Latest news with #R-Durant
Yahoo
14-06-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Lawsuits filed after drastic changes to initiative petition process
OKLAHOMA CITY (KFOR) – Two lawsuits were filed after drastic changes were made by lawmakers to the initiative petition process in Oklahoma. 'I think they took the idea of direct democracy away from everyday rural Oklahomans, and it offended me,' said Craig McVay, a rural Oklahoma voter. McVay is listed as a plaintiff in one of the lawsuits. He is one of many who joined in on the lawsuit. Senate Bill 1027 went into effect at the end of the legislative session. It was authored by State Sen. David Bullard (R-Durant) and prevents more than 10% of required signatures from coming from Oklahoma or Tulsa counties. Stitt signs bill limiting Oklahomans' access to support ballot initiative petitions Meanwhile, each of the state's 75 other counties, most of which are rural, are capped at 4% of total signatures. The lawsuit was filed as McVay et al. v. Cockroft and Drummond and challenges SB 1027's constitutionality. Supporters of SB 1027 have long argued that the reason it was needed was to give rural Oklahomans more of a voice when it came to signature gathering. 'I've checked a box in every rural part of the state and have been a part of the process the entire time. Now I feel like the legislature just took a swipe at me, and I don't like that,' said McVay. 'I can't imagine having to try to defend this law. It, quite frankly, is indefensible,' said Amber England of Strategy 77. England has led the way for many initiative petitions over the years and fought at the Capitol when SB 1027 was being discussed by lawmakers. 'We hope the court acts quickly to throw this out so that there's no longer uncertainty,' said England. According to Strategy 77, key constitutional arguments in the lawsuit include: County-Based Signature Caps: Senate Bill 1027 limits how many signatures can be collected in each county, violating Article V, Section 2 of the Oklahoma Constitution and the Equal Protection Clause by creating arbitrary distinctions among voters. Gist Language Approval: The law gives the Secretary of State, an unelected, politically appointed position, unchecked authority to approve or reject petition summaries, violating the separation of powers and placing unconstitutional restraints on free speech. Circulation and Funding Restrictions: Senate Bill 1027 mandates circulation and funding restrictions that courts have repeatedly struck down as violations of the First Amendment. Special Laws and Unequal Treatment: The law singles out initiative and referendum proponents for restrictions not imposed on candidates, opponents, or other political campaigns. 'It takes away power from Oklahoma voters. And I hope that the court will understand that and see that for what it is,' said England. On that lawsuit, Attorney General Gentner Drummond and Secretary of State Josh Cockroft are listed. The other lawsuit filed was brought on by supporters of State Question 836. They said that they are challenging the retroactive application of Senate Bill 1027. In their press release, they said that SQ 836 would establish an open primary system in Oklahoma, allowing all voters, regardless of party, to vote in primary elections. The measure was filed in January of 2025 and is currently pending before the Oklahoma Supreme Court. News 4 reached out to the AG's office and the Secretary of State's Office Friday and have not heard back yet. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
18-04-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
New bill provides tax credit for pregnancy resource center donors
OKLAHOMA CITY (KFOR) – This week House Bill 1201 authored by Rep. Cody Maynard (R-Durant) and Sen. David Bullard (R-Durant), is set to move forward after passing the Senate Revenue Taxation Committee, granting some tax relief for any individual contributing to nonprofit pregnancy resource centers. HB 1201 would give an income tax credit equal to 70% of what an individual contributes specifically to a nonprofit pregnancy resource center. Additionally, the bill includes qualifying entities providing maternity housing and facilities offering care for new mothers and newborns. School cell phone ban moves one step closer at Capitol Oklahoma Senate leaders highlighted Oklahoma has roughly 40 pregnancy resource centers across the state. 'These centers are on the forefront of helping new mothers and women in crisis pregnancies get the help and support they need,' Bullard said. 'This legislation encourages Oklahomans to donate to these vital organizations that play a key role in protecting the unborn by providing women with the resources they need to choose life. At its core, House Bill 1201 is a pro-life bill that enables women to build a better future for themselves and their children.' HB 1201 limits the tax credit to $50,000 per person each year, capping credits at $5 million annually. The bill now moves to the Senate Appropriations Committee. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
26-03-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Bill would limit initiative petition signatures by county, giving less-populated counties disproportionately larger influence
