Sunday, October 27, 2024

Here's what you need to know about the State Questions on Oklahoma's 2024 ballot



Two weeks ago, I published Here's what you need to know about the judges on the 2024 ballot. In this post, I'll focus in on the two state questions that are on the ballot. 

I got some of my information from these helpful articles (SQ 833, SQ 834) at Ballotpedia, in addition to information from various blogs and news stations.

STATE QUESTION 833

State Question 833 is on the ballot as a legislatively referred constitutional amendment, put to a vote of the people by the State Legislature. The resolution to do so passed the Senate by a vote of 38 to 7, with each of the 'nay' votes coming from the most conservative senators. It passed the House by a vote of 66 to 27, with the nays being a mix of Democrats and much of the conservative wing of the Republicans.

This is a complex amendment, and I'll be honest - the more complicated a constitutional amendment, the more scrutiny it deserves. Amending the Constitution likes this runs risks, as any future needed adjustments to the law could be difficult to make without another constitutional amendment. This is an important factor to consider regarding constitutional amendments.
    Voting "yes" would allow for municipalities to create of 'public infrastructure districts' (PIDs), a mechanism to - this is my understanding - allow developers to put property in special tax situation where additional property tax can be levied (up to $100 per $100,000 of property value) to pay for "public infrastructure" through bonds. Public infrastructure could include things like roads in the development, sidewalks, utility lines.. or amenities like pools, parks, clubhouses. The thought is that using this mechanism would lower the cost of the buildings in the development because the infrastructure items would be funded long-term via the additional property tax.

    To form this public infrastructure district (PID), 100% of surface property owners in the proposed district would have to file a petition to form the PID with the municipality. The most likely application of this would be single-owner developments.

    Supporters claim this to be a solution to the creation of more affordable housing in growing cities and towns across the state. 

    A "no" vote opposes the constitutional amendment. Opponents say that this looks like a special deal for bond attorneys and underwriters, and point to the higher property taxes on properties within the proposed districts are problematic for future sellers and owners. One legislator, State Rep. Andy Fugate (D-Del City), said "It gives, essentially, a homeowners association the taxation power of government."

    I will be voting 'NO' on State Question 833, a position also taken by conservative Tulsa blogger Michael Bates and former State Rep. Jason Murphey (one of the most conservative legislators of the last two decades).

    I highly recommend reading this post by Bates and this one by Murphey for more in-depth coverage of this state question. Spencer Humphrey with KFOR has a good synopsis article here, as well.


    STATE QUESTION 834

    State Question 834 is on the ballot as a legislatively referred constitutional amendment, put to a vote of the people by the State Legislature. The resolution to do so passed the Senate by a vote of 37 to 7, with only Democrats voting 'nay' (a unanimous vote for their caucus, except one member was absent during the vote). It passed the House by a vote of 71 to 11, again with only Democrats voting 'nay' (19 members, a mix of both parties, missed the vote).

    This is a simple and straight-forward state question. From Ballotpedia:
    The measure would amend Section 1 of Article III of the state constitution. The following struck-through text would be deleted and underlined text would be added:

    Section 1. Qualifications of electors.
    Subject to such exceptions as the Legislature may prescribe, all only citizens of the United States, who are over the age of eighteen (18) years, and who are bona fide residents of this state, are qualified electors of this state.
    A simple change, but one that clearly rules out towns and cities allowing noncitizens to vote in municipal elections, which is - believe it or not - a growing trend among some liberal localities across the country. San Francisco allows noncitizens to vote in school board races. Washington, D.C., allows noncitizens to vote in city elections (a similar measure in New York City was struck down by courts this year). 11 municipalities in Maryland and 3 in Vermont do as well.
     
    This is a worthwhile, simple amendment to avoid problems with our election process down the road.

    I will be voting 'YES' on State Question 834, the same as Michael Bates and the Oklahoma Legislature's Freedom Caucus.

    Again, as a quick recap along with my personal voting recommendation:

    • State Question 833 - Public Infrastructure Districts (No)
    • State Question 834 - Citizen-only voting (Yes)

    I hope this information has been helpful to you. Pass it along to any voter you know that is in need of this material before they cast their ballot! 


    If you are in need of information about judicial retention voting, check out my article Here's what you need to know about the judges on the 2024 ballot.


              ~          ~          ~          ~          ~          ~          ~          ~          

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    Upside is a mobile app that gets you cash back on fuel purchases, which you can redeem for gift cards, or deposit to your PayPal or bank account. Gift cards include retailers such as Amazon, Walmart, Apple, Google Play, Lowe's, Target, Starbucks, Chili's, and more. Participating gas stations are listed with a cents-off amount. 

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    (Click to view larger)

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    Thanks for humoring me and reading to the very end! I hope all of the information in this post is helpful to you. 

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