A growing number of Oklahoma employers and civic leaders are warning that State Question 832 will result in financial stress that harms working families across the state.

A fact sheet posted by the Broken Arrow Chamber of Commerce notes, “We support a strong workforce and rising wages. We also believe these decisions should remain flexible and reflect Oklahoma’s economy. Oklahoma’s economic future should remain in the hands of Oklahomans.”

State Question 832 would raise Oklahoma’s minimum wage from $7.25 today to $15 by 2029, then increase it annually. The proposal would impose continual annual increases in Oklahoma’s minimum wage based on changes in the cost of living in the nation’s largest urban centers, as measured by the U.S. Department of Labor’s Consumer Price Index for Urban Wage Earners and Clerical Workers.

In practice, that would strip Oklahomans of control over the state’s wage policy, placing that power instead into the hands of federal bureaucrats and the leaders of urban centers like New York City and San Francisco, which are among the drivers of the rising inflation measured by the Consumer Price Index for Urban Wage Earners and Clerical Workers.

While Oklahoma currently has a low cost of living, SQ 832 would tie the state’s minimum wage to the high cost of living in other states, artificially increasing costs in Oklahoma to more closely match those in the nation’s largest urban centers. An analysis by The State Chamber of Oklahoma and Oklahoma Farm Bureau found that SQ 832 could put Oklahoma’s minimum wage on a fast track to $35.61 per hour and more.

On social media, the Broken Arrow Chamber of Commerce and Broken Arrow Economic Development Corporation Boards highlight that issue.

“Beginning in 2030, SQ 832 would permanently tie Oklahoma’s minimum wage to a federal inflation index, creating automatic annual increases with no cap and no future input from voters or the legislature,” the Broken Arrow statement notes. “This creates long-term uncertainty for employers and employees, removes local flexibility, and offers no safeguards during economic downturns.”

The group’s fact sheet also states that the increased business costs created by SQ 832’s constantly rising wage mandate will also create “pressure to raise prices” on average consumers.

A fact sheet produced by The State Chamber similarly notes, “Oklahomans are already paying more for everything. SQ 832 would drive grocery, medicine, utility, and childcare costs even higher and make today’s price increases even steeper.”

On its website, The State Chamber states, “Study after study has demonstrated that when a state or city hikes its minimum wage, the result is fewer employment opportunities, higher costs for consumers, increased business failures, or some combination of those three signs of economic destruction. Worse, those economic effects are typically borne by the very people advocates claim they are trying to help—low-income workers.”

City government officials are increasingly warning that SQ 832 will indirectly force higher rates for services such as water and sewer.

In a column in The Lawton Constitution, Elgin Mayor JJ Francais warned that State Question 832 would increase costs for local governments that translate into higher payments for utilities, echoing warnings recently issued by other city officials.

While the City of Elgin already pays hourly employees at least $15 per hour, he noted that SQ 832 would force the city to raise wages for other hourly workers currently above the proposed minimum level, particularly as SQ 832 keeps ramping up the wage mandate.

“There simply isn’t room in Elgin’s budget to increase employee compensation without raising water and sewer fees substantially higher than currently planned,” Francais wrote.