Legislation that would require initiative-petition efforts to gather signatures from Oklahomans across the state is now headed to the floor of the Oklahoma House of Representatives.

The bill passed over the objections of urban Democrats who argued the legislation would reduce the ability of urban areas to dominate initiative-petition efforts.

Senate Bill 1027, by state Sen. David Bullard and House Speaker Kyle Hilbert, includes several transparency reforms.

The bill requires that the gist of a proposition (the description of a proposed ballot measure provided to voters) use simple language that clearly describes the proposal and avoids jargon understood by only a subset of the population.

The bill also requires that those gathering signatures be Oklahoma registered voters, and signature gatherers must publicly reveal if they are paid by outside entities to circulate a petition and identify their funders.

SB 1027 requires that those who sign a petition must first read the full ballot title for the proposed measure.

The bill also requires gists to clearly state whether an initiative petition will have a fiscal impact that could require either a tax increase or the diversion of funds from other uses.

Hilbert, R-Bristow, said that provision is a significant reform in the bill.

“This is an important transparency measure,” Hilbert said. “People should know, when they’re signing an initiative petition, the fiscal impact. When people go to vote, people should know the fiscal impact of what they’re voting on, because at the end of the day it’s easy to sell a bill of goods to people and say, ‘Hey, we’re going to supply X, Y and Z service,’ and not tell them that their taxes are going to go up or that other core services are going to get cut.”

The legislation also requires that initiative petitions receive signatures from Oklahomans across the state, not just those living within a few concentrated urban areas.

Under the bill, a petition can collect signatures equal to no more than 11.5 percent of the votes cast in any county during the most recent statewide general election if the petition seeks to change state law. If a petition would amend the Oklahoma Constitution, the maximum number of signatures that may be gathered from any one county cannot exceed 20.8 percent of the number of votes cast in the county during the most recent statewide general election.

State Rep. Forrest Bennett, D-Oklahoma City, claimed that provision of the legislation “is trying to take away” the “voting power” of his urban constituents.

“It doesn’t do that,” Hilbert responded. “This has the same percentage on every county.”

Oklahoma and Tulsa counties are home to roughly 36 percent of residents in the state, based on estimates. Therefore, under the bill, 36 percent of signatures for a petition could come from just those two counties if signatures were gathered proportionately from every county, and the two counties could account for slightly over half of signatures needed for a petition even with the caps imposed by SB 1027.

“Oklahoma County has more residents,” Hilbert said. “Therefore, Oklahoma County is allowed to have more signatures on those initiative petitions than every other county in the state.”

Lawmakers repeatedly noted that recent initiative-petition efforts have been heavily concentrated in just a few urban counties, and rural voters have largely been excluded from the process.

State Rep. Eddy Dempsey, R-Valliant, noted his rural home is roughly a four-hour drive from the Oklahoma Capitol. He said his constituents are routinely ignored by initiative-petition efforts.

“My colleagues don’t get any Oklahoma news,” Dempsey said. “My colleagues down there don’t even know about petitions … because we don’t ever see them.”

Hilbert noted that the same signature cap is applied to all counties, so all parts of the state are treated the same.

“It doesn’t limit folks in Oklahoma County any more than it does folks in McClain County, McCurtain County, or any other county in the rest of the state,” Hilbert said.

The measure has drawn opposition from Oklahoma United, a group seeking to have Oklahoma’s election system changed to largely mirror California elections. The California election system often limits voters’ November choices to two Democratic candidates with no option to vote for a Republican or independent.

SB 1027 passed the House Government Oversight Committee on a 14-4 vote. The bill now proceeds to the floor of the Oklahoma House of Representatives.

 

NOTE: This story has been updated since publication to provide additional information in the 14th paragraph regarding Oklahoma and Tulsa counties.