Oklahoma Advisory Judicial Nominating Commission Amendment (2018)
| Oklahoma Advisory Judicial Nominating Commission Amendment | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Election date November 6, 2018 | |
| Topic State judiciary | |
| Status Not on the ballot | |
| Type Constitutional amendment | Origin State legislature |
The Oklahoma Advisory Judicial Nominating Commission Amendment was not on the ballot in Oklahoma as a legislatively referred constitutional amendment on November 6, 2018.
The measure would have made three changes to the state judicial nomination process.[1]
First, the measure would have changed the powers of the Judicial Nominating Commission. Rather than offering the governor a list of potential candidates to fill a vacant judicial seat, the governor would have selected a nominee who the Judicial Nominating Commission would have evaluated and offered an advisory rating of qualified or not qualified on.
Second, the state Senate would have confirmed or rejected the governor's nominee. If the Senate was not in session, the governor would have been empowered to call a special session, not more than once per annual quarter, to vote on the nominee.[1]
Third, the amendment would have disempowered the chief justice of the state Supreme Court from appointing a nominee if the governor failed to appoint one within 60 days.
Text of measure
Gist of the proposition
The gist of the proposition was as follows:[1]
| “ | This measure would amend the Oklahoma Constitution. It would amend Section 4 of Article 7-B. This section provides for filling vacancies for judges. The Governor will pick the new judge after consultation and rating of the judges by the Judicial Nominating Commission. The appointment will require confirmation by the Senate..[2] | ” |
Constitutional changes
- See also: Article VII-B, Oklahoma Constitution
The proposed amendment would have amended Section 4 of Article VII-B of the Oklahoma Constitution. The following underlined text would have been added, and struck-through text would have been deleted:[3]
Note: Hover over the text and scroll to see the full text.
When a vacancy in any Judicial Office, however arising, occurs or is certain to occur, the Judicial Nominating Commission shall choose and submit to the Governor and the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court three (3) nominees, each of whom has previously notified the Commission in writing that he will serve as a Judicial Officer if appointed. The the Governor shall appoint one (1) of the nominees a nominee to fill the vacancy, but if he fails to do so within sixty (60) days the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court shall appoint one (1) of the nominees, the appointment to be certified by the Secretary of State and to be confirmed by the Senate. Prior to the nomination being submitted, the Governor shall submit the name of the nominee or nominees he or she wishes to have considered by the Judicial Nominating Commission. The Commission shall provide an advisory rating of "qualified" or "not qualified" to the Governor for each nomination submitted prior to the submission of the nomination to the Senate; provided, the Commission shall complete its work within ninety (90) days of receiving the submission of potential nominees from the Governor. If the Senate is not in session when an appointment is made, the Governor may call the Senate into special session no more than once per quarter to advise and consent on any such appointments.[2]
Path to the ballot
- See also: Amending the Oklahoma Constitution
In Oklahoma, a constitutional amendment must be passed by a simple majority vote in each house of the state legislature during one legislative session.
The amendment was introduced on January 20, 2017, as Senate Joint Resolution 43. On March 21, 2017, the Oklahoma Senate voted 37 to 8 with three senators excused to approve the amendment. The amendment did not receive a floor vote in the Oklahoma House of Representatives.[4]
Senate vote
March 21, 2017[4]
| Oklahoma SJR 43 Senate Vote | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Result | Votes | Percentage | ||
 Yes | 37 | 82.22% | ||
| No | 8 | 17.78% | ||
See also
Footnotes
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 Oklahoma Legislature, "Senate Joint Resolution 43," accessed March 23, 2017
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 Note: This text is quoted verbatim from the original source. Any inconsistencies are attributable to the original source. Cite error: Invalid
<ref>tag; name "quotedisclaimer" defined multiple times with different content - ↑ Cite error: Invalid
<ref>tag; no text was provided for refs namedbill - ↑ 4.0 4.1 Oklahoma Legislature, "SJR 43 Overview," accessed March 23, 2017
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