Oklahoma is unique in that it allows citizens the right of iniative petition. The purpose is to allow the people to propose laws and, following a petition process, attempt to enact them into law through a vote at the polls. The right is anchored in the Oklahoma Constitution, Art. 5, sec. 1, which generally provides "the people reserve to themselves the power to propose laws and amendments to the Constitution and to enact or reject the same at the polls independent of the Legislature, and also reserve power at their own option to approve or reject at the polls any act of the Legislature."
The Oklahoma Supreme Court has stated that this "fundamental and precious right is zealously protected," but that the right is not absolute. In re Initiative Petition 379, 2006 OK 89, 155 P.3d 32. Any citizen can protest the sufficiency of the initiative petition, and the Supreme Court must review the petition to ensure it complies with the rights and restrictions established by the legislature and the Courts.
And, of the three initiative petitions proposed this year, the Supreme Court has nullified each one. In a well-publicized opinion, the Court struck the "TABOR" petition, which would have set limits on the growth of state spending and would have required that surplus funds be placed in a constitutional emergeny fund. See In re Initiative Petition No. 379, 2006 OK 89. The Court held that the petition had to be stricken because of the mass involvement of out-of-state circulators in the signature-gathering process. The Court found a pervasive pattern of wrongdoing and fraud sufficient to strike the entire petition. The Court was obviously concerned that the TABOR initiative was not an Oklahoma petition, circulated by Oklahomans interested in changing Oklahoma law; rather, the Court found it was a campaign funded primarily by out-of-state organizations. (It is notable that the Court issued an early order in the case striking the petition, see 2006 OK 60, and later issued its lengthy opinion, see 2006 OK 89.)
In In re Initiative Petition No. 384, 2007 OK 48, the petition proposed a new law requiring school districts to expend 65% of their "operational expenditures" on "classroom instructional expenditures." In a 5-4 opinion, the Court struck the petition because it failed to contain an adequate "gist." The "gist" is a short statement placed at the top of each signature page (of the petition) attempting to describe the proposed legislation. The language of the "gist" was somewhat detailed, yet the Court found it insufficient because it failed to adequately describe the sanctions contained in the law for a particular school district's failure to comply with the proposed law.
Finally, in Terry v. Bishop, 2007 OK 29, the Court struck an initative petition which sought to rezone property to a single family residential district for a period of 10 years. The property had previously been zoned to allow the development of a new hospital. The district court refused to order the question be placed on the ballot, and the Supreme Court affirmed. The Court held that the petition was legally insufficient because it unconstitutionally sought to bind the city from exercising its legislative power to rezone.
It is clear that the Court has no qualms with striking an initiative petition when the petition appears to violate constitutional provisions; this is true, even where the initiative petitions are highly political in nature.
The Oklahoma Supreme Court has stated that this "fundamental and precious right is zealously protected," but that the right is not absolute. In re Initiative Petition 379, 2006 OK 89, 155 P.3d 32. Any citizen can protest the sufficiency of the initiative petition, and the Supreme Court must review the petition to ensure it complies with the rights and restrictions established by the legislature and the Courts.
And, of the three initiative petitions proposed this year, the Supreme Court has nullified each one. In a well-publicized opinion, the Court struck the "TABOR" petition, which would have set limits on the growth of state spending and would have required that surplus funds be placed in a constitutional emergeny fund. See In re Initiative Petition No. 379, 2006 OK 89. The Court held that the petition had to be stricken because of the mass involvement of out-of-state circulators in the signature-gathering process. The Court found a pervasive pattern of wrongdoing and fraud sufficient to strike the entire petition. The Court was obviously concerned that the TABOR initiative was not an Oklahoma petition, circulated by Oklahomans interested in changing Oklahoma law; rather, the Court found it was a campaign funded primarily by out-of-state organizations. (It is notable that the Court issued an early order in the case striking the petition, see 2006 OK 60, and later issued its lengthy opinion, see 2006 OK 89.)
In In re Initiative Petition No. 384, 2007 OK 48, the petition proposed a new law requiring school districts to expend 65% of their "operational expenditures" on "classroom instructional expenditures." In a 5-4 opinion, the Court struck the petition because it failed to contain an adequate "gist." The "gist" is a short statement placed at the top of each signature page (of the petition) attempting to describe the proposed legislation. The language of the "gist" was somewhat detailed, yet the Court found it insufficient because it failed to adequately describe the sanctions contained in the law for a particular school district's failure to comply with the proposed law.
Finally, in Terry v. Bishop, 2007 OK 29, the Court struck an initative petition which sought to rezone property to a single family residential district for a period of 10 years. The property had previously been zoned to allow the development of a new hospital. The district court refused to order the question be placed on the ballot, and the Supreme Court affirmed. The Court held that the petition was legally insufficient because it unconstitutionally sought to bind the city from exercising its legislative power to rezone.
It is clear that the Court has no qualms with striking an initiative petition when the petition appears to violate constitutional provisions; this is true, even where the initiative petitions are highly political in nature.
