Name: House Republicans push to alter petition process after passage of SQ 802
Brand: oklahoman.com
SKU: oklahoman-com-304
Availability: OnlineOnly

critic

House Republicans push to alter petition process after passage of SQ 802

preview

Carmen Forman Legislative Republicans are looking to change Oklahoma’s initiative petition process that allows citizens to push for a statewide vote on an issue.Attempts to tweak initiative petition requirements come after Oklahomans have increasingly used the process to circumvent the GOP-led state Legislature to push progressive policies at the ballot box.House Republicans on Tuesday passed to require petitions that would increase the costs of any state government entity include a “clear statement” that additional state funding will be required to carry out the state question.“The motivation (is) to make sure that the voters are fully informed about the potential cost not just for one year, but for ongoing years,” said Rep. Eric Roberts, R-Oklahoma City.The freshman legislator said the bill stems from concerns he heard from voters, who said they didn’t fully understand the costs associated .Through the question, voters approved expanding Medicaid in Oklahoma. The Oklahoma Health Care Authority will have to pay an estimated $164 million in the upcoming fiscal year to cover 10% of the costs of the expansion that will be matched with federal funds. SQ 802 did not give any cost estimates.Many Republican legislators opposed SQ 802, which enshrined Medicaid expansion in Oklahoma’s constitution, where it can’t be altered or removed without approval from Oklahoma voters.Rep. Andy Fugate, D-Del City, criticized the bill as poorly written because it didn't specify who provides the fiscal statement. Citing the tax revenue earned from legalizing medical marijuana through State Question 788, Fugate questioned why lawmakers aren't asking petition campaigns to detail the state revenue that could be gained through a proposed state question.“This is a thinly veiled attempt to limit the initiative petition rights that are constitutionally reserved to the people,” he said. cleared the House on a party-line vote. It now heads to the Senate. The title is off the bill, which means the legislation is still a work in progress.Because the initiative petition process is enshrined in Oklahoma’s constitution, legislators typically have to get voters' approval to change initiative petition requirements.However, Rep. John Pfeiffer, R-Orlando, said that’s not the case with HB 1767 because state law governs how initiative petitions are printed on the ballot, which means lawmakers can change those requirements through the legislative process alone.If becomes law, the bill could cost the State Election Board roughly $500,000.The House also passed on a party-line vote. The bill requires recounts of state questions in certain circumstances. Currently, state law doesn't allow for recounts of state questions.Under the bill, Oklahoma's governor, attorney general or State Election Board secretary could call for a recount. Recounts would also occur when the results are within 0.5% of total votes cast for statutory state questions and when the results are within 1% for state questions that would amend Oklahoma's constitution.Had become law before the vote on SQ 802, the Medicaid expansion question that passed with 50.49% of the vote would have qualified for a recount.Oklahoma's legislative leaders have said they're to make it harder for citizens to add to Oklahoma's constitution.

Carmen Forman Legislative Republicans are looking to change Oklahoma’s initiative petition process that allows citizens to push for a statewide vote on an issue.Attempts to tweak initiative petition requirements come after Oklahomans have increasingly used the process to circumvent the GOP-led state Legislature to push progressive policies at the ballot box.House Republicans on Tuesday passed to require petitions that would increase the costs of any state government entity include a “clear statement” that additional state funding will be required to carry out the state question.“The...

public

Carmen Forman

oklahoman.com

Credible

Speculation

Anecdotal Evidence

Generalization

Stacking the Deck

Appeal to Authority

Straw Man

Slippery Slope

Emotional Appeal

Red Herring

False Dilemma

Illogical

Moral Equivalency

Ad Hominem

Correlation w/o Causation

Semantics

Begging the Question

Faulty Analogy

Non Sequitur

Bandwagon

Dogmatism

Failing Occam's Razor

Biased

Pure Opinion

Hit Piece

Racial Bias

National Bias

Religious Bias

Financial Incentive

Political Agenda

Gender Bias

Misused Image/Video

Study Misinterpreted

Mistake

Misused Term

Science Misrepresented

Factual Error

Satire

Surface Level

Lack of Reliable Sources

Sensational

Not Credible

Investigative

Balanced

Well Sourced

Great Context

sports

entertainment

U.S.

international

business

technology

science

culture

politics

media

health

House Republicans push to alter petition process after passage of SQ 802

No article scores yet.

CRITIC REVIEWS

PUBLIC REVIEWS