Oklahoma Senator Kendal Sacchieri has introduced Senate Bill 1116, which aims to improve transparency by requiring a clear label, "THIS IS A TAX INCREASE," on any ballot measure that could raise or extend taxes. This includes state questions, school bonds, and sales tax proposals, according to the Oklahoma Senate press release.
In the same press release, Sacchieri explained, "Sometimes, taxing jurisdictions promote a bond or sales tax proposal to its voters as 'Free' or 'Tax neutral,' and that simply is not so." He added, "Nothing is free in government; it is only by your hard-earned tax dollars that it survives. I campaigned on the promises of transparency, fiscal restraint and conservative governance. This bill checks all those boxes and ensures that voters are fully knowledgeable of what said proposal will do to their taxes when they walk into that voting booth and cast their ballot. And whatever they decide, it is no one’s business but their own. May this serve as a reminder how important it is, to vote every time we have the opportunity to do so."
The bill will be considered in the legislative session beginning February 3, 2025.
