Feb
5
Citizens in Charge is out with their 2010 report card on Statewide Voter Initiative Rights. Oklahoma scored a C+ which is better than average (only six states scored higher including Arkansas and Missouri), but still shows the need for improvement. The scoring system used awards points for having citizen-authored constitutional amendments, state statutes, local statutes and a referendum process to repeal laws.
Oklahoma got a perfect 11 points for having all of those avenues available to the people. but points were lost because of restrictions to those avenues. For example, two points were lost because the state has a very short period of time to collect signatures. At just 90-days, it’s the lowest of any state that allows citizen initiatives. House Bill 2246 passed the legislature last year by a near-unanimous 128-1 margin which would have increased the signature period to one year, the national average. However, Governor Henry vetoed that bill. OFRG is pushing to have another bill to lengthen the signature period this session. Lowering the number of signatures to collect is another way for Oklahoma to score better.
Oklahoma already has the infrastructure in place to make government more accountable to the people it serves. Lawmakers need to step up to reduce the barriers in place preventing the people from having more control.
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