OKLAHOMA CITY (KFOR) — A bill advancing through the Oklahoma Legislature would change how citizen-led initiatives make it onto the ballot by capping the number of petition signatures that can come from each county, a move critics say is designed to silence urban Bill 1027 (SB 1027), authored by State Sen. David Bullard (R-Durant), would prevent more than 10% of required signatures from coming from Oklahoma or Tulsa counties. Meanwhile, each of the state's 75 other counties, most of which are rural, would be capped at 4% of total understand the bill's impact, it helps to know how the initiative petition process works. Oklahoma lawmakers working to move bills forward as deadline approaches Say, for instance, you're tired of new cars having obnoxiously bright LED headlights, and you want the state to outlaw them. You could petition the state to let voters decide if that should be a now, your petition needs to get signed by at least 92,263 registered voters to make it on the ballot. If it makes it on the ballot, more than 50% of voters would have to vote in favor of it come election time for it to become law. In recent years, Oklahomans legalized medical marijuana and expanded Medicaid following this process. Under current law, there are no restrictions on where petitioners can gather signatures to get an item on the ballot. State Sen. David Bullard (R-Durant) sees a problem with that. 'Right now, in order to get those, they only have to go to two, maybe three counties,' Bullard said while debating SB 1027 on the floor of the Oklahoma Senate last week. He claims people who gather signatures on petitions tend to skip over rural counties. 'We have 77 counties statewide,' Bullard said. 'So the system we have now actually allows them to ignore other people, in other counties, and just stay in two counties.'It is why he wrote SB 1027, which would cap how many signatures petitioners can get in each SB 1027, petitioners would now only be allowed to get 10% of the 92,263 needed signatures from Oklahoma County and another 10% from Tulsa the other 75, largely rural, counties, they would each be capped at contributing no more than 4% of the needed signatures.'We are actually moving out to more counties, getting the signatures of a more diverse population of Oklahomans,' Bullard Amber England, who has led numerous petition efforts over the past decade, takes major issue with Bullard's assumption.'It's a lie that we don't go to all 77 counties,' England said. 'Every state question that I've been involved in over the last decade has gotten signatures from all 77 counties.'She says that was especially true in her most recent effort, which successfully got a minimum wage increase question on ballots next year.'We trained over 200 people, people from Broken Bow to Guymon, all the way up to Bartlesville, down to Altus,' England said. 'All these folks fanned out across the state. Every person that picked up a clipboard and a pen and went out and collected signatures at rodeos, at festivals, at parades, all across the state in every single county of this state.'News 4 crunched the numbers on Bullard's bill, and found, even under his bill, as long as petitioners can get the maximum 10% of signatures in both Oklahoma and Tulsa counties, they'd only need to visit as few as 20 other counties to gather enough signatures to get the needed 92,263—still leaving out the state's 55 least-populated counties.'They're actually taking the grassroots component out of the state question process,' England said. 'They're also disenfranchising rural voters by saying that only 4% of rural voters can sign a petition in any one given county.'The bill passed the Senate last week along party lines. 'Ludicrous, unnecessary': OK legislators take aim at initiative petition law again; passes House But that wasn't before some debate and concerns.'How does this square with the constitutional principle of one person, one vote?' Sen. Michael Brooks (D-Oklahoma City) said while debating SB 1027 on the floor of the Oklahoma Senate last SB 1027, not every signature would carry the same instance, Oklahoma County makes up nearly 20% of the state's if the people in the county could only contribute 10% of a petition's signatures, as SB 1027 proposes, their voices would effectively be cut in half compared to their share of the state's then, take Cimarron County, with fewer than 2,00 residents, it makes up 1/20th of 1% of Oklahoma's total SB 1027, every person there could sign a petition, and Cimarron County would still be nowhere near hitting its cap of 4% of total signatures. News 4 crunched the numbers again and found it would basically mean Cimarron County's influence on whether something makes it on the ballot would be 96 times greater than Oklahoma County's, when considering each county's share of the state's total population.'How does that not fly directly in the face of our constitutional right for the people to petition and have their voices heard?' said Sen. Regina Goodwin (D-Tulsa), while debating SB 1027 on the floor of the Oklahoma Senate last still sticking to his argument about reaching rural voters, defended the bill in response to Goodwin.'Because we are not allowing them to ignore the voice and signatures of the 97.5% of the other counties in the state,' said if you ask England, she thinks this was never about including more voices.'Their motive is to take power away from voters. State questions have to pass by a majority of voters in Oklahoma, 50% plus one,' England said. 'They just want to control all the process themselves. Special interest groups and powerful politicians, and lobbyists are just mad right now. They're mad at Oklahoma voters because they can't control the,m and they want to be able to control them. And so they're rewriting the rules to take the freedom for Oklahomans to actually decide issues for themselves.'News 4 reached out to the bill's Senate sponsor, Bullard, and House sponsor, House Speaker Kyle Hilbert (R-Bristow). Bullard never responded. A spokesperson for Hilbert said he would be unable to meet with News 4. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
