district. No one would ever consider proposing such a ridiculous concept for statewide elections, but SJR37 does just that to the initiative petition process.

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Third, the motives behind SJR37 are misguided. We don’t need more restrictions on citizen involvement in our government- we need less. SQ #744 scared the legislature because if it would have passed, it would have been devastating for the state, but it didn’t pass. I can understand not wanting crazy proposals to be placed on the ballot because there is always a chance one of these crazy ideas will pass, but I have more confidence in Oklahoma voters than that. When given the facts on an issue, Oklahoma voters always make the right decision. Legislators should not attempt to ‘manage’ their constituents and restrict their involvement in the process. Legislators don't need to try and protect us from ourselves.

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When this proposal was debated in the State Senate, Senator Jim Reynolds, R-OKC), who voted against the Joint Resolution, said, “This is a pretty significant bill. We are putting a stronger restriction on the people on Oklahoma; I don’t think that can be debated.”

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When I talked to Representative Osborne, she didn’t dispute that SJR37 restricted EVERYONE who wanted to run an initiative petition. Is that is what conservatives are about? I thought Republicans wanted people more involved and engaged in their government? Passage of this proposal would erode the liberties of Oklahomans. Even if we have to defeat OEA and PETA resolutions every election cycle, at least the average citizen in Oklahoma still has an outside chance of occasionally getting something meaningful on the ballot. Don’t take that away from us. Please contact your State Representative today and tell them to vote NO on Senate Joint Resolution #37 when it comes to the House floor. SJR37 passed out of committee today by ONE VOTE!