In an action set to tighten the rules around California-style direct democracy in Oklahoma, the state Senate has passed Senate Bill 1027, now awaiting the governor's signature to become law. Authored by Sen. David Bullard, R-Durant, and with significant support from House Speaker Kyle Hilbert, R-Bristow, the bill aims to overhaul the initiative petition process by introducing stringent geographic and transparency requirements for signature collection.
The legislation dictates that the number of signatures from any one county for statutory petitions is capped at 11.5% and for constitutional amendments at 20.8% based on the turnout of the most recent gubernatorial election, ensuring as Bullard emphasized, "Oklahoma's Constitution and laws should be shaped by all residents, not just those in our largest cities and the out-of-state liberal activists who are trying to turn our state into California" according to a statement shared by the Oklahoma State Senate's press release.
Speaker Hilbert was vocal about the intent behind SB 1027, asserting that "For too long, rural Oklahomans have been left out of deciding what state questions appear on the ballot. That ends now," suggesting an era of increased statewide involvement in legislative changes is upon us, as mentioned on Oklahoma Senate website. The bill also includes several transparency reforms such as requiring the gist of a petition to be written in clear, straightforward language that makes clear whether the measure will have a fiscal impact and prohibiting out-of-state entities from paying local signature gatherers.
Further, the bill mandates that petition signature gatherers must be registered to vote in Oklahoma and that paid signature gatherers disclose who's paying them, amidst creating a mechanism for residents to retract their signatures from petitions if they wish to do so this anew focus on clarity and accountability is laid out as an effort to empower voters from all parts of the state to remain engaged every step of the way, as told by House Speaker Kyle Hilbert in the press release by the Oklahoma State Senate.
Should the bill receive the governor's approval, the changes would take immediate effect.
