OKLAHOMA CITY- Senate Democratic Leader John Sparks released the following statement on the Oklahoma Supreme Court’s decision to declare Referendum Petition 25, State Question 799 invalid and stricken from the ballot:
“Today the Oklahoma Supreme Court ruled that State Question 799, Referendum Petition 25 is invalid. While the Oklahoma Constitution empowers citizens to initiate a referendum petition, it is also very clear what the process and procedures are which must be followed to place the referendum on the ballot. In their rush to begin collecting signatures, the group calling itself ‘Oklahoma Taxpayers Unite!’ and former U.S. Senator Tom Coburn failed to include an accurate gist explaining the purpose of the referendum, and also did not attach an exact copy of the law it seeks to repeal.
With the effort to repeal the revenue package by referendum stalled, the focus should now return to enacting long term, sustainable revenue to properly fund education in Oklahoma.”
