CALL TO ACTION: Tell Oklahoma House Rules Committee to Vote NO on HJR 1054

HJR 1054 WOULD RENDER USELESS OKLAHOMA CITIZENS’ CONSTITUTIONALLY GUARANTEED RIGHT TO PASS INITIATIVES AND REFERENDA.

February 19, 2024‍

The latest attempt to nullify Oklahoma voters’ constitutionally guaranteed right to pass initiative and referendum ballot measures, HJR 1054, will be considered in the Oklahoma House of Representatives Rules Committee at 1:30 p.m. on Tuesday, February 20, 2024. Kirkpatrick Policy Group calls on all stakeholders in Oklahoma’s ballot measure process to contact House Rules Committee members and demand they vote NO on this dangerous bid at power consolidation inside the state Capitol.

If passed, HRJ 1054 would refer to Oklahoma voters a proposed constitutional amendment changing petition signature requirements for initiatives and referenda. The change would require petition signature gatherers to collect a percentage of signatures from all seventy-seven Oklahoma counties. This new requirement would make the already difficult and expensive process of passing state ballot measures all but impossible, rendering the citizens’ check on legislative power utterly useless.

Currently, ballot measure proponents are required to gather signatures statewide equaling 15 percent of the number of votes cast in the last gubernatorial election to propose a constitutional amendment, and 8 percent to propose a legislative measure. To propose repealing a law, proponents must collect signatures totaling 5 percent of the number of votes cast in the last election.

HJR 1054 would change the state constitution to require the same percentages of signatures, but from each county, a massive geographic restriction. As an example, in 1990, fiscally conservative citizens filed State Question 640, requiring that any future tax hikes passed by the Legislature also be submitted to a vote of the people. Its proponents gathered 233,832 signatures statewide. The Oklahoma State Election Board website does not list county voter registration statistics before 1996, but if HJR 1054 were in effect in 1990, about 2,000 Cimarron County voters could have scuttled State Question 640, an audacious political power imbalance.

Tell the House Rules Committee to vote NO on HJR 1054. Their contact information is found below.‍

House Rules Committee members:‍

Rep. Mike Osburn, 405-557-7360, Mike.osburn@okhouse.gov

Rep. Brian Hill, 405-557-7333, Brian.Hill@okhouse.gov

Rep. Steve Bashore, 405-557-7399, Steve.Bashore@okhouse.gov

Rep. Jon Echols, 405-557-7354, Jon.Echols@okhouse.gov

Rep. Andy Fugate, 405-557-7370, Andy.Fugate@okhouse.gov

Rep. Kevin McDugle, 405-557-7388, Kevin.McDugle@okhouse.gov

Rep. John Pfeiffer, 405-557-7332, John.Pfeiffer@okhouse.gov

Rep. Mauree Turner, 405-557-7396, Mauree.Turner@okhouse.gov

Rep. Tammy West, 405-557-7348, Tammy.West@okhouse.gov

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