The Oklahoma Senate recently passed new legislation aimed at revamping the state's initiative petition process, with the goal of curbing the influence of out-of-state special interest groups, as reported by the Oklahoma State Senate's official news releases. Senate Bill 1027, the brainchild of Sen. David Bullard, R-Durant, seeks to diversify the geographical source of petition signatures, maximizing input from both urban and rural areas while instilling stringent guidelines on financial transparency for campaign backers.
Under the proposed bill, no single county with a population exceeding 400,000 could contribute more than 10% of the required signature total for a given initiative. For counties with fewer than 400,000 residents, the limit would be set at 4%, ensuring, according to Bullard, that "rural Oklahomans have a voice in this process and that our laws reflect the will of the people, not the wealthy outside influences trying to buy their way onto the ballot," as stated in the same press release. The transparency aspect includes a requirement for paid signature gatherers to disclose their financial backers. Additionally, only Oklahoma voters would be eligible to gather signatures, and only residents or local groups could fund signature collection efforts.
Another facet of SB 1027 addresses the readability and impact awareness of petition summaries, or "gists." It mandates a simplification of language in these summaries with an explicit declaration if the petition is expected to have any fiscal impact on the state. This clarity aims to aid voters in understanding the measures they are potentially bringing to a statewide vote.
Bullard's endorsement of the bill emphasizes the importance of transparency and fairness in the initiative petition process, highlighting the need to prioritize local values over external agendas. In the Oklahoma Senate press release, he remarked, "These changes are long overdue to protect Oklahoma’s laws from being hijacked by out-of-state special interest groups pushing an agenda that goes against our local values." If the Legislature approves SB 1027 and it is signed into law, the requirements would apply to all initiative petitions not already scheduled by the Oklahoma Secretary of State for signature collection. Additionally, the Secretary of State would be required to establish a process for voters to request the removal of their signatures from a petition.
