Legislation that would bring greater transparency to Oklahoma’s initiative-petition process and require petitions to gather signatures from a wider geographic area is now headed to Gov. Kevin Stitt’s desk.

Senate Bill 1027, by state Sen. David Bullard and House Speaker Kyle Hilbert, includes several transparency reforms, but the provision receiving the most attention requires initiative petitions to gather signatures from a larger swath of Oklahoma.

Under the legislation, signatures equal to no more than 11.5 percent of the votes cast in any county during the most recent statewide general election may be collected for a petition to change state law.

If a petition would amend the Oklahoma Constitution, which requires a larger raw number of signatures to qualify for a public vote, 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.

Bullard, R-Durant, estimated that change would require petitions to reach out to voters in 18 to 20 counties out of the 77 statewide.

While that is not even half the state from a geographic perspective, it involves significantly more voter involvement than what often happens with current petition efforts.

During House debate on the bill, Hilbert, R-Bristow, referenced one recent initiative-petition effort that collected 70,000 signatures. That petition obtained 67.9 percent of signatures from just two counties—Oklahoma and Tulsa. Those two counties are home to only 36.4 percent of Oklahoma’s population and are not politically representative of the state as a whole.

While Donald Trump easily carried Oklahoma’s presidential vote in 2024, receiving two out of three votes cast statewide, nearly half of the Oklahoma votes cast for Kamala Harris in the presidential race were cast in Oklahoma and Tulsa counties.

Bullard said the initiative-petition process should involve Oklahomans from a larger share of the state, not just a handful of counties.

“How can you guarantee a republican form of government when you uphold a status-quo system that allows you to ignore 97.5 percent of your state?” Bullard asked.

Opponents essentially argued that forcing petitions to gather signatures outside of Oklahoma and Tulsa counties means many measures will not receive sufficient public support to qualify for a statewide election.

State Sen. Carri Hicks, D-Oklahoma City, declared that the bill “threatens something fundamental, our freedom as Oklahomans to decide on what kind of state we want to live in.”

State Sen. Regina Goodwin, D-Tulsa, argued that the bill’s requirement to involve Oklahomans from a larger share of the state will “quite frankly, derail democracy.”

State Sen. Julia Kirt, D-Oklahoma City, said the bill adds “more barriers that make it almost impossible” to do an initiative petition.

State Sen. Mark Mann, D-Oklahoma City, similarly said the legislation will make it “almost impossible” to advance initiative petitions like those previously considered by Oklahomans through the decades.

State Sen. Mary Boren, D-Norman, said the bill advanced “oppression and authoritarianism.”

She said interest groups were poised to advance pro-abortion measures via the initiative-petition process before SB 1027 was filed and suggested that the effort may be negatively impacted if the bill becomes law.

But Bullard said there is “nothing in this bill” that prohibits citizens from using the initiative-petition process to place state questions on the ballot. Instead, the bill increases transparency and requires participation from a geographically larger share of citizens.

He said the county signature requirements are hardly draconian.

“This forces them out to 18-to-20 different counties,” Bullard said. “It doesn’t even force them to all 77 counties.”

In addition to requiring petitions to gather signatures from citizens in more counties, SB 1027 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.

And the bill requires that a gist clearly states whether an initiative petition will have a fiscal impact that could require either a tax increase or the diversion of funds from other uses.

Bullard suggested opponents’ objections to SB 1027 may have less to do with the requirement to gather signatures from citizens in more counties and more to do with the bill’s transparency mandates.

“Why would you not want the gist to be clear and honest, unless you want one thing: chaos,” Bullard asked.

The legislation has drawn opposition from Oklahoma United, a group seeking to have Oklahoma’s election system changed to largely mirror California elections, where voters’ November choices are often limited to two Democrats and no Republicans.

Bullard noted that many Oklahomans from across the state have expressed support for the bill’s reforms.

“A great number of people have thanked me for working on this bill, because they’ve never, ever seen a petition gathered in their area,” Bullard said.

SB 1027 passed the Oklahoma Senate on a 39-7 vote with Republicans in support and Democrats opposed. Nearly all Democratic lawmakers in both chambers represent Oklahoma and Tulsa counties.

Hilbert welcomed news of the bill’s final passage.

“For too long, rural Oklahomans have been left out of deciding what state questions appear on the ballot. That ends now,” Hilbert said. “This critical legislation improves the integrity of the initiative petition process by empowering voters from all parts of the state to stay engaged every step of the way.”

SB 1027 now goes to the governor.